SuperGuide

Simple superannuation and retirement planning information

Superannuation Guarantee (SG)

Superannuation Guarantee (SG) is the official term for compulsory superannuation contributions made by employers on behalf of their employees.

An employer, regardless of whether they are a small or large business, must contribute the equivalent of 9.5% of an employee’s ordinary time earnings (typically wages or salary). The SG rate of 9.5% has been in place since 1 July 2014. The SG rate increases to 10% of ordinary time earnings from July 2021 (from the start of the 2021/2022 year). The SG payment deadlines are set out in the table below.

SG must be paid at least quarterly, and if an employer fails to pay SG, or pays late, then the employer is subject to the Superannuation Guarantee Charge (SGC), and must lodge an SGC statement by the due date. The table below lists the quarterly deadlines.

Click on the links below to access the following topics about Superannuation Guarantee:

SG payment deadlines for employers

Payment period SG deadline for each 3-month period
1 July – 30 September 28 October
1 October – 31 December 28 January
1 January – 31 March 28 April
1 April – 30 June 28 July

Set out below are all SuperGuide articles referring to Superannuation Guarantee (SG).

Super contributions beyond the age of 75

by 5 Comments

Q: If employers must now make Superannuation Guarantee contributions for over-70s, does this mean that additional concessional or non-concessional contributions can also be made by those aged over 75? A: The short answer is ‘no’. Although employers are now required to make Superannuation Guarantees for any eligible ... Read more

Australia not ready for Age Pension age of 70 years

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Russia has just raised the pension age for men to 65 years (from 60 years) and for women to 60 years (from 55 years). The original plan was to raise pension age for women to 63 years, but after national uproar, Vladimir Putin relented and only increased pension age for women to 60 years but still raised male pension ... Read more

Managing capital gains tax with super contributions

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Q: I am about to make a capital gain of about $200,000 on an investment property I have owned for several years. My marginal tax rate is 32.5% and I am an employee, and 43 years old. I want to contribute the equivalent of the capital gain to my super (which is not a self-managed fund), so I can save some money for the ... Read more

LISTO: Super tax refund for lower-income earners

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In a welcome backflip, as part of its May 2016 Federal Budget, the Coalition government announced it would extend the Low Income Super Contribution (LISC) beyond its legislated expiry date of June 2017. This extension is now law, and since July 2017, the LISC has been renamed the Low Income Superannuation Tax Offset ... Read more

Superannuation tax refund: 10 facts you should know

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If you earn less than $37,000, and you, or your employer, makes concessional (before-tax) contributions to your super fund, you may get a refund of up to $500 a year for the contributions tax deducted from the super contributions. Employer contributions are typically compulsory Superannuation Guarantee contributions, ... Read more

Double contributions tax for more high-income earners

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Note: Since 1 July 2017, anyone earning an ‘income for surcharge purposes’ of more than $250,000 pays an extra 15% tax (total of 30%) on concessional (before-tax) super contributions. Before July 2017 (and since July 2012), the ‘threshold income for surcharge purposes’ was $300,000, and anyone earning an ‘income for ... Read more

MySuper: Now at a super fund near you

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If you believed the federal government’s public relations campaign, MySuper should have delivered you the equivalent of nirvana in superannuation – low fees, strong investment performance, financial security and a worry-free retirement. Pardon? You didn’t see the government’s MySuper publicity campaign? I am not ... Read more

Latest superannuation rules: 2018/2019 guide

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Substantial changes to the superannuation rules took effect from 1 July 2017, and further super changes took effect from 1 July 2018. Have you investigated how the super changes will affect your superannuation and retirement plans for the 2018/2019 year, and for future financial years? At the same time, many of ... Read more