The ins and outs of superannuation can seem like a bewildering mess for students and other people who are new to the workforce. To find out what young people really think about super, we asked four students to tell us what they think is wrong with it.
Lack of understanding
Superannuation can seem really complicated and time-consuming to figure out. Sometimes, it can be really difficult to even know where to start looking for information. Oftentimes, people have multiple funds but don’t know where to look or who to ask for information about them. Super funds sometimes aren’t incredibly helpful either and it can be really hard to find what you’re looking for online.
Student Super aims to change that by educating our members and helping them understand superannuation. We have material that teaches students the basics and helps young people to get their super organised to take advantage of the benefits that super has to offer.
Opening new accounts with each new job
On your first day of a new job, you might not remember to bring your super details to fill out the Superannuation Standard Choice form that your new boss needs you to complete. In some cases, instead of waiting until you get around to bringing in your super details, your boss might just open a new account for you. This means that you might end up with a fund you don’t need or want. So, it’s a good idea to be prepared with your super fund details before you start your first day.
Student Super makes it easy to give your employer your super fund details and make sure they don’t open a new account for you. We mail our members a prefilled copy of the superannuation standard choice form. You can also visit the ‘Tell Your Employer’ page to email yourself a copy or print one out when you need it.
Having duplicate super accounts
As a student, you might have had a few jobs over the years, and without realising, you could have opened multiple super accounts, each with different funds. With multiple accounts, you’re potentially paying extra in duplicate fees and charges. As superannuation probably isn’t your top priority you could have easily lost track or forgotten about these accounts.
If this is you, you’re not alone! Australians are paying billions of dollars for unwanted duplicate super accounts every year.
Student Super has made it easy for members to find and combine their lost and old super accounts. Our 'Find or combine my super' feature allows you to quickly find or combine your super in a few easy steps.
Choosing the right super fund for you
With over 500 super funds to choose from, figuring out which one suits you best can be tricky. As a student, you might have a relatively low balance, and want a fund with lower fees or a fund that’s easy to use and student friendly. Other features you may want to look at include if the fund has a process to locate and combine your super. If they have an easy-to-use dashboard or reporting features to enable you to track your money, all the better.
Girl 1: I find super very frustrating and confusing. It’s just a whole lot of ‘what the hell’.
What uni students think is wrong with superannuation
Boy 1: I don’t even know what I don’t know about super.
Girl 1: I had no idea what super funds were.
Boy 2: No, I had no idea.
There’s a problem with knowledge
Boy 2: I’ve had four jobs.
Girl 2: Four?
Boy 1: Actually, I’ve had about seven jobs.
Girl 1: I’ve had four jobs.
Girl 2: I think there were three different super funds.
Boy 1: Two.
Girl 1: Just two… yeah. One’s connected to my current bank account and the other one’s… I don’t know what’s happening with that one. They used to send me letters, and now they don’t. So… that’s concerning.
There’s a problem with duplicate accounts
Girl 1: The first job that I had gave me a super fund.
Boy 2: I basically had to tick an extra box on my introductory form and contract and whatnot that just said ‘please register a super account in my name’.
Boy 1: It was just easier to check the box.
Girl 1: They didn’t tell me about it; they were just like ‘here’s a super fund’.
Boy 2: I just sort of followed what everyone else did and ticked the box and went away with it.
There’s a problem with choice
Boy 1: A lot of unnecessary fees.
Girl 2: A lot of them had hidden fees that I didn’t know about.
There’s a problem with low balances eroded by fees
Boy 1: Umm...you know the death insurance and I think it’s a complete trap. To enforce that and then have people not understand the process of getting out of it.
Knowledge. Duplicate fees. Account-eroding fees. Let’s solve your super.
Update 1 June 2024: The disclaimer in the video is out of date. Student Super changed trustee from Tidswell to Diversa on 18 December 2020 and moved from Professional Super, a sub-fund of the Tidswell Master Superannuation Plan to Professional Super, a sub-fund of OneSuper on 1 June 2024. See the Significant Event Notice for more information.
