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Industry Super

Career Break Projection Calculator

There are all sorts of reasons for taking a break from your job. Whether you’re in your 30s, 40s or 50s, raising a family, caring for a loved one or just taking unpaid leave for your own wellbeing, a career gap – and loss of regular income – can affect your super.

Our career break calculator can give you a good estimate of what that cost might be.

Taking a career break?

See how this will affect your super

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What happens to my super?
Assumptions

You'll miss out on XX,XXX super contributions

That could mean XX,XXX less at retirement

Balance at retirement with a career break XXX,XXX

Balance at retirement without a career break XXX,XXX

But don't worry, there are ways to keep your super on track while you're not working

What can I do?
Assumptions

Three options to keep your super on track

Salary sacrifice into your super before you take your break (saves tax too)

Salary sacrifice extra $ into your super while you are working and then you’ll have more money to enjoy in retirement.

Learn more

Get your partner to add to your super

If your partner adds to your super they can get a tax offset while also helping to keep your super growing.

Learn more

If you have multiple super accounts, roll them into one so you can save on fees

Extra accounts can cost $50,000 by the time you retire*. Now is the right time to roll your other accounts into one super account.

Learn more

Check again Assumptions
Assumptions

Assumptions

The retirement balance outcome uses an actuary projection and the following assumptions, some of which you can change:

Investment returns
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Inflation
Fees
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Fixed assumptions

  • Full time is considered to be five days or more per week.
  • The missing super contributions figure is calculated according to the time you will be away from work plus any period thereafter where you are working less days than before you took your career break.
  • This calculator works for accumulation funds only. It will not work for defined benefit funds.
  • This calculator does not allow self-employed people to project their retirement balance.
  • Outcome is based on your contributions being made annually, at the mid-year point, on your fees being deducted annually, insurance premiums being charged annually and your investment returns being credited to your account annually.
  • We assume that your super is invested in a balanced option. Investment returns can be adjusted above.
  • Contribution tax of 15% is applied to the missing super contributions figure.
  • Superannuation Guarantee Contribution is currently 9.5% and then increases to 12% as per current legislation.
  • Retirement age is set at 67.
  • Voluntary additional contributions are not accounted for.
  • No tax is payable on fees.
  • We assume that insurance premiums are tax deductible within super.
  • We assume that you have provided your Tax File Number to your superannuation fund.
  • All amounts are in today’s dollars and are adjusted for an assumed annual inflation rate of 2%. In addition, a further annual increase of 1% is included to take into account the cost of meeting increases in community living standards. This means a total assumed inflation rate of 3% is allowed for. You can adjust that rate.
  • We assume that you will satisfy the Work test at older ages and so are able to contribute.

Disclaimer

Your retirement outcome will be affected by many things including the amount of contributions you make, fees, investment returns and regulatory changes. Some factors that may affect your retirement outcomes may not have been taken into account.

This tool is not intended to be relied upon for the purposes of making a financial decision. Consider a fund's PDS and your objectives, financial situation and needs, which are not accounted for in this information before making an investment decision. You are responsible for your own investment decisions and should obtain specific, individual advice from a financial services licensee before making any financial decisions.