Early in the new year is often a good time to review how you’ve been doing money-wise over the past 12 months and plan for the year ahead. 

Just as you keep track of your bank accounts or other money, staying on top of your super can help you take greater control over your financial future.  

So, how can you ensure your super is working as hard as you for your future? 

Consolidating your super means moving all of your super into one account. 

By consolidating your super, you may save on two precious commodities – your money as well as your time. That’s because a single account makes your super easier to manage and fewer accounts means fewer fees.

You can consolidate your super for free in a few simple steps (see footnote 1). 

Once you've chosen the account you want your super in, you can simply transfer the balance of your other super accounts into it online through the Australian Taxation Office:

• Go to my.gov.au
• Log in or create an account
• Link your myGov account to the ATO
• Select 'Super' and then 'Manage'
• Select 'Transfer super' (this option will only appear if you have more than one super account)

Australians have billions of dollars in unclaimed super. Some of it might be yours.  

Lost super is money that is held on your behalf when your super fund, your employer or the government can't find an account to deposit your super into.

ASIC’s Moneysmart website (see footnote 2) states finding your lost super and bringing it all together saves on fees and makes it easier to manage. 

QSuper members can easily find and combine super through the Member Online service. If you’re not a QSuper member, you can alternatively (see footnote 3) follow these steps:

• Log in to your myGov account, click on 'ATO', then ‘Super'.
• Find any ATO-held or ‘lost’ super.
• Consolidate your accounts by choosing which accounts to combine – you'll be able to see details of all your super accounts, including any you've forgotten about.

If you’re still working, salary sacrificing into your super means having some of your salary or wages paid into your super fund instead of to you.

It may benefit you as your super fund will tax these contributions at 15%, which is the same as your employer's contributions. For most people this will be lower than your marginal tax rate and means you benefit because you pay less tax while boosting your retirement savings.

What’s more, the sacrificed component of your total salary package is not counted as assessable income for tax purposes. This means that it is not subject to pay as you go (PAYG) withholding tax.

You can simply talk to your employer about arranging to salary sacrifice to your super.

A voluntary after-tax super contribution is money you choose to pay into your super fund from your after-tax income or savings and is different from salary sacrificing, which happens before your income is taxed.

If you’re still employed, even small voluntary contributions from your after-tax pay each week or month could make a big difference to your balance, and could unlock additional tax deduction benefits. 

Choosing the right investment option for you can make a big difference to your retirement lifestyle.

Your investment choices will probably change over time. What’s right for you may change as you get closer to retirement, when you may want to update your investments to less risky and more stable options to give you certainty over your future finances.  

Take the opportunity to consider the mix of each asset class that best suits your circumstances. 

If you’re a QSuper member, you can simply log in to Member Online anytime to get a clear picture of your super balance, how much you and your employer have contributed, fees and insurance premiums that have come out of your account, and any money you might have rolled in from other super funds.

Look for lost or unclaimed super online or through Member Online.