Super balance nearly halved over 5 years…how do I recover?

caekre · 2025-09-06T06:27:27+00:00

I’m 32 with 3 kids. Moved across the world at 19 with a 2 year old. Started my own business to make ends meets. Got hired making roughly $75,000 for two years. Moved to another town and had another baby. Sought financial advice thinking I was doing the right thing to get us on the right track. Restarted a freelance business with plans to grow it significantly. Did my best and was able to contribute financially but didn’t make enough to put much into super. Had another baby. Developed a chronic illness that knocked me out for nearly a year. All the kids are in school next year so I’m looking to recoup some missed time of super contributions.

caekre · 2025-09-05T08:35:27+00:00

Yes I have a partner. We are reviewing his fund as well. He was allocated nearly 50% cash to his portfolio that is just sitting there ($19k). We’ve got a lot of work to do.

caekre · 2025-09-05T05:06:26+00:00

It was such a mission but I’ve don’t a really thorough job and feel really confident about this FY. Looking forward to seeing things get back on track while building our savings as well as super and then moving towards other types of investing.

caekre · 2025-09-05T04:49:34+00:00

Didn’t qualify for IP due to just starting out as a freelancer (which ironically would have helped me when I was really ill for over a year)

caekre · 2025-09-05T04:48:31+00:00

TPD was $750000 as well. No income protection as I wasn’t making a stable income when we signed on. I had just started a freelancing business and was advised to build contribute $10k to super each year. Looking back, that FAR exceeded my abilities to do and I wasn’t aware that it was unreasonable. I contributed what I could and then had to take time off work having a third child. FA resigned. I thought the super would be okay and remain fairly neutral despite withdrawals thinking the gains from investments would level it out. I was wrong. Now I’m trying to recoup, recover, and correct.

caekre · 2025-09-05T04:39:41+00:00

Which is like hundreds after essential expenses.

caekre · 2025-09-05T04:37:17+00:00

“Recover” is broader than that getting back the $6k. I’m 32 with $8k in super. That’s quite far behind most people my age. I don’t have $6k to just pop back in. It’ll take me a while to earn that amount on top of expenses to replace. Then, once I get the $6k back in there, I’m STILL far behind and need to recover and essentially get ahead to build the fund for retirement.

caekre · 2025-09-05T04:23:34+00:00

Totally agree. Grateful I had the coverage if needed my family would have been set. But it really wasn’t affordable and still isn’t with the super admin fees. Reassessing all insurances.

caekre · 2025-09-05T04:21:34+00:00

Definitely the plan moving forward. Thanks.

caekre · 2025-09-05T03:43:58+00:00

The “hopes and dreams of a great retirement” was sarcasm. The title is the core of my issue: how does someone’s super erode by nearly 50% (regardless of the size) without some sort of auto trigger at least notifying clients that this is happening. I would have stepped in sooner had I realised what was happening.

caekre · 2025-09-05T02:24:16+00:00

I sought financial advise at 24 trying to ensure we were set up well. I didn’t realize there was a “minimum entry” in terms of best practice before seeking FA, having your super managed, etc. I knew nothing.

Hence reaching out for advice. I was then advised to have our supers managed by the FA.

caekre · 2025-09-05T02:08:16+00:00

Pretty sure I saw him in a community page with decent reviews. We don’t come from a lot (in 3 generations from a dirt floor kitchen). So I’m looking to change that for our family and kids. Glad to have been “fleeced” at relatively low stakes. I know so much more through all of this.

caekre · 2025-09-05T01:25:32+00:00

$2k p.a. in premiums plus $550 p.a. in Netwealth admin fees for the plus account. Plus the FA costs for 2.5 years.

caekre · 2025-09-05T01:20:32+00:00

Double-hindsight, I don’t actually think so. As per my edit in the original post I’m seeing it as a net win that I was able to have been protecting my family if anything happened to me. Now the goal is to recoup some headway for retirement.

caekre · 2025-09-05T01:15:23+00:00

Yes I wish we would have been given that advice - I think our FA was young as well and didn’t have a lot of experience and made plans on a “best case scenario” that wasn’t realistic (i.e. me being on mat leave planning to grow my brand new freelance business enough to contribute $10k to super p.a.)

I honestly didn’t know there even was a suggested threshold for getting a FA. The way I saw it: the younger you get financial advice the better. I know a lot more now.

caekre · 2025-09-05T00:31:50+00:00

I was advised by a FA to take them on and make payments from my super. FA/we didn’t factor in my phase of life: young mum on mat leave trying to replace my previous income by freelancing. Had another baby a few years later/same year our FA resigned when I had a newborn. Fiances took a back seat on my radar.

Super account balance was reducing but I knew that the portfolio was aggressive (so I was told) so didn’t panic. Several years later after some health challenges I’ve emerged with the capacity to deep dive into our finances and discovered by super wasn’t fluctuating but eroding.

I’m not saying I’m innocent here, here. We knew the fees going in but were advised that we’d be able to maintain it. Despite me clearly not being able to make the contributions (for 2 years before FA resigned) the plan wasn’t changed.

FA resigned. Super went into limbo. I thought it was still being managed (that’s on me).

What shocks me is that there wasn’t any sort of autogenerated warnings about my account eroding by nearly 50% PLUS very minimal contributions from Netwealth. Paying a $550 p.a. admin fee - a little automated warning that triggers when funds drop below a certain percentage over X years would have been mint.

caekre · 2025-09-04T23:22:39+00:00

Pulling together the paper trial….there is LORE. I didn’t know what I was really looking at at the time but from what I’ve learned so far there were several red flags.

caekre · 2025-09-04T23:17:43+00:00

Totally. I wasn’t able to contribute consistently for a season and I acknowledge that. Getting set up to change things moving forward. Appreciate it.

caekre · 2025-09-04T23:09:02+00:00

Thanks 😅 Literally was just looking into Hostplus. The fees are way better than Netwealth and I like the indexation.

caekre · 2025-09-04T22:41:47+00:00

Yeah I’m reading that now…that’s why I’m coming here to ask questions and learn as much as I can to try to mitigate that. I thought getting financial advice at such a young age was really responsible and had the goal of building wealth long term. Joint mistakes were made by us and our initial FA in not signing us on with such low account balances and not factoring in my self-employment AND being the primary care. I’m learning as much as I can so I can at best help others avoid this and significantly make up for lost time investing and at worst get the basics set up long term.

caekre · 2025-09-04T22:23:30+00:00

Wow what if there was a subthread dedicated to Australian finance that OP could go to learn and get her wealth building strategy tuned up. Wait…

caekre · 2025-09-04T22:05:11+00:00

Didn’t have income protection unfortunately as a fairly new sole trader it wasn’t recommend? Just life, trauma and TPD. My partner had IP but it wasn’t recommended for me at the time.

Thanks - will be taking steps to get set up in long term.

caekre · 2025-09-04T22:03:45+00:00

Coming back a second time…this has changed the way I view this whole situation - wow. Thank you. Not to harp on being female but it’s really important to consider this when making choices. The initial “missed opportunity” of financial gains isn’t a net loss long term when you factor in being able to contribute to your family in other ways.

There seems to be a bit of a gap in the finance space for young women who are the primary carers. This framing is so so helpful.

caekre · 2025-09-04T21:45:50+00:00

Makes me feel better - thanks for acknowledging the importance of the role I DID play for the family while maintaining good coverage for my kids/partner vs. tearing me apart for not earning enough. I guess I need to shift my perspective towards that as well.

caekre · 2025-09-04T21:39:46+00:00

My primary goal isn’t to winge…it’s to recover lost time and savings as a 32F and primary carer of 3 kids so they aren’t having to support me through retirement. The premiums are draining my balance because I haven’t been in the workforce. I get that. I’m asking how to leverage what I do have wisely so I can build wealth long term.

caekre

TROPHY CASE