I can’t wait to buy my first home

Lets talk first home super saver scheme...

It now pays a rate of return of 5.70% (calculated as the 90 day bank bill rate + 3%). Higher than any online saver account (4.75%) or 12 month term deposit (4.10%) on offer. Sounds like a low risk yet 'high' return way to save for your first home.

So far $385 million has been released to 29,511 individuals, an average of just over $13,000 each. With the possible withdrawal amount recently increased to $50,000, why hasn't the uptake been higher?

How much can you REALLY withdraw? It depends on how many contributions you have made yourself, not employer contributions. Any salary sacrifice, personal deductible contributions or contributions you've made but didn't claim a tax deduction on (non-concessional) are available for withdrawal plus the deemed interest these contributions have made, regardless of how much your superfund has actually made during the period.

With many superfunds down over the past few years, an interesting quirk of the system could soon eventuate. You are able to withdraw the interest deemed at 5.70% but your superfund return may have been negative for the year, meaning you will be dipping into other capital (probably from employer contributions or past earnings) to fund the interest component of your withdrawal. When designed, this wasn't considered because "super generally goes up over time".

There is also slight uncertainty in funds being released or being locked away until retirement. The design of the program makes it difficult to understand and comply with.

The sole purpose of super is to fund retirement, not house purchases. There is always the possibility that the scheme could be shut down as the government legislates the purpose of super and minimises the opportunities to withdraw. However, the important part of the scheme is that you are only able to withdraw contributions YOU put in. Contributions that without the scheme would not have happened in the first place.