Founder of Millennial-focused financial advice business Wealthy Self, David Currie, says most clients who walk through his door have a “fairly low” understanding of how their super works.

“Most people either don’t have the time to look at it themselves or they just don’t want to,” he says.

Despite the knowledge gap, experts say that getting the basics of super down doesn’t take a lot and will help prepare younger workers to regularly check in with their savings progress for years to come.

“Many young people don’t understand that it’s actually their money, and they can invest it wherever they want to these days – that hasn’t always been the case,” Currie says.

The first job trigger

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Under Australia’s superannuation guarantee scheme, employers must pay super contributions of 11.5 per cent on their workers’ ordinary time earnings. This is compulsory for all workers over 18, and those aged under 18 when they work 30 or more hours per week.

Professor of finance in the business school at the University of Sydney, Susan Thorp, says the most basic problem for workers aged under 20 is awareness about whether they’re entitled to super payments and if they’re actually getting paid.

But she says the moment a teenager gets their first job is the best time for families to sit down and talk about how the system works.

“That will be a concrete, material and consequential moment for understanding what the responsibilities of employees are and what the responsibilities of the super funds are,” she says.

Thorp says that in the Australian system, employers are not generally responsible for educating their employees about how superannuation works. It’s up to an employee to check where their savings are going.

“Clearly for a teenager this is particularly challenging – but worth paying attention to. Those small amounts of money, because they are being paid at such an early stage of someone’s life, accumulate to quite large amounts of money over 40 or more years of work,” she says.

The good news is that there are some simple checks that workers in their teens and twenties can do to get familiar with their funds. This includes getting across who your fund is with and logging in to check you are getting paid superannuation if it’s listed on your payslip or if you know you’re entitled to it.

“It’s very common in casual and part-time employment to find out that there are employers who are not paying it – rates of underpayment of superannuation in certain industries are remarkably high,” Thorp says.

Currie says as soon as an Australian starts earning a wage, it’s worth starting to familiarise yourself with super funds.

“As soon as you’ve got a job, as soon as you’re starting to earn your own money, it’s a good time to start working out how to use that money.”

A time to think about values

Not only do younger superannuation clients have decades to grow their super balances, but they also have more ways to invest their money for the long term, Currie says.

Compared with a decade ago, there is a range of niche superannuation funds and investment settings that give you more freedom to invest in line with your values.

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“If you feel like you don’t have a vote or a say in the world because you’re a young person – you can vote with your money,” he says.

As super savers become more familiar with how the system works, they also have a chance to start thinking about where they would like their funds to be invested for the long term – for example, whether they want to choose an ethical fund or focus on a specific type of asset.

“Even if their super balances are small, they can invest into where they want the future to be,” Currie says.

This is the first part of our six-week Gen Super series, which takes an in-depth look at what to do with your superannuation at each age, from Gen Alphas just starting in their first jobs to Baby Boomers, who are just starting to retire – and beyond.

• Advice given in this article is general in nature and not intended to influence readers’ decisions about investing or financial products. They should always seek their own professional advice that takes into account their own personal circumstances before making any financial decisions.

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This story was created in partnership with Colonial First State. The content is independent of any influence by the commercial partner.