SelectingSuper - 2006 SSHB_Super Choice Checklist

Have you read the latest information booklets (called a PDS - product disclosure statement), the latest annual reports, and have you visited their websites lately?
Do you understand how your super fund, or the ones you are thinking of joining, actually work and are you comfortable with the organisations running them? Think you do? Then test yourself by explaining how they work to a friend or relative.
Do the funds' annual member statements make sense, are they easy to understand, do they contain all the information you need to monitor your investments, your total fees and insurances, and are they delivered to you in reasonable time each year?
If your current fund, or funds you are thinking of joining, offer investment choices, do you need all the choices, do you understand how they all work and how they are different to eachother, and do you understand who will manage the money invested in each option?
How do the investment returns stack-up against other super funds and against other market and sector averages? Is your fund, or the fund you are thinking of oining, performing reasonably over the longer term, eg scoring at least around average?
What TOTAL fees are you paying each year, and are you comfortable you are getting a reasonable deal? Remember that the more fees you pay usually the more investment and insurance options you get and the more support you should get from a financial adviser.
If your super fund, or a fund you are thinking of joining, has automatic compulsory insurance, is this insurance adequate for you and your family and is it competitively priced? If you need extra insurance, is it flexible enough for you, do the terms and conditions contain any hidden surprises, and are the premiums competitively priced?
If you are thinking of changing super funds, is the insurance deal of the new fund better or worse than the deal you already have and will you be automatically accepted for cover in the new fund?
Does your super fund have a reasonable range of extra benefits and services that you will actually use? For example, can you access your account details using the fund’s website?
Have you “road tested” the call centre of your super fund, or the funds you are thinking of joining, by simply calling them up to ask some simple questions? Were they helpful, did they explain things in a way you could actually understand, did they send you the information they promised, and did they take you seriously? If not, its not a good sign.

Remember also, that if you have super in more than one super fund, maybe you should also think about consolidating them into your favourite fund.

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