Changing jobs and your superannuation

Changing jobs can involve a lot of change and paperwork. But it’s also a great time to be proactive about managing your super and making sure it’s set up to benefit you.

On average Australians will move jobs every 3.3 years¹ . That’s a lot of jobs in a lifetime, and in the past, may have meant ending up with multiple super funds and multiple sets of fees.

The good news is, on 1 November 2021 the Federal Government brought in super stapling reforms, which basically means, in most cases your existing super account will follow you from job-to-job. So, no more new super accounts being opened for you when you start a new job, unless you ask for it specifically.

Leaving an AMP employer plan

If you have a super account in your employer’s AMP super plan and you decide to leave your job, then your super account will generally stay open, but there may be some changes to it once you’re no longer part of an employer plan. These changes include:

• Your account number - Depending on the arrangement with your employer, you may receive a new account number. We’ll let you know if this happens.
• Fees and costs - Any fee discounts or additional contributions your employer was making to cover fees on your behalf, will stop once you leave your employer. After you leave, the new fee rate will be deducted from your account. We’ll let you know what the new fees and costs will be.
• Your insurance - Any insurance you hold through your super account may stop, or the cost of it may increase as it’s no longer eligible for employer discount rates.

Once your employer has let us know you no longer work for them, we’ll be in touch to let you know what the changes to your account are. You can also find out more in your member guide.

Starting a new job

When you start a new job, you’ll be presented with a couple of different options for where you’d like your super contributions to be paid. These options may include:

• Your new employer’s sponsored super account – where they may have negotiated a special deal for their employees.
• A super account of your choice – this could be a super account you already have or a new account.
  

To choose which super fund your employer pays your contributions to, you can fill out a choice of fund form and provide it to your employer. If you don’t fill out this form, your employer will need to ask the ATO for details of your stapled fund, and they will put your super contributions into that account for you. If you don’t have a stapled fund, your employer will pay your super contributions to their nominated super fund.

The ATO works out what your stapled fund is using a range of criteria including your most recent contributions and account balance. Learn more.

What to consider when choosing a super plan

Choosing a super fund that’s right for you can have a big impact on the amount of money you retire with. Here are some things to consider when comparing different funds:

• Benefits in your new employer sponsored plan - Find out about your new employer’s sponsored super fund to see if it’s right for you. Often employer sponsored plans include negotiated benefits on behalf of their employees.
• Fees and costs – There are a range of fees and costs associated with different types of super accounts and it can get complicated. If you’re struggling to compare, ask the super provider to provide you with a clear breakdown. Many super providers offer a simple, low-cost super investment option known as MySuper . You can compare MySuper fees and costs via the ATO YourSuper comparison tool.
• Fund performance – While past performance doesn't necessarily guarantee future performance, it does provide one way to help you compare different super accounts. If your fund offers MySuper and you don’t nominate an investment option, chances are it will be invested in a MySuper investment option (a simple, cost effective and balanced default investment option). You can compare MySuper performance via the ATO YourSuper comparison tool
• Insurance - It's important to understand how changing super funds may impact your insurance benefits. Before making any changes, it’s a good idea to compare the cover provided by your current fund, with the cover available in your employer’s fund, as well as other super funds you’re considering. Make sure to include the premiums you’ll pay in your comparison, these will come out of your super account. There may also be eligibility requirements or age limits that apply. Learn more

Reviewing your super

Super isn’t set and forget. Changing jobs can be a timely reminder to review your super and make sure it’s still appropriate for you.

On top of checking on your insurance and investments, you may also want to consider things like your beneficiaries, finding lost super, whether you’ve provided your tax file number and topping up your super. It may also be a good time to consider consolidating your super, as having one super account can mean less fees and less paperwork, making it easy to keep track of your money. Before you consolidate though, make sure you check whether you want to keep any of the features or benefits you have in your other super funds (like insurance) as once they’re closed, you’ll lose these features.

Learn more about reviewing your super

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