Australian Superannuation Funds In general, there are two forms of superannuation funds i.e. accumulation funds and defined benefit funds. Accumulation Superannuation Funds Accumulation funds are the most commonly used superannuation fund where contributions for most employees in Australia are made to. In essence, your employer provides contributions to your fund while you retain all investment earnings generated by the fund minus any expenses or fees incurred. Because no guarantee exists on the final pay-out upon retirement, the onus will be on employees to pay attention to how the funds are invested, the fees and costs involved in maintaining the fund as well its performance. A list of things to be aware of if your contributions are made to an accumulation fund include: how much your employer is contributing, where your money is being invested (shares, property, cash, etc.) and whether you have a choice on how you would like it to be invested, how much you currently have in your fund, all applicable fees and charges, Whether the fund provides life, disability and/or death insurance cover and, if so, any additional charges that may apply, and whether the fund allows voluntary contributions outside of the compulsory contributions from your employer. Defined Benefit Superannuation Funds Once commonly used in the public sector, defined benefit funds are superannuation funds where the benefit (i.e. final pay-out) is defined based on a specified formula. In other words, the benefit will not be affected by any potential investment returns and will be known to employees in advance. However, employers who utilise defined benefit funds for employee contributions will take greater interest in the performance of the fund as any surplus or deficit from the final superannuation benefit will be retained or paid for by them. The formula used to determine the benefit can be calculated according to the employee's salary at a set point (e.g. at age 60) or averaged over a number of years before this point. This will then be either a lump-sum or pension based on the average salary and will be determined by an accountant known as an actuary. Defined benefit funds provide the advantage of allowing the employee to know with a degree of certainty the amount payable upon retirement. A down side to this may be that employees may grudgingly feel obligated to stay with a single company for the duration of their working life. Rollover Options Rolling over refers to transferring your money from one superannuation fund to another, even after retirement. Your options when rolling over include: any other super fund an approved deposit fund (ADF) deferred annuities immediate annuities a lifetime pension or annuity an allocated pension For information on why you may wish to rollover your superannuation funds after retirement, see the section on the pension RBL in Reasonable Benefits Limit.