Australians are being reminded to check their superannuation funds to ensure they are maximising results, as experts reveal their best picks for consumers.
Comparison site Finder has shared the winners of its super fund awards for 2023, naming the best of the bunch for key categories including low-fee funds, balanced funds, conservative funds and high-growth funds.
For low fees, Finder experts recommend Hostplus Indexed Balanced, meanwhile Aware Super’s Balanced Socially Conscious option was named best balanced super fund.
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HESTA Conservative took out the best conservative fund and AustralianSuper Conservative Balanced claimed the best conservative balanced option.
Finder says anyone after high growth should switch to UniSuper Sustainable High Growth.
Australian Retirement Trust — International Shares Index (unhedged) was named best single asset classes super fund.
Finder editor-at-large Angus Kidman said there was no “one fund to rule them all” as consumers had different risk preferences depending on their circumstances.
“We want different things from our super at different stages of our life,” he told The Latest.
“When you were younger you might be happier for it to grow and be a bit risky, as you get older you might think, ‘No, I want that to be stable’.”
Kidman said superannuation was not just a matter of set and forget.
“You should definitely be consciously thinking about where your super’s at, even if you’re happy with the fund that you’re with and you’ve seen that that’s what you want, you won’t want it to be the same over your life,” he said.
Switching funds is easier than people expected, Kidman added.
The top gongs come as Finder’s latest research revealed Australians predict they will need almost $650K set aside for a comfortable retirement.
A survey of about 1,000 respondents revealed the average consumer thinks they will need $641,223 saved in superannuation for when they stop working — almost double what the average retiree will likely have.
In reality, the average Australian male aged 60-46 only has $402,838 in super, while women in that age bracket have $318,203, according to the Australian Taxation Office.
“We’re well short of what we think we need and if we’re dreaming of a slightly more glamorous retirement, a few cruises, you need to be aiming to get that higher,” Kidman said.
“You’ve got to try to get that sum as high as possible before you retire so you can have the most comfortable retirement.”
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