How to Read and Understand Your Superannuation Statement

Every complying super fund must provide an annual member statement. The format varies by fund but all statements must include specific information under the SIS Act. Here's what to look for in each section.

• Opening and closing balance: Your account value at the start of the financial year (1 July) and at the end (30 June). The difference reflects contributions, investment returns, fees, tax, and insurance premiums. If this number is lower than last year despite making contributions, something is wrong.
• Contributions section: Lists all contributions received during the year: employer SG contributions, salary sacrifice, personal contributions, and spouse contributions. Cross-check employer SG against your payslips - 11.5% of your ordinary time earnings should be paid each quarter. Missing or underpaid SG is unfortunately common, particularly in small businesses.
• Rollovers: Any amounts transferred in from other super funds during the year. If you consolidated accounts, this should appear. If you see rollovers you didn't initiate, contact your fund immediately.
• Investment returns: Either a dollar amount earned on your investments or a percentage return. Compare this against your fund's stated return objective and against comparable options. A 'Balanced' option should return approximately CPI + 3-4% over rolling 7-year periods - a single year's number is less informative.
• Fees and charges: The total dollar amount deducted from your account for administration fees, investment management fees (MER), and any other charges. This is where most members are surprised - fund websites quote percentages, but the statement shows the actual dollar impact on your account.
• Insurance premiums: The total annual cost of any death, TPD, and income protection cover held within super. This is deducted from your account balance, not paid separately. Review whether the premium is proportionate to the cover provided and whether the cover is appropriate for your needs.

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Fees are the single most controllable factor in your retirement outcome. Understanding exactly what you're paying - and comparing it to alternatives - is the most valuable thing you can do with your annual statement.

• Administration fee: The flat dollar or percentage fee for running your account - record-keeping, member services, reporting. Flat dollar fees ($78-$780/yr) are more favourable for large balances; percentage fees are better for small balances. Check which applies to you.
• Investment management fee (MER/ICR): The percentage fee charged by the investment manager for managing the underlying assets. For a default MySuper option, this is typically 0.10-0.60%. For active or specialist options, 0.50-1.50%. This fee is deducted from the investment return before your return is calculated - it doesn't appear as a separate line item in performance reporting, making it easy to overlook.
• Buy-sell spread: Some funds charge a spread when you switch investment options or make withdrawals. Typically 0.0-0.3% - minor but worth knowing.
• Activity fees: Fees for specific services - advice fees (if you've received personal advice through the fund), insurance premium alterations, or family law split processing. These should only appear if you've used these services.
• Advice fees: If you have an ongoing advice arrangement with a financial planner linked to your super account, the adviser's fee may be deducted directly from your super. Check this is for an active advice relationship - advice fee deductions from accounts where the member has no ongoing adviser contact is an ASIC enforcement priority.
• The 1% fee impact: ASIC's MoneySmart calculator illustrates this clearly. On a $50,000 balance with 40 years to retirement, a 1% fee difference results in approximately $100,000 less at retirement. Compare your total fee (MER + admin + insurance) against a comparable low-cost option - many industry funds' MySuper options are available at 0.30-0.60% total.

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Super insurance is automatic and often misunderstood. Many members pay for insurance they don't need - or need more than they have.

• What cover you hold: Your statement should show your death benefit amount, TPD benefit amount, and income protection monthly benefit (if held). These may be shown as a unit-based amount or a flat dollar sum.
• What it costs: The annual premium deducted from your account. For a 30-year-old with default cover, this might be $300-$600/year. For a 50-year-old, premiums for the same cover can be 4-6× higher due to age-rated (stepped) premiums.
• Is the cover adequate? Default super insurance is rarely adequate for people with mortgages, dependants, or high income. A 35-year-old with a $700,000 mortgage, two children, and a $130,000 income needs significantly more than the standard default $200,000 death/TPD cover. Check whether the cover actually protects your family.
• Definition of TPD: Your statement won't show this, but your fund's product disclosure statement (PDS) will. The majority of industry funds use an 'any occupation' TPD definition - meaning you only claim if you can never work in any job. This is significantly less generous than 'own occupation' definitions available in retail policies.
• Cancellation risk: If your account has been inactive (no contributions for 16 months), your insurance may have been automatically cancelled. Check the statement for any 'insurance ceased' notice. If cancelled, contact your fund immediately - you may be able to reinstate without new underwriting within a short window.
• Opt-out and customisation: If you have another income protection policy outside super, you may be paying premiums twice - once inside super and once outside. Consider cancelling the lower-quality super IP to preserve your super balance, provided the retail policy is in force.

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Don't just file your statement. These five actions - taking no more than 30 minutes combined - can make a meaningful difference to your retirement outcome.

• 1. Verify employer contributions: Take your total annual salary (ordinary time earnings, excluding overtime and bonuses if paid separately) and multiply by 11.5%. Compare this to the SG contributions shown on your statement. If the numbers don't match - even slightly - contact your employer's payroll department in writing, then the ATO if unresolved (report via ATO's online portal or 13 10 20). Unpaid SG accrues interest but must be actively reported.
• 2. Check for lost super: Log into MyGov, navigate to ATO online services, and check 'Manage my super' for any additional accounts or ATO-held super. Even small forgotten balances compound over decades - consolidate unless insurance reasons prevent it.
• 3. Benchmark your fees: Find your total annual fee in dollar terms (admin + investment management + any other). Divide by your balance to get the total expense ratio. Compare against the Productivity Commission's 2018 benchmark: a 'good' default MySuper product cost approximately 0.5-0.7% of assets annually for a $50,000 balance. If you're paying significantly more, investigate switching.
• 4. Review your investment option: Your statement shows your current option (e.g., Balanced, Growth, Conservative). Check whether this is appropriate for your age and timeline. The ATO's Super Co-contribution calculator and your fund's risk assessment tool can help. Most Australians in their 30s-40s are better served by a Growth or High Growth option rather than the default Balanced - often costing them hundreds of thousands over a career.
• 5. Update your nominated beneficiary: Your statement may show your current beneficiary nomination and its expiry date. Non-lapsing BDBNs are the most important nomination - check it's still current and reflects your actual wishes. A binding nomination typically expires every 3 years unless it is non-lapsing.

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Australians collectively have over $3.9 trillion in superannuation - the third largest pool of managed funds in the world. Most of it sits in accounts that members look at once a year and don't act on. The members who retire with significantly more are not necessarily those who earned more - they're the ones who checked their fees, verified their contributions, chose appropriate investment options, and caught problems early. Your annual statement is the tool to do all of this in 30 minutes.

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