Give your super a helping hand

Sacrifice more salary

You can arrange for your employer to increase the regular amount put into super from your pay packet before tax is taken out. This method, known as salary sacrificing, may lower your taxable income – allowing you to pay less tax.

In addition, any super top-up that you make in this way will likely be taxed at the concessional rate of 15%. While it will depend on your actual level of income, this can usually be lower than most people’s personal income tax rate making it a tax effective way to boost your super. 

There are limits though. Concessional contributions (before tax), include your employers Superannuation Guarantee, salary sacrificed amounts, as well as any personal contributions for which you claim a tax deduction, are generally limited to $27,500 – unless you are able to access unused contribution cap amounts from previous years.

If you’re in a financial position to salary sacrifice, it’s often a good idea to organise this before the start of a new financial year. 

Top-up using after-tax payments

The other option is to make additional-payments from your take-home pay to your super fund, as often as financial circumstances allow. These are often referred to as after-tax payments, and potentially entitle you to receive a tax deduction. 

Make a personal contribution 

Regardless of whether you are employed, self-employed, or not working at all, you can make a top-up contribution to your super from your personal savings or after you get paid. Anyone under 75 can make a personal contribution to their super. However, if you’re aged 67-74 you will need to satisfy a work test if you want to claim a tax deduction for your personal contribution.

Where you choose to claim a tax deduction for your personal contributions, they will generally be taxed at the concessional rate of 15%. However, this can usually be lower than most people’s personal income tax rate, claiming a tax deduction for personal super contributions can be another tax effective way to boost your super – as you’ll likely pay less tax overall. 

Also, if you’ve sold an asset that you have to pay capital gains tax on, you could contribute some or all of the sale proceeds into super, so you can claim it as a tax deduction. This could reduce or even eliminate the capital gains tax that’s owing altogether.

To claim a tax deduction, tell your super fund by filling out a notice of intent. Generally, this form must be acknowledged by your fund before you lodge your tax return for the year . 

There are limits though. Concessional contributions, which include your employer’s SG, salary sacrificed amounts, as well as any personal contributions for which you claim a tax deduction, are generally limited to $27,500 – unless you are able to access unused contribution cap amounts from previous years. 

Of course, you could also make a personal contribution and choose NOT to claim it as a tax deduction. If you are not claiming a tax deduction, there is no tax on these contributions on entry to the fund. These contributions are referred to as Non-concessional contributions (after tax). There are limits to how much can be contributed as a non-concessional contribution. These contributions are limited to $110,000 per annum. For those aged under 75, they may be able to bring-forward up to two years’ worth of non-concessional contribution cap. If eligible, this would allow a contribution of up to $330,000.

Make a payment - Resolution Life

Provide Resolution Life a letter of intent form  

Make a downsizer contribution 

If you’re 55 years or older and selling your main residence, you may be able to contribute up to $300,000 into your super using the money from the sale. This is particularly handy if you haven’t had the chance to save enough funds for retirement.

You can do this regardless of your work status, super balance or contributions history. It’s not subject to any work test, upper age limit or other contribution cap. Even better, both you and your spouse can take advantage, meaning you may be able to contribute up to $600,000 as a couple.

To make a downsizer contribution, you must have lived in the sold property as your main residence at some point and owned the home for at least 10 years. The contribution must also occur within 90 days of receiving the proceeds of sale, which is usually the settlement date. 

Move your downsizer proceeds  

Put money into your spouse’s super fund 

Growing your spouse’s super balance can be a smart strategy if they are a low-income earner or not working. And, if you contribute to your spouse’s eligible super account by the end of the financial year, you may be able to offset your tax by $540 per year, depending on how much you contribute.

The spouse receiving the contribution must be aged under 75. 

To be eligible to claim the maximum $540 tax offset, you will need to contribute at least $3,000 to your spouse’s super and your spouse’s annual income must be $37,000 or less. In order to qualify for a partial offset, your spouse’s income must be less than $40,000. Further information is provided on the ATO website .

Limits also apply in terms of how much you can contribute to your spouse’s super fund.

Help your loved one

Let the government match your contribution 

If you top up your super by making a personal super contribution from your take-home pay, that is a non-concessional contribution (after tax) as discussed earlier. Depending on your income, the Australian government may reward you by adding up to $500 into your super fund. This will be automatically processed by the ATO after your annual tax return has been completed (remember to provide your tax file number to your super fund). 

If your income is less than $42,016 in the 2022-23 financial year, and you make a contribution of $1,000, you will receive the maximum co-contribution of $500 assuming you meet the eligibility criteria. 

If your total income is between $42,016 and $57,016 in the 2022-23 financial year, your maximum entitlement will reduce progressively as your income rises.

For more information visit the ATO website.  

Find a form

If your super guarantee contributions are currently paid into another super fund and you would like to have it paid to your Resolution Life super account instead, you can access a form below and provide it to your employer. You’ll need your product name to download the right form.
Choice of superannuation form 

Use this ATO form to notify your super fund you would like to claim a tax deduction on a voluntary contribution.
Notice of intent form

Some important things to consider 

Cut-off dates for contributions 

You should submit all forms and payments by 23 June 2023 if you want your contributions to count within the 2022-23 financial year

It’s important not to leave this to the last minute, as most super funds take three to five business days to process payments and application forms. Otherwise, your contributions will likely count towards the next financial year.

Concessional and non-concessional contribution caps

You should be aware there are limits on how much you can top up your super in a year. These are known as contribution caps. 
There are two main contribution caps: 

• A concessional cap (before tax) of $27,500 per year for compulsory, salary sacrifice and personal tax-deductible super contributions; and 
• a non-concessional cap (after tax) of $110,000 per year for after-tax personal super contributions for which you do not claim a tax deduction and spouse contributions you receive. If you’re under 75 and eligible, you may also be able to bundle up to three years of non-concessional contributions, or $330,000, under the bring-forward rule. 

If you exceed super contribution caps, additional tax and penalties may apply.

You can find out more here 

Other caps and thresholds you should know

• If you have a total super balance of $1.9 million or more as at 30 June of the previous financial year, you can’t make any non-concessional contributions.
• Your total super balance will need to be below $1.68 million as at 30 June of the previous financial year, to contribute up to three years of annual caps ($330,000) under the bring-forward rule.
• From 1 July 2023, the amount of super savings that can be transferred into a retirement pension has increased from $1.7 million to $1.9 million, but not for everyone.

Accessing your super

When you make super contributions, it’s important to understand that you can only access your super under certain rules, largely known as the conditions of release. For most people, this is when they:

• Reach their preservation age and retire, which varies between 55 and 60, depending on what year you were born.
• Reach preservation age and choose to begin a transition to retirement income stream while still working.
• Reach age 60 and cease an employment arrangement, or
• are 65 years old (even if you have not retired).

However, you might be able to access super earlier in some special circumstances. These include permanent incapacity, severe financial hardship, compassionate grounds or if you have a terminal medical condition.