The Superannuation Guarantee (SG) is the official term for compulsory super contributions made by Australian employers on behalf of any full-time, part-time or casual employees who: earn more than $450 before tax in a calendar month, work in Australia (including temporary residents and working holiday makers), and are ... Read more
Your simple guide to Superannuation Guarantee (SG) contributions
As employees, most of us see the regular note on our payment summary listing the amount for our employer’s Superannuation Guarantee (SG) contribution into our super account and rarely give it much thought. To help you understand it a little better, here’s SuperGuide’s simple explanation of the SG and what it means for ... Read more
2018/2019 guide to concessional contributions (before-tax super contributions)
Although it can be hard getting your head around all the different types of super contributions that go into your super account, concessional contributions are the ones you are mostly likely to have and are pretty straightforward to understand. Concessional contributions – what’s that mean? Concessional contributions ... Read more
What to do if your employer doesn’t pay your super
The Superannuation Guarantee (SG) is the name for the contribution your employer makes to your super fund on your behalf. You can learn more about whether you are eligible for the Superannuation Guarantee, and how it is calculated in the SuperGuide article Your simple guide to Superannuation Guarantee (SG) ... Read more
What is the maximum super contribution base for 2018/2019?
The Superannuation Guarantee (SG) is the name for the contribution your employer makes to your super fund on your behalf. The current SG contribution rate is 9.5% of your earnings up to a limit called the maximum super contribution base (MSCB). If you earn above that limit in a particular quarter, your employer is not ... Read more
Guide to the Superannuation Standard Choice Form
The Superannuation Standard Choice Form is an Australian Taxation Office (ATO) document that allows you to choose a super fund that your employer’s contributions will be paid into on your behalf, provided you meet eligibility conditions. Under Australian super legislation, your employer must pay 9.5% of your ordinary ... Read more
Salary sacrifice and super: How does it work?
While the sacrificing bit might sound painful, salary sacrifice is really just about giving up something now to get a financial benefit later on. Often called salary packaging, many employees choose to set up these types of arrangements with their employer to forgo part of their salary or wages to help pay for a range ... Read more
What is MySuper, and which super funds are MySuper funds?
If you are now, or even have been, an employee and can’t remember ever choosing a superannuation fund, chances are you have retirement savings sitting in one or more MySuper accounts. As we’re talking about 9.5% of your income and possibly hundreds of thousands of dollars by the time you retire, it’s worth following ... Read more
How super works: A beginners guide to superannuation
Simply put, superannuation (or super) is money you put in a super fund while you are working to provide income later in life when you retire. Given the average Australian can expect around 20 years of retirement, and the Age Pension is designed to provide only the most basic needs, the more you can save now the more ... Read more
Fund choice: Can my employer insist I join the super fund they use?
Q: I am about to start a new position. I am 67 years old and have an SMSF. My new employer has said I must join the super fund they use and cannot use my SMSF as they have too many employees. It was my understanding I could have the Superannuation Guarantee paid to the super fund of my choice. Would you kindly let me ... Read more
Super Tip No 2: Love your super like your own
The easiest way to save your super is to treat your super like you would money in the bank – which it is, nearly, except that you can’t spend it yet. Key message: It’s your money You turn up for work and your employer must pay money into a super fund on your behalf – the equivalent of 9.5% of your wages or salary ... Read more
Super Tip No 4: Understand what happens to your super money
Apart from the return on your super investments, and the costs or fees your super fund charges against your super account, a healthy superannuation payout on retirement depends on the amount your employer (or you) contributes to your fund throughout your working life. Your super life starts when you join (or your ... Read more
Super Tip No 1: Treat your super like overtime
If the idea of superannuation doesn’t excite you, yet, imagine, instead of super, that you were being paid overtime for work outside your normal work hours. And if you expected to be accumulating this money every week, you’d be doing some research on how much overtime your company usually paid, what you needed to do ... Read more
Same-sex couples: your super rights explained
Australia. The nation participated in a non-compulsory and non-binding survey run by the Australian Bureau of Statistics, rather than the Australian Electoral Commission, to determine if gay and lesbian Australians should be given the right to marry, a right already held by all other adult heterosexual ... Read more
Boost your super: 10 planning tips for 2018/2019 year
Although many people are still grappling with the superannuation changes that took effect from July 2017, and several more that took effect from July 2018, it’s important to note that many of the underlying super rules remain unchanged. For example, the Superannuation Guarantee (SG) rates remain the same, contributions ... Read more