Difference between Centrelink pension payments and Superannuation
1. Centrelink payments:
- Eligibility for this payment is mainly related to your age. For most of us, the age will likely be between 67 and 70.
- The amount is not much. Today, a single person would get around $750 a week. For a couple, I think the amount would be around $1,200 a week.
- If you leave Australia, the payments would stop (I think after 3 months)
Please, refer to the details on the government website:
https://www.servicesaustralia.gov.au/age-pension
2. Superannuation (Super for short)
- It is an accumulation of payments deducted from your salary (or deposited by you) into an investment account.
- It is your own money. You get as much as you deposited (or was deducted from your salary) plus the profit on this money. Generally speaking, over 30 years, your money would double. So, if you deposited (over 30 years) a total of around $100K, at the end of the 30 years, they would be around $200K. You can pay more than what your employer is paying for you.
- Super can only be used after you become 60 years old.
- What you can do with it depends on the fund of your Super. Check their policy carefully. Moreover, there are important differences in how tax is calculated - depending on how you use your Super (lump sum withdrawal, investment, etc.)
- you don't need to be in Australia to use your Super
- in many cases, your Will does not apply to Superannuation. Make sure you check your fund about their regulations in this regard.
- When choosing a Super fund, make sure you understand their administration fees, and the risk involved in the investment option you select
- If you have multiple Super accounts (possibly created because of working in different organisations), make sure you combine them into one. This saves on unnecessary administration fees. The government provides a service to help you with that.
https://moneysmart.gov.au/how-super-works/consolidating-super-funds
You need to check the ATO website for details about Superannuation:
https://www.ato.gov.au/individuals/super/
THIS IS NOT A FINANCIAL ADVICE. IT IS ONLY GENERAL INFORMATION, WHICH I GATHERED. IT MIGHT NOT APPLY TO YOU. YOU NEED TO REFER TO A FINANCIAL ADVISER BEFORE MAKING ANY DECISIONS.