Super for Beginners articles are a great starting point for anyone beginning their superannuation journey, or beginning their super education. You can find the answers to questions that you may have been afraid to ask, or not known to ask. You can also ask your own questions, which helps us build the Beginners section of SuperGuide, and helps our many thousands of readers.
The following articles refer to Super for Beginners and superannuation.
Q: I have a rental property unit I owe approximately $190,000 to the bank and I would like to know if I can invest my $60,000 super into the unit to reduce my payments to the bank?
Superannuation is subject to special access rules called preservation. What this means is that you [...]
Q: Hi I am 58 years old. Apparently you can get a lump sum of super before 60 if you have permanently retired. Can you still later look for work again? How do you prove you have permanently retired?
The question that you ask is in the top 10 questions that [...]
Q: I am an Australian citizen living in the UK and I have an Australian super fund accumulated from 1986-1992 and now growing with investment earnings over time. Additionally, I continue to hold bank accounts in Australia. I am 52 and I intend retiring at age 60. When I [...]
Q: I am 41 years old and my partner is 56 years old. We have a very big mortgage as we are both the casualties of wealth destroying divorces and single parenthood! Thus we intend to pay off our mortgage before putting more into our superannuation which will therefore be after [...]
Q: I have been made redundant and would like to know if any contribution in super is tax deductible while I’m unemployed even if I would find work in the next couple of weeks?
Q: I never understood the term ‘superannuation’. Is that our money or government money? If it is our money why can’t we do whatever we want with it. Isn’t it illegal to cut our rights when it comes to this matter?
Trish’s response: I agree with you that the term ’superannuation’ is [...]
Q: Hi, I am inquiring on behalf of my son who is unable to work at this stage of his life. It has been three years since he worked. He doesn’t have much in the fund and it is going down every year. Is there any way to stop the bleeding of his funds? [...]
Q: I checked my statement and I put an extra $10 per week into my super and each time an amount is put in, it has been taxed. Is this right? I thought that my contributions were tax-free?
Q: I am 16 years of age. I still go to school but I have just started my first part-time job. Do I get any superannuation? And if I do, where does it go?
Trish’s response: Congratulations on your first job. You ask two questions about your super entitlements.
Am I eligible for [...]
Q: I’m new to Australia and I have absolutely no idea where to start with my super in order to have the best outcome 40 years from now. So far, I have had my super spread through about 3 different industry super funds, as organised by temp agencies. I know this is not the way [...]
Hi - I'm Trish Power and I am the author of Superannuation For Dummies and many other books on super and investing.And guess what! This site, SuperGuide, is the only INDEPENDENT website for consumers on superannuation in Australia. Read more