The $40,000 decision

Just because you can't touch your superannuation for another 30 years or so does not mean you shouldn't give it some thought! Don't worry, you don't have to give it a lot of thought, however, just five minutes of attention to detail today could increase your retirement savings by 10 percent. That's a pretty good return for just five minutes work, especially when we're talking hundreds and thousands of dollars!

Since you turned 18, all your employers have been legally obliged to pay nine percent of your salary into a super fund to provide for your retirement. This is your money, even if you can't lay your hands on it till you turn 60.

If you have just accepted the money and not paid attention to any documentation given to you, chances are your employer has put your super into a fund they nominated. And chances are they have put your money into the default investment option — a balanced fund. The asset breakdown of a balanced fund is generally 40 to 60 percent in growth assets such as property, Australian and international shares and the balance in fixed interest and cash.

Balanced funds are nice and safe but with 30 years or more till you get to see the money, you don't necessarily need to play that safe.

You could be better off opting for a growth investment mix. This would mean 60 to 80 percent of your super invested in growth assets such as property and shares. You could consider pushing the boat out even further into an aggressive portfolio where more than 80 percent of your investments are in growth assets.

It is frequently declared that shares outperform all other asset classes over a 10-year period, even though they may suffer setbacks over that time. If you are investing for a time horizon like 30 years, you can afford to take a few risks. Actually, you are investing for your lifetime, because once you retire, you still need the money to be invested and to grow.

According to the Australian Securities and Investment Commission superannuation calculator, a 30 year old who has already accumulated $20,000 through the nine percent superannuation employer contribution on a current gross salary of $70,000 would have $411,000 in super by age 65. This assumes an eight percent return each year from the balanced default option.

In contrast, if you had bothered to change your investment mix to 60-80 percent in growth assets, your balance at age 65 given the same scenario would jump to $455,000. That $44,000 difference is more than 10 percent and would only take you five minutes to achieve.

Most retail and industry funds allow you to change your investment mix online. While you might have to make a phone call to set up online access, the whole process is unlikely to take you much more than five or 10 minutes.

Once you have made the switch, you can then do what you probably normally do...completely forget about this investment! Then when you start getting closer to retirement age, it would be wise to work out the strategies you need to pursue to increase your super balance even further. By that stage you will have an active interest in what is happening to your super and will no doubt be more than happy to investigate what you can do to achieve a comfortable lifestyle for the rest of your life.