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

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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:

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

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.

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.

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).