Parenthood and your super

Becoming a parent represents a major change in your life. This can include changes to your relationships, mental and physical wellbeing, and to your savings, super, insurance cover and general financial situation.

The information in this article is designed for any parent – but could be most relevant for our members who are women, who are most likely to take career breaks to raise a family.¹ Here are some important things to know before, during and after taking a career break to raise a family.

Before you take a career break

When you’re planning for a baby, you might have a growing list of important decisions to make, including baby names, how you’ll set up your home, what kind of car seat and pram you might need and much more. It’s worth adding plans for your financial situation and career break to this list, including what will happen with your super. Here are some things to consider:

• Check your eligibility for government benefits
  Depending on your income and assets, you may be eligible for government benefits such as government-funded parental leave, family tax benefit, parenting payment and rental assistance. From 1 July 2025, the ATO pays super on government-funded paid parental leave – and if you work in the WA public sector, you could be paid super on unpaid parental leave for to up to 24 weeks, so you may still be able to receive super contributions while away from work.
• Check your insurance
  You’ll need to know if your insurance cover is right for your needs. Make sure you check if your cover (such as Salary Continuance Insurance or SCI) might lapse after a certain time, for example if your super account doesn’t receive any contributions for a certain time. You might even be eligible to apply to waive insurance fees for a certain time during your career break.
• Check you have nominated a beneficiary for your super
  As part of having your financial plans in place for becoming a parent, such as having a valid will, it’s important to check your super beneficiary is up to date too.
• Consider ways to add to your super
  You might be able to make extra contributions to your super before you take a career break or explore contribution splitting or spouse contributions as other options to grow your balance. These could have tax benefits for both you and your partner.

During your career break

Raising a family is a busy time – and it’s worth keeping an eye on your super during this time too. Here are some things to consider while you’re on a career break.

• Monitor your super account
  If your insurance cover is still being deducted, you might be eligible to apply to have the fees waived while you’re off work. Make sure you read any emails or letters you receive about your super and insurance during this time so you’ll know about any important updates, such as whether your insurance cover will stay active.
• Consider voluntary contributions
  Taking a career break doesn’t need to mean your super doesn’t grow. You might be able to make small contributions to help build your balance.
• Keep learning about your investment in super
  Having a career break to raise a family probably means your retirement is decades away. In terms of the money invested in your super, time is on your side. This could be the perfect chance to learn more about the ways to build your retirement savings over time and make the most of your investment with your choice of investment plan.

After your career break

Whether you return to work part-time or full-time, there are some important things you can do to help manage your super balance while juggling your family commitments.

• Consider your insurance needs
  Now, with a family to think about, you might decide a different level of cover could be better suited to your situation.
• Catch up on your contributions where you can
  You might be able to add more to your super to help boost your balance, such as setting up salary sacrifice contributions through your employer if that works for your situation.
• Stay up to date
  Make sure your details are up to date, including who you have nominated as a beneficiary for your super. This could be the perfect time to check that your contact details are up to date too, especially if you moved house or set up a new email address during your career break.

At every stage of parenthood, it’s worth staying up to date on how to make the most of your super investment and build your retirement savings.