Super (full name: superannuation) is money that you save during your working life to help pay for your retirement. In simple terms, super works as follows:

• A super account is opened for you with a super fund.
• Your employer makes contributions to your account. Plus you can make your own contributions - and under certain conditions you could receive a top-up from the government.
• The money in your account is invested by the super fund - and generally you'll be able to select from a choice of investment options.
• Generally, you can access your super once you reach 'preservation age' and retire.

For more information on the basics of super, read our factsheet.

Originally, industry funds were established to accept and manage super contributions for a particular industry – for example, REST was established as the super fund for retail industry workers. However, these days most industry funds are open to everyone. 

Generally, industry funds are run to profit members, don’t pay commissions to financial advisers and offer low fees – which could mean more money for you when you retire.

We often get account enquiries from someone other then the account holder – for example a parent or guardian.

If you’re not the account holder, we can give you general, publicly available information – for example, information that’s in our Product Disclosure Statement or on our website.

If you’d like to discuss account-specific information, for example an account balance, we need authorisation from the account holder. This is to safeguard the privacy of their account.

When you phone us – and as long as the account holder is with you and provides permission – we can discuss their account with you.

To have ongoing enquiry access to someone else’s account, we need to hold written authorisation which has been signed by the account holder. This can be mailed to REST, PO Box 350, Parramatta NSW 2124.

Generally, your employer is required to pay super for you – referred to as ‘employer contributions’ and equivalent to 9% of your ordinary time earnings – if you are:

• between 18 and 70 years old, and
• paid at least $450 (before tax) in a calendar month.

If you’re under 18, to receive employer contributions you must:

• work more than 30 hours per week and
• be paid at least $450 (before tax) in a calendar month.

Your employer is required to pay your super quarterly, though most employers who pay into REST contribute monthly.

Through ‘choice of fund’ legislation, many employees can choose which super fund they’d like their employer contributions paid into. However, this benefit doesn’t extend to everyone and some industrial agreements/awards prescribe a certain super fund that you must belong to. First, check with your new employer whether you can choose your super fund.

If you’re allowed to choose, you can tell your employer you’d like your super paid into your REST account. And to make the process easy, REST has the standard choice form and letter of compliance that you can give to your new employer.

For more information on choice of fund, visit the Australian Tax Office’s website.

For most people, the answer is no.

If you haven’t reached preservation age, the few circumstances enabling access to your super include:

• Severe financial hardship
  REST does not release super on this basis – though some funds do
• Compassionate grounds
  Your application must be made through APRA – phone 1300 13 10 60
• Terminal illness
• Total and permanent disablement.

Once you reach preservation age and retire, you can access your super.

There are a couple of ways you can take your super:

• Cash out your super as a lump sum – though for some people this isn’t the most prudent way of managing their retirement nest egg.
• Convert your super to a pension, which provides you with regular income payments. A pension allows you to manage your income and spending, and helps to maximise the length of time your super lasts. REST offers a pension with discounted fees for long term members.

For more information on accessing your super, read our factsheet or consider speaking to a financial adviser.