Anyone aged 65 or over can access super benefits without retiring or satisfying any other special condition of release. Turning 65 is a condition of release. Unless you’re in a public sector fund, such super benefits will be tax-free when paid on or after the age of 60. For a general summary of the super and ... Read more
Retirement planning: Choosing the right super strategies for your age
A superannuation fund is an investment vehicle, rather than an investment. Many fund members, journalists and even investment analysts are confused about this distinction. For example, asking whether property or super is the better investment is the wrong question. The right question to ask, is whether the tax savings ... Read more
Superannuation rules: What applies at different ages?
Compulsory superannuation contributions (Superannuation Guarantee) and voluntary superannuation contributions are an integral part of the federal government’s retirement income policy, along with the taxpayer-funded Age Pension. As an incentive for Australians to stash money away for 30 to 40 years (rather than ... Read more
Superannuation Guarantee: Step-by-step guide for employers
An employer has key responsibilities in terms of paying superannuation contributions on behalf of employees. An employer must pay Superannuation Guarantee contributions on behalf of eligible employees. If an employer fails to pay these compulsory super contributions, or pays the super contributions late, penalties ... Read more
Salary sacrifice and super: A guide for employees and employers
Salary sacrificing superannuation, by making before-tax super contributions, is a popular strategy for employees on middle-to-high incomes. The deal is that you increase your superannuation balance while reducing the amount of income tax payable on your salary or wages. More specifically, by salary sacrificing super ... Read more
Superannuation Guarantee: Many Aussies miss out on SG increase
Now that we into our fifth financial year of a higher Superannuation Guarantee rate of 9.5%, you can expect some difficult conversations to continue between employers and employees as more salaried employees discover that the Superannuation Guarantee (SG) increase of 0.25%, which took the SG rate to 9.5%, does not ... Read more
Superannuation and employees: 10 facts about your super entitlements
If you work as an employee, and you satisfy certain minimum requirements, your employer must pay Superannuation Guarantee (SG) contributions on your behalf, to a super fund. Set out below are 10 of the most important SG facts that you need to know. Note: If you’re an employer, you can also refer to SuperGuide ... Read more
Super health check for beginners: 10 tips for your 2018/2019 retirement planning
Note: This article is current for the 2018/2019 financial year. SuperGuide regularly publishes an updated super checklist for beginner readers. More advanced checklists can be found elsewhere on the site. Use this list as a prompt for your 2018/2019 super resolutions. You may not keep all of your resolutions, but ... Read more
Tax-deductible super contributions: Claim no more than your income
Q: If I make a personal concessional payment of $25,000 (tax-deductible) into my super fund and my personal taxable income for 2018/2019 is $20,000, are there possible tax penalties because I’m claiming $5,000 more than my taxable income? I suggest you chat to a registered tax agent, typically an accountant to ... Read more
Tax-deductible super contributions: Timing start of pension is essential
Q: I put money into my SMSF in June 2018 from a capital gain. I wasn’t able to tell the fund at that time what it was because my accountant hadn’t completed the figures so that notice was sent to them in August 2018. As I understood the rules, so long as the money was in the fund at June 2018, I could then withdraw any ... Read more
Want to make 50% return on your super contribution?
If you earn less than $53,000 or so a year, or your spouse or children earn less than $53,000 or so a year, then you, or your spouse, or child, have an opportunity to potentially make a 50% return on your money when you make an after-tax super contribution to your super fund. Read on to find out how you can turn ... Read more
Making super contributions: Aged 65 years or older
Q: From reading SuperGuide articles, I can see that since July 2017, there is no longer a special contributions cap for people between 50 and 74 years, but a general concessional contribution cap of $25,000 a year for all age groups. I can also see that for non-concessional contributions, the cap is now $100,000. Is ... Read more
