How is my Total Superannuation Balance (TSB) calculated?

In this guide

What is the Total Superannuation Balance?
What is the Total Superannuation Balance used for?
What’s the difference between the total superannuation balance, transfer balance account and the transfer balance cap?
How do I check my total super balance?

The concept of a Total Superannuation Balance, or TSB, was introduced on 1 July 2017 to measure the value of your total interests in the superannuation system.

It is used to determine eligibility for a number of superannuation measures, such as the ability to carry forward unused concessional contribution caps, and is calculated as of 30 June each year.

What is the Total Superannuation Balance?

Your total super balance is calculated by adding:

The accumulation phase value of your super interests that are not in the retirement phase
The retirement phase value of your super interests
The amount of each rollover super benefit not already included in the accumulation phase value or the retirement phase value. These are rollovers that are in transit between super funds on 30 June
The outstanding limited recourse borrowing arrangement (LRBA) amount in an SMSF or small APRA fund you entered into from 1 July 2018, if either:
- The LRBA is with an associate of the fund
- You have satisfied a condition of release with a nil cashing restriction

And subtracting:

Any personal injury or structured settlement contributions that have been paid into your super funds.

Source: ATO

A structured settlement payment is the result of an agreement between parties to a personal injury case. A structured settlement contribution is when that payment is contributed to superannuation.

This all sounds very complicated, but for most people it isn’t. Except in a few special cases, your TSB is simply the balance of all your super accounts (including account-based-pensions) – the Total Super Balance is true to its name! The exceptions are when you:

Have a non-account-based income stream
Are a member of certain defined benefit funds that calculate the super balance they report differently
Are a member of an SMSF or small APRA fund that has limited recourse borrowing arrangements
Have made structured settlement contributions.

The calculation requires us to understand two concepts – accumulation phase value and retirement phase value or APV and RPV.

If you’re still in accumulation phase, your APV is simple. It’s the amount that would be payable if you were to withdraw or rollover your superannuation today. You can find out your balance by contacting your super fund or logging into your member account on their website.

If you have an SMSF, your administrator or accountant should keep a track of this value.

APV also includes deferred superannuation income streams, transition-to-retirement income streams and superannuation income streams that do not comply with the pension or annuity standards.

The RPV, by contrast, is calculated by the ATO using your transfer balance account as at the end of the previous financial year.

For TSB purposes the transfer balance account is adjusted to include account-based super income streams at their current value – their remaining balance on 30 June – rather than their commencement value. Modifications to the transfer balance amount may also be needed if there are structured settlement contributions to the superannuation fund.

Need to know

Your transfer balance account is a record of all the events that count towards your transfer balance cap. And your transfer balance cap is the maximum amount that can be transferred to a tax-free retirement phase account.

The general transfer balance cap increased to $1.9 million on 1 July 2023 for anyone who starts a pension after that date.

For more information on the transfer balance cap and its recent increase read our article here.

What is the Total Superannuation Balance used for?

TSB is used to measure your eligibility for some important super measures. These are:

The carry forward of unused concessional contributions cap amounts
The non-concessional contributions cap and eligibility for the bring forward of your non-concessional contributions cap amounts
Government co-contributions
The tax offset for spouse contributions
The work test exemption.

For SMSFs and small APRA funds, your members’ TSB determines whether or not you can use the segregated method to calculate exempt current pension income (ECPI).

Concessional contributions carry-forward rule

Since 1 July 2018, you are able to carry forward any unused concessional contributions cap amounts for five years as long as your TSB on 30 June immediately prior to the financial year you want to use the carry forward measure is under $500,000.

Your ability to make or receive concessional contributions within the annual cap is not restricted by your TSB.

Non-concessional contributions cap and the bring forward rules

You have access to the standard non-concessional contributions cap ($120,000 a year in 2024-25) if your TSB on the prior 30 June is less than the general transfer balance cap ($1.9 million for 2024-25). If your TSB is equal to or above the cap on 30 June of the prior year, your non-concessional contribution cap is zero.

If you are aged under 75 you may access the bring-forward rule that allows you to bring forward up to three years of non-concessional contributions. The size of the contributions you can make and your bring-forward period depends on the size of your TSB.

This table from the ATO explains:

From 1 July 2024

Total super balance on 30 June of previous year	Non-concessional contribution cap for the first year	Bring-forward period
Less than $1.66m	$360,000	3 years
$1.66m to less than $1.78m	$240,000	2 years
$1.78m to less than $1.9m	$120,000	No bring-forward period. General non-concessional cap applies.
$1.9m or more	nil	n/a

Government co-contributions

Your TSB must also be less than the general transfer balance cap to be eligible for the government’s co-contribution scheme, whereby the government will match after-tax superannuation contributions up to an amount of $500 per year if you also meet certain income eligibility requirements.

Tax offset for spouse contributions

If you make superannuation contributions on behalf of your spouse you may be eligible for a tax offset of up to $540. Your spouse’s TSB must be under the transfer balance cap level immediately before the start of the financial year in which the contribution was made.

Work test exemption

If you are aged 67 or more, you must generally meet the work test to be eligible to make personal tax-deductible contributions. The work test exemption allows you to make personal deductible contributions in the income year immediately after you retire, without meeting the work test, if your TSB was less than $300,000 on 30 June of the prior income year.

What’s the difference between the total superannuation balance, transfer balance account and the transfer balance cap?

TSB is the total of your super interests in both accumulation and retirement phase. It is used to determine your eligibility for certain super measures, as discussed above.

Your transfer balance account (TBA) records the amount you have transferred into the retirement phase (into superannuation pensions). Amounts are added to the account when you commence/purchase a pension and are subtracted when make a commutation. A commutation is a lump sum withdrawal from a pension, which may be taken as cash or transferred back into the accumulation phase.

The transfer balance cap (TBC) is the maximum amount you may transfer into the retirement phase. The general cap is $1.9 million in 2024-25. If you commenced a pension prior to 1 July 2023 your personal transfer balance cap is different, and you can view your own TBC using the ATO online service via your myGov account.

If your transfer balance account (TBA) exceeds your transfer balance cap, you will incur excess transfer balance tax and are required to commute the excess amount.

Learn more about the difference between the transfer balance cap and your total super balance.

The following example highlights the differences and how they are used.

Example

On 1 April 2022, Fred commenced an account-based pension with $1.7 million, leaving $50,000 in his accumulation account. Fred’s transfer balance account was credited with $1.7 million.

On 30 June 2024, Fred’s accumulation account balance is $60,000. The balance in his account-based-pension has fallen to $1.57 million after accounting for his income withdrawals and investment returns. He has not taken any commutations.

The balance of Fred’s transfer balance account on 30 June 2024 remains $1.7 million because he has not taken any commutations. He cannot transfer any more into a pension without exceeding his transfer balance cap. Fred is not entitled to any indexation of the cap because he used 100% of the available cap amount when he commenced his pension.

However, Fred’s total super balance on 30 June 2024 is $1,626,500 – the sum of the balance in his accumulation account and account-based-pension. Because the whole balance of Fred’s transfer balance account has come from an account-based pension, the ATO adjusts the figure used to calculate his retirement phase value down to the actual value of the pension on 30 June.

As Fred’s total super balance on 30 June 2024 is below $1.9 million, he is eligible to contribute up to $120,000 in non-concessional contributions during 2024-25 into his accumulation account without exceeding the contribution cap. He can also use the three-year bring-forward rule because his total super balance is lower than $1.66 million.

Fred may also be eligible to receive a co-contribution and/or his spouse may receive a tax offset for any contribution they make to his account, depending on his other circumstances.

Learn more about the difference between your total superannuation balance and your transfer balance cap.