There are five main types of superannuation funds:
Retail Funds: Open to the general public and run by financial institutions
Industry Funds: Open to people in a particular industry or under a particular industrial award. Some industry funds are open to the general public.
Corporate Funds: Open to people working for a particular employer or corporation. Many of the costs of operating the fund typically are covered by the employer. Corporate funds generally are not open to the public.
Public Sector Funds: Open to government employees, or are schemes established by law.
Self managed superannuation funds: Must have fewer than 5 members. All members must be trustees of the fund and responsible for its management. Superannuation contributions may also be deposited into retirement savings accounts. These are special accounts offered by banks, building societies, credit unions, life insurance companies and certain financial institutions.
Within these there are also two basic kinds of superannuation fund structures:
Accumulation Funds – Where your retirement benefit depends upon how much you accumulate over your working life, which will be the money paid in plus investment earnings less expenses.
Defined Benefit Funds – The value of your retirement benefit is defined by a set formula which may for example take into account your length of service and age at retirement. Defined benefit funds are common in the public sector. They are also used by some large companies.
