Supercharging Your Side Hustle: Making the Most of Your Summer Gig

4 November 2024

More Australians are set to pick up extra shifts or take up a side hustle to help boost their income during the festive season, with data showing a spike in people holding multiple jobs at the end of the year¹

The holiday season can be a busy time and AustralianSuper is encouraging Australians picking up extra work to take charge of their super and make sure they’re not missing out on vital retirement savings.

According to recent data, more than 960,000 Australians hold more than one job, accounting for 6.5 per cent of all employed people across the country.² But, as the gig economy grows, self-employed workers could be missing out on super.

These workers, such as delivery/carshare drivers, construction workers and sole traders, may not always receive superannuation, as they are often classified as independent contractors. This leaves these workers to shoulder the responsibility of saving for their retirement.

AustralianSuper modelling* shows that someone who picks up an extra 30 hours a week of gig work over the holidays every year for five years, without being paid super on those hours, would be $18,000 worse off in retirement compared to if they had received the same benefits as a regular retail employee.

AustralianSuper Education Manager, Peter Treseder emphasised the importance of managing your super and making regular contributions.

“By making just a few proactive moves, summer gig workers can make the most of every dollar earned from their side hustle and set themselves up for a more secure financial future in retirement,” he said.

“When you’re working multiple jobs, it can be easy to not prioritise or forget about your super. We want to help these workers understand how regular, even small super contributions can grow over time, particularly with compounding returns, and why it’s essential to keep track of your super when you’re self-employed.”

“To see the value of compounding returns and how smaller contributions can make a big difference in the future visit AustralianSuper’s Super Contribution Calculator.

Peter Treseder's top 5 tips for supercharging your side hustle:

1. Check contributions are being made: In Australia employers are required to pay eligible employees super at the mandated Super Guarantee rate which is currently 11.5%. Super applies from the first day of your employment and must be paid every quarter at a minimum. Make sure you are being paid by the due date each quarter.


2. Check you are being paid correctly: It’s important to remember that if you’re eligible for super, it needs to be paid on both your base rate and your penalty rate. So, working public holidays should give your super a boost as well as your pay packet. However, there is no obligation for an employer to pay super on overtime so it’s worth checking what your employer pays and maybe try to negotiate super on overtime too.


3. Consolidate your super funds**: If you have more than one job you could find that you have multiple super funds - keep it all in one spot and potentially save on fees by consolidating and nominating your preferred fund to each workplace. Check your MyGov account to identify your super funds and find lost or forgotten funds.


4. Keep it simple: Putting something into your super account is better than nothing, so make it easy for yourself by picking an easy round number like $5, $10 or $20^.


5. Be smart at tax time: Extra income may put you into the next marginal tax rate, so a salary sacrifice arrangement^^ could be even more tax effective when putting money away for the future. If you are operating under an ABN, your super contributions may count as a business expense, so your contributions could reduce your tax bill. Talk to your accountant or financial adviser about boosting your super in the most effective way.

For more information, head to Tips on superannuation for gig economy workers.

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