{"id":476780,"date":"2026-06-14T11:42:15","date_gmt":"2026-06-14T11:42:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/476780\/"},"modified":"2026-06-14T11:42:15","modified_gmt":"2026-06-14T11:42:15","slug":"not-built-for-us-millions-miss-out-on-super","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/476780\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Not built for us\u2019: Millions miss out on super"},"content":{"rendered":"

More than half of Australia\u2019s 1.7 million sole traders are skipping superannuation contributions to cover day-to-day expenses, which potentially leaves a generation of self-employed workers financially exposed in retirement.<\/p>\n

New research from payments platform Hnry reveals half of Australia\u2019s sole traders have already deferred super payments as they focus on more immediate costs such as fuels, energy and food.<\/p>\n

Adding to the woes, is a further 41 per cent say they will delay contributions in the future \u2013 double the figure recorded just three years ago \u2013 as cost-of-living bites hard.<\/p>\n

\"AUSTRALIA<\/p>\n

Sole traders are putting off paying their own superannuation. Picture: NewsWire \/ Nicholas Eagar<\/p>\n

One of these sole traders is photographer, videographer and content creator Jay Maguire, who left a traditional media company to go out on his own.<\/p>\n

\u201cGoing out on my own has been exciting, but it\u2019s definitely been a learning curve,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cLike most people starting a business, I\u2019ve had to be pretty careful with cash flow. Between rent, fuel, food, equipment, software subscriptions and all the day-to-day costs that come with running a business, I\u2019m making sure every dollar is working towards helping the business grow.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mr Maguire said while starting his business has been rewarding it has come with challenges.<\/p>\n

He admitted super hasn\u2019t been high on the priority list just yet.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you\u2019re employed, super just happens in the background and you don\u2019t really think about it,\u201d he said.
\u201cOnce you\u2019re self-employed, it\u2019s completely up to you, which makes you realise how important it actually is.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt the moment, my focus is on building a strong foundation and generating consistent revenue, but as the business grows, increasing my super contributions is definitely part of the plan.<\/p>\n

\u201cUnderstanding how powerful compound interest can be has probably been one of the biggest financial lessons I\u2019ve learned since starting out on my own.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"HIGH<\/p>\n

Hnry called for more support for sole traders. Picture: NewsWire \/ Andrew Henshaw<\/p>\n

Mr Maguire\u2019s story is far from unique, with Hnry Australia managing director Karan Anand saying the superannuation system is simply not built for the way millions of Australians now work.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor sole traders, there\u2019s no employer making compulsory payments in most circumstances, so super becomes another financial decision competing against rent, fuel, groceries and business costs,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Mr Anand said many sole traders were also in the dark about the support already available to them, including co-contribution schemes, contribution rules and tax incentives specifically designed for the self-employed.<\/p>\n

Mr Anand called for better education and support for sole traders.<\/p>\n

\u201cAustralia\u2019s sole trader workforce is growing by at least 30,000 people every year, but many are navigating super and retirement planning without enough support,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe reality is that Australia\u2019s super system was built around traditional employment, but millions of Australians now work differently.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs self-employment continues to grow, the systems supporting retirement savings need to evolve alongside it.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"More than half of Australia\u2019s 1.7 million sole traders are skipping superannuation contributions to cover day-to-day expenses, which…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":476781,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[138,246,111,139,69,244,245,240197,313,198159,62343],"class_list":["post-476780","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-personal-finance","tag-business","tag-finance","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-personal-finance","tag-personalfinance","tag-sole-traders","tag-super","tag-super-contributions","tag-superannuation-contributions"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/476780","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=476780"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/476780\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/476781"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=476780"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=476780"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=476780"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}