What superannuation details do I give to my employer?

When you start a job, your employer will request you provide the details of your chosen superannuation fund. To do so, you will need to fill out what’s called a ‘superannuation standard choice form’, and provide some personal details.

It’s worth keeping in mind that you can stay with your employer’s superannuation fund, with contributions paid into a fund chosen by your employer. If you do not already have a super fund, and you’ve compared your options and prefer your employer's fund, it may be worth disregarding this form.

Keep in mind to never seek financial advice from your employer unless they are licensed to provide it, and always compare your options before choosing any financial product – especially a superannuation fund. The wrong choice could cost you severely in lost retirement funds, and fees.

The superannuation details to provide to an employer

If you have chosen to fill out the superannuation standard choice form, you will need to provide your employer with the following:

Information about you

• Your full name
• Tax file number (TFN) - while it’s not a legal obligation, it will ensure your contributions will be taxed at the (lower) superannuation rate.
• Employee identification number, if applicable

Information about your superannuation fund

• The name of your preferred superannuation fund
• The fund’s address
• The fund’s Australian business number (ABN)
• Your member number, if applicable
• The fund’s superannuation product identification number (SPIN)
• The fund’s phone number
• Appropriate documentation
  • letter from the fund trustee confirming that the fund is a complying fund;
  • or written evidence from the fund stating it will accept contributions from your new employer;
  • or details about how your employer can make contributions to the fund

What does my employer do with my super information?

Your employer will use your superannuation standard choice form to ensure that it makes payment to the correct, nominated fund by the due date. Your employer has two months to action your request after you have provided them with this information.

After two months if you have not received superannuation payments into your nominated fund, it may be worth reaching out to the employer. If this is an ongoing issue, it’s worth speaking to the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) about potentially reporting unpaid super contributions from your employer.

Find lost super or pay the price

If you’ve been working for some time, you may have had multiple superannuation funds opened on your behalf, all of which are being charged fees on your retirement savings.

Think of the smaller jobs you had at school or university – you may not have paid much attention to your employer paying you super when you were younger. Nowadays, the money you earned towards your retirement could be being drained by pesky admin fees – and you’re none the wiser.

From 1 July 2019, super providers were required to pay inactive low-balance accounts to the ATO. However, it’s still worth double checking that parts of your retirement nest egg aren’t scattered across multiple funds.

The ATO advises you can search for lost super:

• online using myGov;
• by phoning the ATO’s lost super search line; or
• by completing a paper form.

Compare super funds