First Publication Of 2022
With the New Year just beginning, it’s the perfect opportunity to take stock of your super and make some plans for the future.
Australia’s super asset continues to grow but the pace varies depending on which product you are in and just how much attention you pay your super. Your super can be like a well-kept garden, or a poorly tended one if you think someone is looking out for it for you.
So maybe it is time to consider what you know about super and how well it is being managed?
Super Issues?
Super can be a controversial topic. No one has really taken responsibility for any of the mismanagement of Australia’s biggest asset that has occurred since its introduction in 1992.
From a product point of view, no one wants the public to have too much of a technical understanding of what it is and the value that is being delivered. There is a lack of transparency in the industry and a lot of false marketing coupled with poor regulation by government.
The public is being educated in a single dimensional measure of excellence with the annual publication of best performing products with no explanation of the technicalities around asset management.
The public themselves really don’t want to have to consider such complexities as they have the preference for too many years to assume everything will be ok in the long term.
Every individual irrespective of age can improve the performance of their super by giving it attention and asking some straightforward questions. Very often it is not a question of a change in product but an understanding in how you best use the product you are in. At other times you might find you are in a good product but something else might just be noticeably better and you might be tempted to change.
The Optimisation Of Super
All product providers have a help line and some product providers have additional services should you want to access more complicated financial advice. Financial planning is not for everyone and may only be for those who can afford the additional costs and also perceive a value in the service offering.
Generally speaking, the vast majority of people can significantly improve their future retirement outcome by paying attention to their super at the latest by age 30.
Essentially if you take the opportunity to better manage your super at age 30, the improvement in your projected income in retirement can be between 25% and 35%. The converse is also true. A lack of attention to your super from age 30 can equally damage you super future by an underperformance of some 25%, all as measured in today’s dollars.
Whatever your age, it is best to start now and arguably find out what you don’t know about your super as too many people just won’t tell you.
SuperWiser
SuperWiser is an application controlled by an algorithm that examines and analyses a very large database of product options. You are able to have the initial chat with this technology before you have to engage with the advice to be provided. Every effort has been made to provide as much information as possible at all stages and every effort has been made to ensure that SuperWiser meets the demands of all regulations.
In particular, the fact that SuperWiser is technology and represents our service interface does not mean you won’t find yourself interacting with someone in our Contact Centre here in Perth WA.
All options around super decisions are examined based on their impact on your projected income in retirement. If the improvement is not substantial enough to justify any change, there will be an adviser intervention to explain to you what SuperWiser is saying and why.
The object of the exercise is for you to have the information you require to make a decision and not to blind you with marketing jargon.
A Unique Service Without Competition
SuperWiser provides what is known as limited advice, sometimes referred to as personal scaled advice. Limited advice, as the name suggests, is a service which only examines your super and what you are doing to optimise its retirement value. As it is limited advice, it is very much priced as affordable, essentially delivering a high value in super optimisation for a very affordable cost. In addition, future advice around maintaining your established strategy is roughly half the cost of your entry into the application, all fees being charged on a full fee for service basis and not as a deduction from your account.
No other service provider within the financial services sector has the capability of SuperWiser, many product providers being limited to call centre support in providing administrative support only. Most products who provide financial advice only provide full financial planning and not the service most desired by an uninformed market.
Research indicates that full financial advice is only of interest to a proportion of the highest account balances with other assets as distinct from the situation most of us face.
Make A Resolution And Not A Mistake
Start your free Super Review. Should you have any questions, feel free to call 1800 467 467 and talk to our contact centre. You will find us to be very helpful.
Get to know SuperWiser and meet your super future!