Catherine stopped by the CSC booth on day 1 of last year’s Women UNLIMITED conference, coffee in hand, curiosity switched on. During a chat with the team, Catherine shared that she’d used the i-Estimator, was contributing 10% and she knew she was doing everything right.

Confidence is great, but sometimes super still has a few surprises waiting.

The team chatted with Catherine and provided general information about different ways to grow super, like using an accumulation account where she could make extra contributions and choose her investment option. During the conversation, we touched on whether she might have multiple super accounts—a common consideration since consolidating accounts can help avoid duplicate fees that can chip away at a member’s balance. *

“Nope,” she said. She had rolled everything into PSS when she joined the APS.

And that’s when things got interesting.  

Catherine discovered something about her super that she didn’t know.

Catherine confirmed that she made that rollover after 1995. This money had been growing inside her PSS, but it didn’t count towards her lifetime pension (while remaining hers). This component is known as a Post 95 Transfer Amount, and it sits quietly on the side, separate from Catherine’s defined benefit.

Catherine blinked. Twice.

“I couldn’t remember how much I’d rolled into PSS when I joined the public service all those years’ ago, but I’d assumed it was included in the i-Estimator modelling.

It isn’t! “ 

The team suggested she could check her annual statement and look for an item called Post 95 Transfer Amount to see whether she had this component.

The next morning, she came straight to the CSC booth beaming. She’d found $125,000! She asked the team if she could move this to a PSSap account and start making contributions to grow it. 

The team explained that this is generally possible, depending on individual circumstances.

She sprinted back to her table to share the news, and minutes later a line of super-curious women formed at the booth, ready to uncover their own super surprises—all sparked by Catherine and one conversation.

Inspired by what she learned, Catherine has since been busy planning for retirement, and her calculations show she’s now able to bring her retirement date forward by 3 years.

Sometimes your super just needs a little nudge to spill its surprises.

For more practical super tips, see the checklist: Six steps to super success for women

* Before consolidating your super, compare the fees, performance and features of each fund, and check whether you might lose any benefits or insurance.

General advice

Any financial product advice provided is general only and may not be right for you. You should obtain a copy of the relevant Product Disclosure Statement and consider its contents before making any decision regarding your super. You may wish to seek financial advice before making any key decisions. CSC provides members with access to authorised financial planners* who provide personalised fee-for-service financial advice. *CSC financial planners are authorised to provide advice by Guideway Financial Services (ABN 46 156 498 538, AFSL 420367). Find out more at csc.gov.au 

The Public Sector Superannuation Scheme (PSS or the Fund) (ABN 74 172 177 893, RSE R1004595) was established under the Superannuation Act 1990 (Cth), exclusively for employees of the Australian Government and other participating employers. PSS is issued by Commonwealth Superannuation Corporation (CSC, we or us, ABN 48 882 817 243, AFSL 238069, RSEL L0001397). To know more about us and to see other documents we have to disclose under law, visit csc.gov.au