• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

SuperGuide

Superannuation and retirement planning information

  • SuperGuide Premium
  • Account
  • Log In
  • SuperGuide Premium
  • Account
  • Log In
  • How super works
    • Super for beginners
    • Super rules
    • Employers guide to super
    • Super contributions
    • Super and tax
    • Accessing super
    • Super news
    • Women and super
    • Super tips and strategies
    • How-to guides
    • Super quizzes
    • Superannuation Q&As
    • Superannuation glossary
  • Super funds
    • Best performing super funds
    • Super fund rankings
    • Best performing pension funds
    • Pension fund rankings
    • Super fund average returns
    • Super investing strategies
    • Comparing super funds
    • Choosing a super fund
    • Choosing an investment option
    • Super fund fees
    • Insurance and super
    • Super fund profiles
  • SMSFs
    • SMSFs for beginners
    • SMSF administration
    • SMSF checklists
    • SMSF compliance
    • SMSF investing
    • SMSF pensions
    • SMSF strategies
    • SMSF Q&As
  • Plan your retirement
    • Retirement planning for beginners
    • When should I retire?
    • How long will I live?
    • How much super do I need?
    • Will I get the Age Pension?
    • How much will I spend in retirement?
    • Financial advice
    • Retiring overseas
    • Preparing for retirement
    • Retirement planning strategies
    • Retirement calculators and reckoners
  • In retirement
    • Income in retirement
    • Super lump sums
    • Super pensions
    • Age Pension
    • Working in retirement
    • Life in retirement
    • Senior concessions and services
    • Aged care
    • Estate planning
    • Super death benefits

Home / How super works / Super contributions / Contributing to your super in your late 60s: What are the rules?

Contributing to your super in your late 60s: What are the rules?

July 3, 2020 by Janine Mace Leave a Comment

Reading time: 3 minutes

On this page

  • Can I contribute to my super in my late 60s?
  • What are the limits on making super contributions in my 60s?
  • What is the work test and work test exemption for contributions?
  • Age restrictions on your super fund accepting your contributions
  • Over 75? Making personal super contributions
  • Downsizing your home, upsizing your super

As more and more birthdays roll past in your 60s, most people get fairly keen on putting their feet up and enjoying a well-earned rest. When they think about their super, it’s usually more about how to spend their retirement nest egg than how to add to it.

But that’s not true of everyone. With Aussies living longer than ever, many people are concerned they won’t have enough for a comfortable retirement and want to top up their account balance.

So what are the rules on making contributions when you’re in your late 60s?

Can I contribute to my super in my late 60s?

The short answer is yes, but the rules for making contributions into your super account can be a little confusing.

If you are in your 60s, compulsory employer concessional contributions such as the Super Guarantee (SG) and mandated award or enterprise agreement contributions can still be made into your super account.

When it comes to non-concessional (after-tax) contributions, or voluntary contributions for which you claim a tax deduction, you need to satisfy a work test or use the one-off work test exemption before your super fund can accept your contribution.


Advertisement
SuperGuide Premium is ad-free

Once you hit age 75, your super fund is generally unable to accept further contributions into your super account.


Need to know: Until 30 June 2020, once you reached age 65 you needed to meet the requirements of the work test or work test exemption to make non-concessional or non-mandated employer contributions into your super account.

Legislative amendments have now lifted the maximum age limit to 67 before you are required to be working to make contributions into your super account.

For more information see SuperGuide article Work test: Making super contributions over 67.


What are the limits on making super contributions in my 60s?

Whatever your age, the concessional (before-tax) contributions cap (or limit) is $25,000 each year (2020/21).

The non-concessional (after-tax) contributions cap is $100,000 a year (2020/21), with up to three years of annual caps (3 x $100,000 = $300,000) available if you choose to use the bring-forward rules.

Once you reach age 65, however, your non-concessional (after-tax) contributions cap becomes a flat $100,000 a year, as fund members aged 65 and over are not able to commence a bring-forward arrangement.


Need to know: If you have super assets of $1.6 million or more on 30 June of the previous financial year, you are not permitted to make any additional non-concessional contributions to your super, whatever your age.


Also, once you reach age 67, you can only make a non-concessional contribution if you satisfy a work test or the one-off work test exemption in the financial year in which the contribution is made. (For more information, read SuperGuide article Work test: Making super contributions over 67.


Need to know: To align the bring-forward rules with the new upper age limit of 67 before you are required to meet a work test, the government is introducing new legislation that will allow older super fund members to commence bring-forward arrangements.

This will mean if you are under age 67 (currently 65), you will be able to contribute up to $300,000 into your super account if you meet the other eligibility criteria.

At the time of writing this legislation is before the House of Representatives but has yet to be passed and come into effect.


What is the work test and work test exemption for contributions?

From 1 July 2020, if you have reached age 67 but are not yet aged 75, you must be ‘gainfully employed’ at least 40 hours within 30 consecutive days in a financial year before your super fund can accept contributions into your super account.

Compare super funds

Read more...

Advertisement

These rules are known as the work test for super contributions and you must meet this test if you plan to continue making contributions into your super account past age 67.

The work test exemption was introduced from 1 July 2019 as a one-year exemption from the work test for people with a Total Super Balance below $300,000. This is to allow recent retirees to better prepare for retirement by boosting their super account balance if they are aged 67 to 74. The work test exemption can only be used once and only applies in the financial year following the last year you were working.

For more information see SuperGuide article Work test: Making super contributions over 65.

Age restrictions on your super fund accepting your contributions

This table summarises whether or not your super fund can accept different types of super contributions at various ages:

Age at time of contributionSGAward or industrial agreementSalary sacrificeNon-concessionalSpouseDownsizer
66 years or underYesYesYesYesYesNo (only available if aged 65 or over)
67 to 74 years oldYesYesYes1Yes1Yes1Yes
75 years old or overYesYesNo2No2No2Yes

1To qualify, you must meet the requirements of the work test or work test exemption during the same financial year in which the contributions are made.

2 Includes up to 28 days after the end of the month in which the member turns 75

Note: Your employer is not required to make SG contributions if you are aged 75 or over.

Over 75? Making personal super contributions

Once you reach age 75, you can’t make non-concessional personal contributions, even if you satisfy the work test or work test exemption.

Advertisement

There is one exception to this rule. If you are turning 75 during a financial year, you can make a non-concessional contribution on or before the day that is 28 days after the end of the month in which you turn 75. However, you still need to pass the work test and your Total Super Balance (TSB) must not exceed $1.6 million.


Case study: Kyle is turning 75 during the 2020/21 financial year and he would like to make a last-minute non-concessional contribution of $50,000 into his super account to boost his account balance before retirement.

Kyle is still working part time in his legal practice and meets the requirements of the work test. His super balance is under the $1.6 million TSB cap.

Kyle’s 75th birthday is on 3 March 2020, so under the rules he can make a non-concessional (after-tax) contribution within 28 days of the end of March (30 March). This means the final deadline for making his contribution is 28 April 2020.


Downsizing your home, upsizing your super

If you cannot meet the rules for the work test or work test exemption, there is another way you can give your super account a boost – make a downsizer contribution.

If you are aged 65 or over, a downsizer contribution of up to $300,000 can be made into your super account using the proceeds from the sale of your home. For couples, both partners can make a downsizer contribution, so you can contribute up to $600,000 per couple into your super accounts.

You can make this type of contribution regardless of your work status or super contributions. Downsizer contributions are not tax deductible and are not counted towards your normal annual non-concessional contributions cap ($100,000 in 2020/21).

For more information about downsizer contributions see SuperGuide article Contributing to super by downsizing your home: 10-point guide.

Want to learn how you can boost your super?

Become a SuperGuide Premium member and access independent expert guides on how much you can contribute, salary sacrificing, tax-deductible super contributions, contributions caps and contributions strategies, best-performing super funds, the latest super rates and thresholds, and other super strategies.

Includes performance rankings for 235 super funds and 166 pension funds, more than 600 articles, how-to guides, checklists, tips, calculators, case studies, quizzes and a monthly newsletter.

Find out more


Learn more about making super contributions in the following SuperGuide articles:

Your simple guide to Superannuation Guarantee (SG) contributions

September 1, 2020

How to make super contributions after you’ve retired

July 8, 2020

Work test: Making super contributions over 67

July 1, 2020

Non-concessional super contributions guide (2020/21)

June 26, 2020

Concessional super contributions guide (2020/21)

June 22, 2020

How do tax-deductible superannuation contributions work?

February 1, 2020

Beginner’s guide to making super contributions

January 1, 2020

Related topics

How super works Super contributions

IMPORTANT: All information on SuperGuide is general in nature only and does not take into account your personal objectives, financial situation or needs. You should consider whether any information on SuperGuide is appropriate to you before acting on it. If SuperGuide refers to a financial product you should obtain the relevant product disclosure statement (PDS) or seek personal financial advice before making any investment decisions. Comments provided by readers that may include information relating to tax, superannuation or other rules cannot be relied upon as advice. SuperGuide does not verify the information provided within comments from readers. Learn more

© Copyright SuperGuide 2009-21. Copyright for this article belongs to SuperGuide Pty Ltd, and cannot be reproduced without express and specific consent. Learn more

Primary Sidebar

How super works
Super for beginners
Super rules
Employers guide to super
Super contributions
Super and tax
Accessing super
Super news
Women and super
Super tips and strategies
How-to guides
Super quizzes
Superannuation Q&As
Superannuation glossary
Super funds
Best performing super funds
Super fund rankings
Best performing pension funds
Pension fund rankings
Super fund average returns
Super investing strategies
Comparing super funds
Choosing a super fund
Choosing an investment option
Super fund fees
Insurance and super
Super fund profiles
SMSFs
SMSFs for beginners
SMSF administration
SMSF checklists
SMSF compliance
SMSF investing
SMSF pensions
SMSF strategies
SMSF Q&As
Plan your retirement
Retirement planning for beginners
When should I retire?
How long will I live?
How much super do I need?
Will I get the Age Pension?
How much will I spend in retirement?
Financial advice
Retiring overseas
Preparing for retirement
Retirement planning strategies
Retirement calculators and reckoners
In retirement
Income in retirement
Super lump sums
Super pensions
Age Pension
Working in retirement
Life in retirement
Senior concessions and services
Aged care
Estate planning
Super death benefits
Advertisement
Compare super funds

Footer

Important: Disclaimer

All information on SuperGuide is general in nature only and does not take into account your personal objectives, financial situation or needs.

You should consider whether any information on SuperGuide is appropriate to you before acting on it.

If SuperGuide refers to a financial product you should obtain the relevant product disclosure statement (PDS) or seek personal financial advice before making any investment decisions.

Learn more

About SuperGuide

SuperGuide is Australia’s leading superannuation and retirement planning website. Learn more

Superguide Pty Ltd ATF Superguide Unit Trust as a Corporate Authorised Representative (CAR) is a Corporate Authorised Representative of Independent Financial Advisers Australia, AFSL 464629

  • Contact us
  • Advertise on SuperGuide
  • Careers

Before using this website

  • New to SuperGuide?
  • Terms and Conditions of Use
  • Financial Services Guide
  • Privacy Policy and Privacy Collection
  • Copyright Policy
  • Editorial Policy and Complaints
  • Disclaimer

  • SuperGuide Premium
  • Subscriber feedback
  • Sitemap