Super fees explained: the only 3 numbers that matter
Superannuation fee tables can run to dozens of line items. Strip away the jargon and almost every fund comes down to three numbers — get these right and you can compare any two funds in about a minute.
Your super fund charges you in a few different ways, but they roll up into two big buckets: what it costs to run your account (admin) and what it costs to invest your money (investment). Here's how to read each one.
1. The fixed admin fee
This is a flat dollar amount — often quoted per week — that you pay no matter how much is in your account. It might be $1 a week, it might be over $100 a year. On a small balance a high fixed fee stings; on a large balance it barely registers.
2. The percentage admin fee
On top of (or instead of) the fixed fee, most funds take a percentage of your balance each year. This is the one that quietly scales: 0.2% on $50,000 is $100, but on $500,000 it's $1,000 for the exact same service.
- Many funds cap this percentage in dollars — e.g. "0.15% capped at $750 a year."
- Some stop charging it entirely above a balance threshold, which is great news for big balances.
A capped percentage fee is usually friendlier to large balances than an uncapped one. If your balance is growing, check whether your fund's admin fee keeps climbing forever or hits a ceiling.
3. The investment fee
This is the cost of the actual investment option your money sits in. A low-cost index option might charge around 0.10%, while an actively-managed option can be several times that. It's deducted before your returns are reported, so you rarely see it — but it's often the largest fee of the three.
Because the investment fee depends on the option you choose (Australian shares, international shares, balanced, growth), the same fund can be cheap or expensive depending on what's inside it.
Putting it together
Add the fixed fee, the (capped) percentage fee and the investment fee and you have a fund's total annual fee at your balance. That single number — not the marketing — is what you compare. A 1% all-in fee versus a 0.3% all-in fee doesn't sound dramatic, but across a 30-year working life the gap can run to tens of thousands of dollars once you account for the growth those fees would have earned.
The one-minute comparison
- Find each fund's total annual fee at your balance, not just the headline percentage.
- Make sure you're comparing the same investment option (index vs index, balanced vs balanced).
- Then look at the compounding cost over the years you have left until retirement.
Fees matter, but they aren't everything. Insurance inside super, investment performance and your own circumstances all count too. This guide is general information, not financial advice — check a fund's PDS and consider getting advice before switching.