Super is money you save for your retirement. It is partly compulsory and normally forms part of your overall employment package. 

In most cases your employer is required to contribute 9%* of your ordinary time earnings to super. Because the Government wants you to save for retirement, it provides tax savings for money invested in super.

Since the purpose of your super is to help you build retirement savings, you generally cannot withdraw your money until you retire.

The building blocks of super are:

* The superannuation guarantee will progressively increase from 9% to 12% between 1 July 2013 and 1 July 2019.