Once you start working the government helps you get in the habit of saving by forcing an extra percentage of your normal pay into an investment fund/bank account called superannuation. This will be paid by your employer, more commonly known as your boss. When your pay adds up to $450 per month, you will get paid an extra 10% as a payment into your superannuation account. A superannuation account is a type of savings account where your boss puts in small sums of money to invest for you, but you can’t take this money out until you are 65 years old. If you are under 18yo, you also need to be working 30 hours per week for your boss to start paying you superannuation. For example, if you get $15 an hour and you get paid 10% then every time you get paid, they will put $1.5 into it for every hour you have worked during that working period, and that will go up the more you work for the same employer. That would be because of a pay rise or if the percentage rises.
Tips & tricks/Fun facts
1. In Australia, there is around $2.8 trillion in superannuation! That is 28 with 11 0’s after it! ($2,800,000,000,000) And that is only 60% of the Australian population, because of people who don’t work yet or don’t work anymore. If everyone in Australia had superannuation, with an average of $185 thousand each, there would be a total of $4.625 trillion in superannuation! ($4,625,000,000,000)
2. Make sure you set up your own superannuation account. If you do not make your own then every time you get a new job, your boss will set up a new super account and you will end up with multiple accounts. Each account will charge you fees, and the more fees you have to pay, the more of your money will be eaten up in fees and this will reduce how much you have in super by the time you retire.
Also, if you don’t make your own you will be given a commercial account which isn’t as good as an industry account which you can set up (I don’t even know what they mean!). Anyone is allowed to set up a superannuation account at any age but I believe you will still have to pay the fees – as I don’t have an account myself I am only guessing the fees will be charged even if you don’t put anything into it.