Check your personal details

Your annual statement will contain a range of personal details – your name, address, and maybe even your mobile number. Make sure these details are correct, to help ensure you don’t lose track of your super.

The ATO reports that as at 30 June 2025, there were nearly 7.3 million lost and ATO-held super accounts worth around $19 billion. Don’t let your super account become one of them.

Your annual statement will also show if you’ve provided your Tax File Number (TFN) to your super fund. If you have, it will generally be noted as ‘supplied’ or ‘provided’. Your annual statement will not disclose your actual TFN.

You don’t have to provide your TFN, but if you don’t you could end up paying more tax than you need to and you won’t be able to make certain types of contributions. If you haven’t provided your TFN, strongly consider doing so.

Take a look at the big numbers

The first page of your statement will likely contain some important numbers, often in bold and large print.

The first two important numbers are your account balance at the start of the year, and at the end of the year. The difference between the two indicates how much your account balance has grown (or possibly shrunk) over the year. It might look something like this:

How does your super balance compare to others in your age group? Take a quick look at our How much super should I have? article to get a sense of whether you’re on track.

Alongside these two key numbers will often be a summary of the amounts that have gone into and out of your account. It might look something like this:

Contributions, rollovers and transfers in are cash amounts paid into your account over the year ending 30 June. It includes contributions (regardless of the type) and any amounts rolled in from other super funds. Super Guarantee (SG) contributions will probably make up most of this amount.

Investment returns show how your super investments performed over the period. Depending on how investment markets have performed, this amount could be positive or negative.

Withdrawals, tax, premiums & fees show all the amounts that have been deducted directly from your account:

Withdrawals include any cash withdrawals from your account, including any rollovers out to another super fund.
Tax includes any amounts deducted from your account and sent to the ATO.
Premiums are the cost of having insurance cover in your super.
Fees refers to direct fees and costs deducted from your super account (they do not include indirect fees, and we talk about these a little later). Note, if your super balance is below $6,000, administration and investment fees are capped, by law, at no more than 3% of your account balance.

Take a look at what makes up your closing balance for the year

Your statement will likely show you the components that make up your closing balance:

Preserved amount: This part of your super balance must be kept in the super system until you meet a condition of release.
Restricted non-preserved amount: Your super balance might contain a restricted non-preserved amount – you can withdraw this cash when (and if) you leave your employer.
Unrestricted non-preserved amount: This is an amount you can withdraw as cash at any time. These amounts are usually associated with older-style defined benefit plans.

Check your insurance cover and your beneficiaries

If you have insurance cover in your super, your statement will show you how much cover you have, the type of cover and the premiums that have been deducted to pay for the cover.

Your annual statement will also show you the beneficiaries (or beneficiary) you have nominated. These are the people you have chosen to receive your death benefit if you pass away.

If you pass away and you haven’t nominated any beneficiaries, or your nomination is invalid, the Trustee must pay your benefit to your dependants, and/or a legal personal representative. If you have neither of the above when you die, the Trustee will pay your death benefit to any other person they determine, in accordance with superannuation law.

In short, it’s important to nominate your beneficiaries and to keep your nomination up to date.

See how your super is invested

Your annual statement will show how your super is invested – so take a moment to check this.

If you haven’t chosen an investment option, your super will usually be invested in your super fund’s default option, which for many funds is the ‘MySuper’ option.

The investments you choose for your super could shape the type of lifestyle you’ll enjoy in retirement, which is why it’s important to make a considered choice. The investments that may suit you best will depend on your personal circumstances, needs and goals.

Understanding indirect fees

As we saw earlier, your statement will show you fees that have been deducted directly from your account over the year. But there are also indirect fees that have an impact on your super account.

You can see our A quick guide to super fees article for more information on how direct and indirect fees work.

When it comes to your annual statement, the important thing is that the statement will show you the direct fees that have been deducted from your account and also provide an estimate of the indirect fees you have paid. That way, you can get a proper sense of the total fees you have paid over the year, including the indirect fees that have affected your account balance, but which are not a direct deduction.

This information will likely be towards the end of your statement, and might look something like this:

Make a call if you need to

Super funds have done a lot of work over the years to make annual statements easy to understand. But it’s only natural there may be parts of your statement you’re still unsure about.

If you’re a Vanguard Super member and have any questions about your statement, please contact us. You can send us a Secure Message in Vanguard Online, or call us on 1300 655 101 8am to 6pm (AET), Monday to Friday.

How to read your annual statement