Checking your super fees is a reading exercise, not a shopping exercise. The aim is to find the fees your own fund has disclosed, understand what each one pays for, and see how they interact with your balance and your investment option. This guide follows the steps set out in Moneysmart's guidance on choosing a super fund and points you to the ATO's YourSuper comparison tool as a source of disclosed figures. It does not rank funds or name a "best" option, because the right answer depends on your balance, your option and your circumstances.
The three fee categories to look for
Moneysmart's guide to choosing a super fund advises you to "look at the administration, investment and any other fees and how often they are charged". That gives you a simple framework:
- Administration fees cover the running of your account — statements, member services, and general fund administration.
- Investment fees relate to managing the money itself — the cost of managing the assets your super is invested in.
- Other fees is the catch-all. Anything that does not fit the first two categories should still be disclosed, and this is where activity-based or service-based charges often sit.
The second half of that sentence matters as much as the first. A fee charged monthly is not directly comparable to a fee charged annually or on each transaction until you put both on the same time basis. When you read a disclosure document, write down the amount and the frequency next to it.
Two other things are worth recording as practical interpretation, not as figures: a fee expressed as a percentage moves with your balance, while a flat dollar fee does not, so a flat fee takes a relatively larger share of a small balance. And every dollar paid in fees is a dollar not left invested in your account, so fees and investment returns are two sides of the same balance.
Where the disclosed numbers actually live
Start with the documents your fund already sends you. Your annual statement and the product disclosure statement for your investment option are where fees are set out, alongside the fund's website disclosures. If you have more than one account — common if you have changed jobs — check each one separately, because fees can differ between accounts in the same fund.
Then use the official tool. The ATO publishes the YourSuper comparison tool, which is designed to let you compare super funds on disclosed fees and performance. Use it to read the disclosed figures side by side for the option you are actually in, rather than a headline figure for the fund as a whole.
If you are choosing a fund for the first time, Moneysmart's guidance also suggests checking the investment options on offer "to ensure there's something that matches your risk tolerance and time to retirement". Fees and options are read together: a different investment option inside the same fund can carry a different fee, so comparing funds without comparing options can mislead you.
| Document or tool | What to record |
|---|---|
| Annual statement | Fees actually charged to your account over the year, by category |
| Product disclosure statement for your option | The disclosed administration, investment and other fees, and the charging frequency |
| Fund website | Current fee disclosures and any insurance premiums |
| ATO YourSuper comparison tool | Disclosed fees and performance for the funds you are comparing |
Don't forget insurance inside super
Fees are not the only thing taken out of your account. Moneysmart's guidance says to "check what insurance cover you get automatically, the premiums (cost), and any exclusions or waiting periods that may apply".
Automatic cover means you may be paying premiums without having actively applied for the cover. Work through three questions: what cover do I have by default, what does it cost per year, and does it actually apply to me given the exclusions and waiting periods? Insurance premiums sit alongside fees as a deduction from your balance, so a complete picture of "what super costs you" includes both.
Performance and the underperformance notice
Fees are only meaningful next to returns. Moneysmart notes that your super fund must let you know if it underperforms under the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority's (APRA) performance arrangements. If you receive such a notice, treat it as information about your fund's performance, not as advice to act immediately — and read it alongside the fee figures you have just collected.
The ATO's tool also presents performance alongside fees, which lets you look at both parts of the same question rather than fees in isolation.
If you never chose a fund
Many people are in a fund they did not actively pick. According to Moneysmart, if you don't choose a super fund, your employer checks with the ATO to see if you already have one. That means your super may have followed you to your first job and stayed there for years — another reason to check the fees you are paying now rather than assuming they reflect a decision you made.
Questions to verify with your fund
The guidance above tells you what to look for; these are the questions to put to your fund or to check in its documents. Confirm them yourself, because the answers depend on your account:
- What are my administration, investment and other fees, and how often is each charged?
- Which investment option am I in, and what are the fees for that specific option?
- What insurance cover do I have automatically, what do the premiums cost, and what exclusions or waiting periods apply?
- Has my fund notified me of underperformance, and for which option?
- Am I paying fees or premiums on more than one account?
Your next step
Pick one account — usually the one your employer is paying into today — and complete the table above for it. That takes the figures from your statement, your option's disclosure and the ATO YourSuper comparison tool, and gives you one page of verified numbers for your own fund. Once you have that, you can decide whether the next step is to review your investment option, ask your fund about insurance, consolidate multiple accounts, or simply leave things as they are. Each of those has its own consequences, and none is required just because you have read your fees.
General information only
This article is general information published by Australian Today. It is not personalised legal, tax, superannuation or financial advice, and it does not take account of your objectives, financial situation or needs. Australian Today is not a super fund, a lender, a broker, a government body or a regulator. Fee and performance figures change, so rely on your fund's own disclosures and the official Moneysmart and ATO sources linked above for current information. Both the ATO and Moneysmart note that if their information does not fully cover your circumstances, or you are unsure how it applies to you, you should contact them or seek professional advice.