Whether you like to go all out with roses and champagne on Valentine’s Day or think it’s an event created by retailers to boost sales in the post-Christmas slump, the time around February 14 can be the perfect occasion to talk to your partner about your super.
Though you and your partner have separate super accounts, you’ll probably be making the most of it in retirement together, so it’s important to know and discuss the basics to help get you on the same page.
Here are some things you and your partner may want to think about this Valentine’s Day:
Swiped right for the last time and off the dating apps for good? If a special someone has come into your life over the last few years, it may be worth reviewing the beneficiaries you’ve nominated to receive your super benefit in the event that you die.
While it’s not exactly the most romantic topic for Valentine’s Day, it’s an important one. There’s a common misconception you can leave your super to anyone but, legally, your super is designed to be passed to your dependants. A dependant could be your spouse, children, financial dependant, or interdependant.
If you die without nominating a beneficiary, Qantas Super will distribute your money between your dependants and/or your estate, via your legal personal representative. Leaving clear instructions about who gets your super, and making sure these instructions are up to date to reflect any big changes in your personal life, is one of the most important things to do.
You can review and update your beneficiaries online.
Most of our members have insurance cover that’s built into their super – this means you’re automatically covered for death (including terminal illness), total and permanent disablement and, depending on your division, income protection.
However, it’s important to review your insurance cover when your personal circumstances change to ensure you have the right level of cover for you. A difference in your personal circumstances, such as a new addition to the family or a new mortgage, for example, could mean your insurance needs change.
Our friendly Helpline can help you work out the level of cover that is right for you and your loved ones by talking through factors like your age, dependants, and financial situation. You can also assess your insurance needs with this calculator:
If your spouse is below preservation age, or between preservation age and 65 years old and not yet retired you can look into whether spouse contribution splitting is right for you.
This would allow you to transfer or roll over a portion of the contributions recently made to your super account, into that of your spouse. Some people like to split contributions when their spouse or de facto is receiving fewer super contributions than they usually do. For example, their spouse may have taken a career break, paternity leave or reduced their working hours to care for a family member. Contributions that can be split include your employer contributions, and salary sacrifice contributions, and after-tax contributions.
You can apply to split contributions by lodging an application with Qantas Super immediately in the financial year in which the contributions were made. The contributions will then be transferred into your spouse’s account.
The rules around how much of your contributions you can split with your spouse may depend on which Division of Qantas Super you’re in. You can learn more in the information booklets for your Division.
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Here at Qantas Super, there’s nothing we love talking about more than superannuation – but even we can acknowledge that’s not exactly the case for most Australians. However, a recent survey found the majority of Australians share a number of core beliefs about the importance of the super system and its effectiveness.
Super was left largely untouched by the government in this year’s Federal Budget ahead of the election, but there are still a couple of changes to super coming into effect on 1 July 2022 that are important to be aware of.
According to the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASFA), around 80 percent of women are currently retiring with insufficient super savings to fund a comfortable lifestyle, with the average balance for women at retirement sitting at around $70,000 less than the average for men. But there are a number of quick, easy things women can do to take control of their super.
If you need help with making a decision about your super, you can get simple advice over the phone or face to face. It’s included as a part of your membership so there’s no extra cost.
