Superannuation FAQs

Not everyone does. If your super is in a low-cost default fund, your balance is modest, and you're decades from retirement, you may be fine without one. The case for advice strengthens as your balance grows, your circumstances become more complex, or you approach key decision points — selecting investments inside super, considering an SMSF, structuring contributions tax-effectively, or transitioning to retirement. The question to ask yourself is whether the cost of getting it wrong over twenty or thirty years outweighs the cost of getting it right.

Cost depends on what the advice involves. A simple strategy review is straightforward to scope; advice that covers multiple funds, an SMSF, contribution strategy, retirement modelling, or estate considerations takes more work and reflects that. Our approach is to first understand what's actually involved in your circumstances, then provide transparent, upfront pricing before any work begins.

A review is worth considering whenever your circumstances change materially — a new role or salary, marriage or divorce, an inheritance, the sale of a business, or approaching retirement. Most people benefit from a structured review every two to three years even if nothing has changed, because legislation, fund performance, and your risk profile all evolve. The closer you are to retirement, the more frequently a review pays off — small adjustments at sixty have a much larger impact than the same adjustments at forty.

Often yes, but not always. Consolidating reduces duplicate fees and simplifies management. The factors that matter are the insurance you'd lose by closing accounts (life, TPD, income protection cover inside super is often cheaper than retail equivalents), exit fees on legacy products, and whether one of your funds has performance or features the others don't. Consolidating into the wrong fund is worse than not consolidating at all — the decision should be based on which fund best fits your strategy, not which is most convenient.

Industry funds are member-owned, typically lower-cost, and offer a small number of pre-set investment options. Retail funds are run by financial institutions and tend to offer broader investment choice with higher fees. A self-managed super fund (SMSF) is a fund you control directly, with up to six members, allowing investment in direct shares, property, and assets not available through other structures. SMSFs require active management and typically make sense once your combined balance exceeds $400,000-$500,000, where the fixed costs of running the fund become economic relative to the investment flexibility gained.

The right fund depends on what you're trying to optimise. Long-term net returns after fees and tax matter more than headline returns. Insurance held inside super can be meaningfully cheaper than retail cover but varies in quality between funds. Investment options should match your risk profile and timeframe — a default balanced option may be too conservative if you're under forty, or too aggressive if you're approaching retirement. Fees matter, but only in context — a fund with slightly higher fees and consistently better net returns is the better choice.