Super Guarantee increase to 11% is helping keep up with increasing retirement costs

5 July 2023

On 1 July 2023, the Superannuation Guarantee (SG) rate was increased once more by 0.5%. Your employer is now required to pay a minimum of 11% in to your super, either in addition to your salary or as part of your package, depending on your employment contract.

The SG rate will continue to rise for the next two years by 0.5% until it reaches 12% in 2025.

Although it may seem like a small amount, every additional dollar adds up to a better retirement in the longer term and helps to ensure you keep up with the costs to achieve comfortable retirement standard by age 67.   

In May 2023, the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASFA) lifted its comfortable retirement standard of $70,482 per annum for couples, and $50,004 for single people¹. This latest rise took the annual increase in costs for retirement to 7.7%².

To keep your superannuation on track, the two obvious strategies are to increase your contributions and to ensure you are in the right performing fund according to your risk profile. The government mandated Super Guarantee rise is increasing your contributions, but we still recommend you make sure this is sufficient to realise your retirement dreams. 

Now is the time to think about the 3 Cs:

1. Check – that your retirement is on track. Book a super health check today.
2. Consolidate – bring your different superannuation accounts together to save on fees and maximise returns - find out more about consolidating your super.
3. Contribute – budget and plan now for regular additional tax deductable contributions over and above the 11% Super Guarantee rate - find out more about contributing into super.

If you are unsure of what to do, this is also a great time to invest in professional financial advice. We have recently increased options for members to access professional financial advice for your superannuation planning, where adviser fees can be paid directly from your super account. 

Brighter Super is a Queensland not-for-profit fund with 259,000 members and $29 billion funds under management, and is one of Queensland’s largest non-government financial institutions.