Raiding super is a sugar hit: Here are five sweeter ways of getting $44 a week extra

Last week we saw the enticing, vote-buying idea of being able to raid our super contributions , raised again. Previously a Coalition thought bubble, One Nation’s Pauline Hanson has been spruiking it this time .

Because gee it’s a sugar hit. Why lock up all that delicious money in a jar on top of the metaphorical fridge – to be seen but not touched for years?

One Nation’s radical proposed super change would allow renters or mortgage-holders to receive 3 per cent of their 12 per cent employer super contributions as take-home pay, for three years.

The pitch is that if you are on $90,000 a year, you would get an extra $2300 a year.

The trouble is that this would otherwise be invested for your long term.

And not just anywhere: in the most tax-advantaged place possible. There’s basically 15 per cent tax on the way in, 15 per cent on earnings while in there, then usually zero tax on the way out.

In fact, the $6900 “bonus” over three years, that would no doubt disappear on day-to-day living costs, would mean $25,000 lost by retirement for the average 30-year-old, says the Super Members Council.

Yep, it would lose you almost four times as much when you’ll really need it, as you’d get now.

Super Members Council CEO Misha Schubert put it well: “Turning super into an ATM is a reckless idea that would make battling Australians poorer.”

So, let’s look at five hacks that put more than $44 a week instantly back in your pocket … and cost you nothing!

If you do your own tax return, you’re gearing up for the October 31 deadline.

Well, rather than waiting a year for that money, and letting the ATO keep it in the meantime, you can get it spread across each and every pay. Potentially even that target $44 a week!

By simply filling out what’s called a PAYG withholding variation form on the ATO website, your pay will feature the extra very quickly. It takes a maximum of 28 days to process (possibly up to 56 days if you use the paper form) and your take-home will be adjusted from the pay day after the ATO notifies your employer.

The ATO says: “We may seek more information from you before or after your application is processed, where a review is necessary. If you fail to provide this or there is some doubt of entitlement to a deduction, we may not be able to grant a variation.”