CSS investment choice

How does investment performance affect my CSS benefit?

If you are a contributing member and leave as an age retiree, your CPI-indexed pension, the most significant part of your benefit, is not affected by investment performance.

Investment performance does, however, affect your member and productivity contributions (your accumulation component); these move in line with fund earnings (either positive or negative).

For more information on this, please view the How does the CSS work section.

What are my investment options?

As a CSS member, you can choose one of the following two options:

  1. Default Fund
  2. Cash Investment Option
If you have not made a choice in the past, you will be in the Default Fund.

What does risk and return mean for my choice?

Investment risk and return are related; generally the higher your expected return, the higher your risk. Or, the greater the likelihood you will experience negative returns from time to time.

Ultimately, your choice should reflect your risk tolerance and investment timeframe. Each option has a risk and return profile; if you want a higher return over the long term, you generally need to accept more short-term volatility. If you are risk adverse, you may prefer a conservative option.

Keep in mind that long-term investors have more time to ride out periods of poor performance.

How do I know which option is best for me?

You may like to consider these questions:

  • What is my likely investment timeframe? In other words, how long until you retire and begin to access your benefits? That might be a short timeframe for some but longer for others.
  • What level of investment earnings do I seek? Keep in mind that the higher the potential earnings you may receive, the greater the potential investment volatility. That means the greater the likelihood that earnings will be negative from time to time.
  • What level of investment risk can I tolerate? The key point to remember is that different investment options provide different levels of risk; and you must decide which option and level of risk you are most comfortable with.

Need more information?

Please read our Market volatility and your super booklet. It explains five steps you can take when considering your investment option selection during periods of uncertainty.

It's a good idea to seek professional advice from a licensed financial planner. You should also read the CSS Product Disclosure Statement.

How do I switch investment options?

Use the form for the investment switch you wish to make: