Each year, you’ll get an email from us letting you know that your statement is ready to download. We know it’s tempting to just archive this email away without giving it a second thought, but your statement is an important document to read and understand each year.

Your annual statement is designed to help you check in on the most important aspects of your super and make sure it’s all working as it should be.

Here are a few things to look at:

This is arguably the most exciting part of your statement: being able to see how your super balance has grown from one year to the next. This is shown in a graph on page 1, with a table opposite showing the money that came into your account (your contributions) and any money that came out (for example, any admin fees, insurance premiums, and government taxes).

It will also show you how much your balance grew from investment earnings over the financial year, which is a nice way to see the power of compound interest in action.

Your statement will display a number of the personal details we have on file for you, including your postal address and your email address (if we have it). While most of our members receive their statement via email, it’s important to check whether the postal address displayed is correct, in case we ever need to send you anything via post.

If you’ve received your statement via post because we don’t have your email, you can log into your account online to give us your email.

Meanwhile, if you’ve got your work email listed, we recommend that you consider switching to a personal email address, so you can keep track of your super no matter where life takes you.

Just like a bank account, it’s handy to know what’s coming in and going out of your super. Your transactions listings will show contributions from your employer, any voluntary contributions you have made, and deductions such as insurance premiums and administration fees.

If you’re currently employed at the Qantas Group and have a secondary employer outside the Qantas Group, it’s worthwhile checking that your contributions from this employer have come through, particularly if your employer pays contributions quarterly.

Insurance cover is an important aspect of superannuation. Depending on the type of cover you have at Qantas Super, the level of cover you have may change with factors such as your salary and your age, so it’s important to check your cover on your statement to make sure it still suits your needs.

Your statement will detail how your super is invested, with this broken down in several ways. It will display the option, or options, that your current balance is invested in, and how much of your balance is invested in each option. It will also show what percentage of your future contributions will be allocated to particular investment options.

Your beneficiaries are the people you nominate to receive your super benefit if something should happen to you. Your statement will display whether you have nominated any beneficiaries, and if so, whether you’ve made a binding or non-binding nomination. It will also state the names of your beneficiaries and the percentage of your benefit you’ve specified each beneficiary will receive.

These are fees Qantas Super incurs in the management of our investment options, such as investment manager base fees, investment manager performance fees, brokerage, and stamp duty. These fees are not deducted directly from your account balance like an administration fee; rather, they may take the form of reduced earnings that are passed on to you via credited interest rates.