Why understanding your partner’s super matters

We were both professionals in our own right, and we each had our own superannuation accounts. I didn’t know anything about his, and he didn’t know anything about mine.

Fast forward several years – we’re married, we have two daughters in primary school, with our eldest about to start high school – and we’re at a point in life where we’re starting to think more seriously about the future.

That included some big conversations about what was best for our family, particularly whether my husband should stay in Defence or transition out after more than 25 years of service.

Those weren’t small decisions.

They were decisions about our family’s future – about stability, lifestyle, and income – both now and in retirement.

As we started having those conversations, we began looking more closely at our superannuation. 

I’d always been engaged with my own super and was conscious that my balance was significantly lower than his when comparing our annual statements. I’d taken time out of the workforce to have our children and made compromises in my career to support my husband’s ongoing service. All of that had an impact.

It became clear that, in reality, it would largely be my husband’s super that we’d be relying on in retirement. And that’s when I realised – I didn’t actually know very much about his super at all.

I knew that military superannuation schemes were different from industry super funds, but I didn’t understand what that meant in practical terms. I didn’t know how his super worked, what benefits were attached to it, or what would happen if he was no longer serving. Could he stay in the same scheme? How would his super change? What would that mean for us?

We stopped and really looked at it together, and how it would shape our family’s future.

I realised how important it was to understand my husband’s super because, without that, I couldn’t fully understand what those decisions about his Defence career would mean for our family.

“I realised how important it was to understand my husband’s super because, without that, I couldn’t fully understand what those decisions about his Defence career would mean for our family.”

Ways to better understand you and your partners’ superannuation

• Sit down together and log into CSC Navigator.
• Download or print the most recent annual statement for reference.
• Use the iEstimator tool (available within CSC Navigator) to explore different retirement and transition scenarios.
• Enter the member’s current details.
• Run a range of scenarios, starting with retirement at preservation age, using the results as an indicative guide only and noting that actual benefits and retirement outcomes may differ (save or print the result and keep it as a reference for what retirement might look like).
• Then compare with other possible scenarios, such as:
  - Medically transitioning out of the ADF.
  - Receiving a promotion (for defined benefit members).
• Print or save copies of each scenario together so you can compare possible benefits side by side.
• Repeat this exercise each year when the annual statement is issued, so you can track how outcomes change over time.

This exercise can help bring clarity to how different decisions may affect your family’s future.

This article contains general information only and reflects one person's experience. It does not take into account your objectives, financial situation or needs. Superannuation benefits, retirement outcomes and projections will vary depending on individual circumstances. Estimates generated by modelling tools are indicative only and are based on assumptions that may change over time.