Have you ever actually thought about the word superannuation?
Probably not. It’s a terrible word really. It’s long, sounds bureaucratic and doesn’t immediately mean anything to most people. Say “superannuation” and you can almost see people switch off.
Which is a bit of a problem when, for many Australians, their super will eventually be one of the biggest pools of money they ever have. So we looked up where the word actually came from. And it turns out it has a much more interesting history than we expected.
First, the Latin
The word goes back hundreds of years and comes from Latin.
Super means over or beyond.
Annus means year. It’s where we get words like “annual” and expressions like “per annum”.
So the basic idea behind superannuation is being beyond the years. In other words, getting old.
But here’s our favourite bit. One of the ancestors of the word, the Medieval Latin superannatus, meant more than a year old and was apparently used to describe cattle. Yes, cattle. So somewhere, very distantly, in the history of Australia’s enormous superannuation system are… old cows. We’re pretty sure you won’t forget that now.
So how did we get from cows to retirement savings?
Over time, the meaning evolved. By the 1600s, superannuate was being used for something considered too old or obsolete.
Later, superannuated came to describe someone who had retired because of age, and superannuation became associated with the payment or pension they received after leaving work.
Which suddenly makes the Australian meaning of the word make a lot more sense. Superannuation is money for your years beyond work. That is a much better way to think about it.
Your money for the years ahead
We spend a lot of time talking about super rules, contributions, pensions, investments, tax, trustees and compliance. All important stuff.
But sometimes all that jargon makes it easy to forget what super is actually for. It’s money you are building today for the years when you may no longer be earning a salary. Your future income. Your future choices. Your future independence.
So next time someone says superannuation, don’t switch off. Think: my money for the years ahead.
Or, if that doesn’t work…
Think of the old cows.
