Online shopping has never been more popular than during the pandemic.
YourLifeChoices members are 42 per cent more likely to purchase a product online now than they were pre-pandemic.
One of the obvious advantages is it allows them to stay safe and out of crowded spaces.
Another would be knowing you could do so and also top up your super in the process.
A new platform automatically puts cash-back contributions into your superannuation account when you shop online.
Boost Your Super is a free service website and anything you purchase through the website, be it paying for insurance, buying new shoes or doing your Christmas shopping with any of its 500-plus well known retailers, will add cash to your super.
Boost Your Super features popular brands and online outlets such as Bonds, Amazon, eBay, the Book Depository, booking.com, Sheridan, Dan Murphy’s, Crossroads and even Coles.
By purchasing products with these retailers via the Boost Your Super website benefits you in two ways.
First, you’ll have access to special deals and exclusive offers, as well as the usual ranges available when shopping directly.
Second, and perhaps more importantly, a percentage of each purchase will be paid into your super fund.
“The ‘commissions’ paid by Boost Your Super soon add up, and before you know it tens have become hundreds and hundreds have become thousands more in your retirement,” says Boost Your Super founder Ngoya ‘Pep’ Pepela.
“It’s like paying it forward for yourself.”
Maz Zaman, director of TaxFox and an established leader in the financial services industry, says that adding small contributions to your superannuation through online shopping is a simple way to maximise financial security in retirement.
“You can significantly amplify your super by combining these three elements,” she says.
“Taking advantage of the reduced tax rate of up to 15 per cent on any earnings within super, making small regular extra contributions into your super and using the power of compounding.
“Small amounts of regular contributions into your super can go a long way by the time you reach retirement age,” she says. “This approach is particularly important for those who have recently withdrawn $10,000 from their super [in the early release scheme] and want to seamlessly fill this risky gap in their retirement funds.
“For example, a 52-year-old on a salary of $86,000 and with a super balance of $120,000, who plans to retire at 70 and contributes an extra $400 a year through earned shopping commissions to their super, can potentially retire with an extra $10,000**.
“This is easily achievable if you use something like Boost Your Super, where you can contribute into super without having to come up with the cash yourself. The current volatile global economy makes it ever more important to be smarter with money and I encourage Aussies to look into services that help create good daily habits and can make a positive difference in the long term.”
Payments are treated as after-tax payments, or non-concessional.
And, according to the Australian Tax Office (ATO), Australians aged up to 67 are permitted to make up to $100,000 in non-concessional contributions to super each year, meaning you could do a lot of shopping and receive a lot of cash back.
On sign up, customers enter their super fund’s BPAY details, which are easily obtainable from super funds or a statement.
Boost Your Super then collates all the contributions received from various retailers and deposits it directly into the super account at the end of every quarter.
Payments will become more frequent in the near future, says Mr Pepela.
“There’s no catch, you pay exactly the same amount you would when buying items without Boost Your Super. In fact, sometimes you pay less because we also notify members of special promotions from retailers, such as 30 per cent sitewide discounts or coupons that save 10 per cent,” he says.
“The service is completely free, so there are no additional fees to pay – only super to collect.
“Once a user signs up, they can click straight through to any of our [participating] stores before purchasing. If they use Google Chrome on desktop, they can install the Boost Your Super Notifier extension that makes it even more seamless to activate a boost directly on the participating store’s website, which appears in the form of a pop-up notification.
“Our aim is simply to help online shoppers get more engaged with their super so they can retire with more.
“You shop at the same stores in the same way, except with an extra ‘click’ you get money paid straight into your super account. Who wouldn’t want to do that? We also donate 1 per cent of every qualifying transaction made to Make-A-Wish Australia.”
Would you be willing to try such a service?
**General advice warning: This example uses the Boost Your Super Calculator and assumes an investment return of 4 per cent p.a. on the member’s balance, inflation of 2.5 per cent and fund fees of 0.7 per cent p.a. The assumptions and disclaimers on the Boost Your Super Calculator apply. The information contained in this article is general in nature and does not take into account your personal circumstances. You should consider whether the information is appropriate for your needs, and where appropriate, seek professional advice from a financial adviser.
Boost Your Super is a YourLifeChoices commercial partner.
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Related articles:
https://www.yourlifechoices.com.au/boosting-your-retirement-income
https://www.yourlifechoices.com.au/health/covid19/shopping-smart-while-in-lockdown
https://www.yourlifechoices.com.au/technology/online-shopping/shopping-safely-online
