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Home / Super funds / Super fund fees / Super fees and returns calculator

Super fees and returns calculator

October 2, 2019 by Barbara Drury 1 Comment

Reading time: 1 minute

Hands up if you know what fees your super fund charges? No idea? You’re not alone.

Most super fund members are aware that being in a fund with superior investment performance will mean a bigger retirement balance. One of the key findings of the Productivity Commission report on super was the negative effect being in a dud fund can have on your retirement balance.

The Productivity Commission found:


“…being defaulted into a single top-performing MySuper product would lift the retirement balance of the median 55 year old by up to $61,000 when they retire, compared to being defaulted into two underperforming products. For a new workforce entrant today, the gain would amount to $407,000 by the time they retire in 2064.”


What’s not so well-known is the impact of fees.

Your super fund might have above average investment returns, but if it charges above average fees you could retire with less money than someone in a fund with similar returns but lower fees.

Are you with a top performing super fund?

Click here to compare more than 90 Australian super funds, including returns, fees, features, awards and more.

Take this example:


Harry, 30, earns $80,000 a year and has a super balance of $50,000.

His current fund charges 2% of his account balance in fees and charges.

If he retires at 65, his balance will be $479,953 (assuming average annual returns of 7%).

If he were to switch to a fund offering similar performance but fees of 1%, his retirement balance would be $600,205.

That’s a difference of $120,252!

While a 1% difference in fees may not seem like much, it certainly adds up over time.


Even small differences of 0.2% or 0.5% may feel trivial now, but the effect on your retirement could be far from trivial.

For example, if your super account balance is $200,000 and your super fund charges you $2,000 a year, that works out to be a 1% fee on your super balance. If you super fund charges 1.5%, then the super fees work out to be $3,000 a year. The extra $1,000 a year in fees can add up. If your super account balance is $400,000, then the difference in costs between the two funds is $2,000 a year – nearly $40 extra a week.

Wouldn’t it be great if you could see the real impact of fees on your super account? With this in mind, we have created the SuperGuide Super Fees and Return Calculator that enables you to project a future super balance based on your current super balance, salary, age and desired retirement age.

You can then easily see the difference that fees and average rates of return can make on your projected super balance on retirement. The Fees and Average rate of return have sliders so you easily change their value in 0.1% increments.


Super tips: If you have difficulty finding the fee percentage your super fund charges you, your super fund will often specify the dollar amount of fees it charges you. You can work out the fee percentage by dividing the dollar amount quoted in fees by your account balance. You can also see the difference additional super contributions could make.

The SuperGuide Super Fees and Returns Calculator also allows you to compare two different fees and average rates of return at the same time. To compare a second fund, click the button next to “Add another fund to compare?”.

When comparing funds and fees, it’s important to compare like with like. The level of fees will depend on the investment options you choose and your account balance, as well as your choice of fund.


Super fees and returns calculator

Show more…


Note: Results are shown in ‘today’s dollars‘ and are adjusted for inflation in terms of a 2% per year rise in the cost of living, and a 1.2% per year rise additional rise in living standards.

The Superannuation Guarantee is based on 9.5% only, and does not factor in the legislated increases from 1 July 2021.


Are you with a top performing super fund?

Click here to compare more than 90 Australian super funds, including returns, fees, features, awards and more.

Learn more about retirement calculators and reckoners in the following SuperGuide articles:

Annual super fund performance Reckoner: Annual returns for 5 investment categories

January 19, 2021

Age Pension calculator: How much could you be eligible for?

September 18, 2020

Super to income Reckoner

February 18, 2020

Income from super Reckoner

February 18, 2020

Retirement age calculator: When can you access your super or the Age Pension?

August 7, 2019

How reliable are retirement income calculators?

August 1, 2019

Learn more about super fees in the following SuperGuide articles:

Super fund fees: Do lower fees mean better net returns?

February 19, 2021

Super and pension funds with the lowest fees

February 16, 2021

Super funds with the lowest fees for life and TPD insurance

January 20, 2021

Super funds with the lowest fees for income protection insurance

January 20, 2021

What does it cost to run an SMSF?

December 2, 2020

10 key super fund fees: What are they and why am I paying them?

November 20, 2019

What are average super fund fees?

July 8, 2019

Learn more about super fund performance in the following SuperGuide articles:

Super fund performance: Monthly returns to January 2021

February 16, 2021

Monthly super fund performance Reckoner: Monthly returns for 5 investment categories

February 16, 2021

Pension fund performance to December 2020

February 16, 2021

Super fund performance over 28 calendar years (to December 2020)

January 19, 2021

Annual super fund performance Reckoner: Annual returns for 5 investment categories

January 19, 2021

What are lifecycle super funds, and how do they perform?

September 16, 2020

Superannuation funds: Does size really matter?

June 3, 2019

Fund Performance: SMSFs vs APRA super funds

May 7, 2019

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IMPORTANT: All information on SuperGuide is general in nature only and does not take into account your personal objectives, financial situation or needs. You should consider whether any information on SuperGuide is appropriate to you before acting on it. If SuperGuide refers to a financial product you should obtain the relevant product disclosure statement (PDS) or seek personal financial advice before making any investment decisions. Comments provided by readers that may include information relating to tax, superannuation or other rules cannot be relied upon as advice. SuperGuide does not verify the information provided within comments from readers. Learn more

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Peter says

    June 28, 2018 at 8:08 pm

    It is astonishing the difference in the final super balance.
    I heard in US the average management fee is 0.04 a huge
    difference to our ‘s. Thank you for all the work you did.
    Peter

    Reply

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Important: Disclaimer

All information on SuperGuide is general in nature only and does not take into account your personal objectives, financial situation or needs.

You should consider whether any information on SuperGuide is appropriate to you before acting on it.

If SuperGuide refers to a financial product you should obtain the relevant product disclosure statement (PDS) or seek personal financial advice before making any investment decisions.

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