With so much of our working lives focused on building up our super, it can be a surprise to get to retirement and realise there’s more you can do with your balance than simply spend it.

Unless you withdraw your balance and bury it in the backyard, your super will be invested in some way.

Depending on how it’s invested, your super can continue to grow significantly after retirement – up to 60 per cent of a member’s wealth is earned through investment during retirement¹.

Of course, investing your super in retirement isn’t exactly the same as investing it while you’re working. Here are a few things to consider:

¹Russell Investments: ‘The 10/30/60 Rule’, January, 2015

Just as you would when investing your super during your working life, one of the most important things to consider is your time horizon, or how long you expect to keep your money invested.

According to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, men aged 65 in 2015-17 have a life expectancy of almost 85, while women aged 65 have a life expectancy of 87.

So while many of us may think of the day we retire as the day we reach the end of our investment time horizon, it’s important to remember that you may still have 20 to 30 years to invest in retirement.

Each of our investment options is specifically created with a different return objective and suggested investment timeframe in mind, to appeal to investors with different attitudes to risk and time to spend in the market.

There are two ways you can invest your super in retirement with Qantas Super: you can either keep your balance in its regular super account or transfer it to an income account as a retirement member.

The account you choose can impact the way you’re able to invest your super:

There are two ways you can invest your super in retirement with Qantas Super – you can either:

1. Keep your balance in its regular super account; or
2. Transfer it to an income account as a retirement member.

The account you choose can impact the way you’re able to invest your super.

If you keep your balance in your regular super account, you can invest it in the same range of tailored investment options you’re already familiar with. However, your investment earnings will be taxed in this type of account.

Meanwhile, an income account offers the same range of options you’re familiar with from your super account. If you prefer to take control, you can choose to invest in one or a mix of these options.

If you’d prefer to sit back and let your account do the heavy lifting, you can invest through an option called Autopilot. This will see 15% of your initial investment put in our Cash option, and 85% into our automated investment strategy, Glidepath.

You won’t pay tax on your investment earnings as a retirement member.