I’m worried our super could get hacked. Is my money safer in the bank?

Detailed summary

I think I’m on pretty safe ground when I say that taking your money out of super and putting it under the bed would be unwise.

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Hi Paul. There have been recent reports of the possibility of AI hacking into vast areas of the internet, including financial areas. Bitcoin and others have already suffered. How safe is my superannuation money? Would it be safer in a bank? Or under the bed?

Yes, the recent bitcoin heist certainly made for some interesting reporting. Fortunately, our superannuation and banking systems bear no resemblance.

We all need to be on the lookout for online scams and the like, but I think I’m on pretty safe ground when I say that taking your money out of super and putting it under the bed would be unwise.

Cybersecurity is not my area of expertise. But I take comfort from the fact that Australia’s financial systems are extremely well regulated, with teams of experts at the various connections in the money pipes making sure our financial records are safe. Consumer protections here are also extremely high, so if something goes wrong, you have recourse.

As an aside, there is more money in our superannuation system than there are deposits in our banks, so the proposition that your money is somehow safer in the bank is, in this context at least, highly questionable.

I am 39 years old on a salary of $125,000 per year and salary sacrifice an additional $200 per pay into my super, which is sitting at about $270,000. I also lease out an apartment which has around $285,000 left on the mortgage, at around a 6 per cent interest rate. I’ve been making extra fortnightly payments of $1000 to pay it down quickly, so expect it’ll be paid off in seven or so years.

Would it be better to continue this strategy and then increase my contributions to super once my apartment is paid off – or increase my salary sacrificing to super now and take longer to pay off my apartment? My goal is to have a decent nest egg, so I can retire a little earlier than the standard age.

The interest on this mortgage will be…

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