Once you're working, it doesn't take long for your commitments to build. Growing financial and personal commitments are just a part of life. It's easy to lose sight of the value of super when you're pre-occupied with meeting day-to-day needs. Your personal and financial commitments in life derive from your circumstances and will change throughout your working life, right up to retirement.

Financial commitments

Your financial commitments will change dramatically over the course of your life, usually linked to your relationships, investments, career path and so on. Due to the number of possible financial scenarios, there is no one, all-encompassing solution for your super.

However, the principles of saving and investing in super are no different than those that apply outside – except perhaps the discipline of saving is easier because of preservation rules that don’t allow you to withdraw your money until you satisfy a condition of release.

Your ever-changing financial and personal commitments mean you should regularly check out your super, including your insurance cover, to make sure it is on track to provide for your present and future needs.

Family responsibilities

Family responsibilities are an important part of your financial planning and have a particular focus in super, as your family members usually comprise your list of dependants. Establishing your current financial commitments can be relatively easy. But there is a new level of complexity when it comes to calculating how much your family would need to see them through life if you died or were unable to work.

This involves taking into account future housing, educational, health and lifestyle costs. All of these are affected by inflation, meaning a dollar in the future might not buy as much as it does now. These considerations are particularly important to two things - the amount of insurance cover you need, and the sort of retirement income you are aiming for.

But super can contribute to peace of mind during your working life as well as to your retirement savings. You can access competitively priced insurance to cover the financial needs of you and your family during short or long-term illness or injury.

As you advance through your career, super can contribute to wealth creation by providing a tax-effective savings and investment vehicle. It should certainly form a part of any good financial plan.

Getting advice

Our information and services can help you stay in control of your super and your future. If you would like to speak to an Equipsuper Financial Planner about your options, please call 1800 065 753, or you can visit the Equipsuper Financial Planning website.