The Fine Print Australia · PUBLISHED 24 JUN 2026 · VERIFIED 24 JUN 2026 · AU EDITION

1% More in Super Fees = Tens of Thousands Lost: Read Your Statement

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A 30-year-old Australian with $50,000 in super who pays 1 percentage point more in annual fees could retire with tens of thousands of dollars less than someone in a cheaper fund, because super fees compound for decades.

The number that matters

The central number is fees and costs are listed in your super statement and can include administration fees, investment fees, transaction costs, insurance premiums, and advice fees; MoneySmart’s 2026 guidance says the statement is where you check what you are paying and compare it with other funds.

How it quietly costs you

The first hidden drain is ongoing fees deducted from your super balance, which the statement breaks out as administration fees, investment fees, transaction costs, and sometimes member-activity fees like switching or advice. MoneySmart says to use the statement to see the fees you are paying and compare them with other funds; ART says its own admin fees are $1.20 per week plus 0.10% p.a. on the first $500,000, showing how even “small” percentage fees add up over time.

Old vs better: a fund charging roughly 1% p.a. in total fees on a $50,000 balance costs about $500 a year, while a lower-fee fund can be materially cheaper; ART’s published admin-fee cap of $562.40 per year per account gives a concrete benchmark for what one major fund charges before investment fees and other costs.

The second, compounding trap

The second compounding problem is money not being where it should be on the statement, especially missed or late employer contributions, because the statement is meant to show all contributions going in and the opening and closing balance for the year. If contributions are missing for a full year, the lost amount does not just disappear once; it also loses future investment returns, so a missed $5,000 employer contribution can create a long-run shortfall far larger than $5,000 after decades, depending on investment performance.

What this looks like in practice

Mia, 38, retail manager, earns $82,000 a year, has $74,000 in a default balanced super fund, and is about 29 years from retirement.

• Discovery 1: Her statement shows total fees of 1.3% p.a., which is higher than a low-fee fund and means about $962 a year on a $74,000 balance before any growth effects.
• Discovery 2: Her statement shows insurance premiums being deducted monthly; that matters because super statements list insurance as a separate cost, and a member may be paying for cover they no longer need.
• Discovery 3: Her transaction history shows one employer contribution missing for a quarter; the statement should show all employer contributions, so a missing contribution is a concrete compliance issue, not just a paperwork glitch.

The full cost of doing nothing

For Mia, combining 1.3% annual fees with one year of missing contributions can plausibly cost well over $1,000 immediately and many tens of thousands of dollars over a career, because the fee drag reduces every future year’s balance while the missed contribution also misses decades of compounding. This is a modelling result based on a $74,000 starting balance, 29 years to retirement, and the statement checks described by MoneySmart and super-fund guidance; the exact lifetime cost depends on investment returns and whether missing contributions are recovered.

What to do about it

• Check fees

• Use MoneySmart’s “How to check your super” page and your annual statement’s fees and costs section.

• Find the line items for administration fees, investment fees, transaction costs, insurance premiums, and advice fees.

• Compare the total annual dollar amount and the fee rate against other funds.

• Good looks like: your total fees are clearly below a high-fee outlier and you understand every line item.

• Check contributions

• Use your annual super statement and the transaction history / contributions section.

• Match each employer payment on your payslip or bank records to the statement.

• Check that the opening and closing balance plus contributions, earnings, tax, fees, and insurance roughly reconcile.

• Good looks like: every employer contribution appears on the statement and the balance movement makes sense.

• Check insurance

• Use your fund’s annual statement or member portal and find the insurance section.

• Identify the cover type, the premium deducted, and whether the cover still matches your situation.

• Compare the premium cost with the benefit amount and whether you have other cover outside super.

• Good looks like: you keep only the cover you actually need and can explain the dollar cost per year.

A myth worth clearing up

Myth: “Super fees are too small to matter.” Fact: Super statements show multiple fee types, and even a seemingly modest annual percentage fee compounds over decades; MoneySmart specifically tells members to check fees and compare them with other funds.

Sources

• https://moneysmart.gov.au/grow-your-super/how-to-check-your-super
• https://adfconsumer.gov.au/superannuation-statements/

Researched 2026-06-24.

Corrections & disclosure: an AI-assisted, human-reviewed guide. Every figure is dated and sourced above. Spot something out of date or wrong? Tell us and we’ll correct it — corrections are noted here and in the video description.