This calculator is an educational tool which provides illustrative calculations based on assumptions and your inputs. The results are estimates only, and not exact figures. The results are not guaranteed. It has been based on current laws and their interpretation as at July 2018.
The calculator is only intended to be a general illustration of your savings based on specific assumptions and limitations. It is a financial model and, as such, cannot predict with any certainty your savings. This will depend on a range of matters including (but not limited to) changes to your personal circumstances and unpredictable external factors beyond your control such as changes to tax law, social security law, investment earnings and inflation.
While the calculator provides a useful starting point, the information that it provides is not a substitute for professional advice from a qualified financial advisor and should not be relied upon as the basis upon which to alter your financial arrangements. We recommend that you seek professional assistance prior to making any decisions regarding your financial position, to determine if they are appropriate to your financial needs, circumstances and objectives.
NULIS Nominees (Australia) Limited does not accept any liability, direct or indirectly, arising from any person relying, either wholly or partially, upon any information provided by, resulting from, shown in, or omitted from, the calculator. To the maximum extent permitted by law, NULIS Nominees (Australia) Limited will not be liable (whether based in contract, tort, strict liability or otherwise) for any direct, indirect, incidental, consequential, or special loss or damage arising out of or in any way connected with by a user’s access to or use of this calculator.
This calculator is provided by NULIS Nominees (Australia) Limited (ABN 80 008 515 633) AFSL 236465, the Trustee of the MLC Super Fund (ABN 70 732 426 024).
Items
The costs of the everyday items are estimates and do not necessarily represent the exact cost to you if you were to give up the item, at the specified frequency, as represented by the calculator.
Contributions
In giving up one or more items in the calculator, you are then assumed to save an amount equal to the cost of the item(s).
Savings are assumed to be added as regular non-concessional contributions into superannuation. The calculator assumes that these contributions can be made within your non-concessional contribution limits (being $100,000 per annum or $300,000 in one year by utilising the “bring forward” rule), and so no tax is levied on these contributions.
Inflation
Price inflation is assumed to be 2.0% pa. This is the default rate in the ASIC MoneySmart superannuation calculator.
The price of each item is assumed to increase with price inflation.
You can change the assumed rate of price inflation in the “Edit assumptions” section.
Results are in today’s dollars
Results are shown in today's dollars. This means the amounts shown are adjusted for inflation (and so take into account the assumed change in the cost of living between the time of preparing the estimate and the future time).
The assumed rate of price inflation has been used to discount future amounts to today’s dollars.
Investment earnings
The default investment return and fee assumptions are:
| Accumulation phase
return (after tax) | Pension phase
return (before tax) | Investment fee (%pa) |
| Cash | 2.30% | 2.70% | 0.05% |
| Conservative | 3.40% | 3.80% | 0.30% |
| Moderate | 4.05% | 4.40% | 0.40% |
| Balanced | 4.46% | 4.80% | 0.50% |
| Growth | 4.68% | 5.00% | 0.60% |
| High growth | 5.08% | 5.30% | 0.70% |
These are the default rates in the ASIC MoneySmart superannuation calculator.
Investment earnings in Accumulation accounts are taxed. The pension phase returns are not used in the calculations, but are included here for illustrative purposes and to show the impact of tax on investment earnings.
Administration fees and insurance premiums
The default administration fees and insurance premiums are:
| Administration Fee (per annum) | $50 per annum |
| Asset-based Administration Fee | 0.60% pa of the account balance |
| Insurance premiums | $100 per annum |
These are the ”Medium fee level” rates in the ASIC MoneySmart superannuation calculator.
The calculator assumes that saved amounts are contributed to an existing superannuation account. No additional dollar based fees would therefore be incurred in virtue of making these contributions. Dollar-based administration fee and insurance premiums are therefore ignored for the purpose of this calculator. Additional contributions into superannuation would result in a higher superannuation balance, and so higher asset based fees. Asset based fees are therefore allowed for in this calculator.
Legislative assumptions
A number of assumptions in this calculator are prescribed by legislation. These assumptions include: the tax on superannuation contributions and the tax on investment earnings.
Where there is relevant legislation, the assumptions made in this calculator reflect current legislative arrangements. One uncertainty regarding future superannuation entitlement relates to possible future legislative changes.
Although some future changes in the legislation relating to superannuation are likely, it is not possible to know what these changes may be. Where there is relevant legislation, current legislative arrangements therefore represent the most reasonable basis for estimating future superannuation entitlement.
Updates to legislative assumptions are made as soon as practicable after such changes are announced. The calculator is based on legislative arrangements as at July 2018.
Limitations
This calculator attempts to include the most significant and relevant features of the superannuation environment, and to do so in an accurate manner. However a calculator such as this is not able to address or include all facets of superannuation .The most significant limitations are:
- The calculator performs a “deterministic” projection.
This means that the assumptions such as investment returns are assumed to be constant every year, at the rates indicated above. The actual investment returns will vary from year to year. More aggressive investment options, with higher expected returns, would be expected to exhibit a more significant range of outcomes. The calculator does not show the range of possible outcomes.
In this calculator, selecting a more aggressive investment option will present a more favourable outcome. However there is also likely to be more uncertainty attached to this outcome. You should consider this carefully before selecting an investment option. - Co-contributions are not included in the calculator. As the calculator assumes that saved amounts are contributed to superannuation as non-concessional contributions, you may also be eligible for co-contributions (if your salary is less than $52,697 pa). If you were eligible for co-contributions this would potentially increase the benefit of saving amounts related to giving up an everyday item.
- Instead of saving by making non-concessional contributions, an equivalent pre-tax amount could be saved by making concessional contributions. For most people this would increase the benefit of savings due to the lower tax payable on concessional contributions compared to salary.