Boost your joint retirement income

Sharing your superannuation contributions with your spouse could boost your joint retirement income.

Why split contributions?

There are several advantages that may be beneficial when it comes to splitting your super with your spouse:

• If your spouse is older than you, you may get earlier access to super benefits. This is because your spouse may be able to access their savings at an earlier date than you could if the contributions were kept in your account.
• If your spouse is younger than you, you can defer having those contributions counted under the asset and income test. This may give you access to a higher age pension.
• If your spouse does not have enough in their account balance to apply for insurance, increasing their balance (to at least the minimum required) may give them access to the cover they need.

How much can you split?

For the 2010/11 tax year you can split before-tax contributions, including employer and salary sacrifice made between 1 July 2009 and 30 June 2010.

You can also split concessional contributions made during the current financial year if your entire benefit is to be rolled over or transferred to another super fund or paid out to you by the end of the financial year.

The maximum amount of contributions that can be split is the lesser of:

• 85% of concessional contributions for that financial year, and
• the concessional contributions cap.

Who can receive your split contributions?

Contributions can be split with a spouse who is:

• under preservation age (currently 55), regardless of whether they’re working or not, or
• between preservation age and 65 and who is not permanently retired.

Contributions cannot be split with a spouse aged 65 or over.

A spouse in relation to a UniSuper member means:

• a person to whom you are legally married
• a person, whether of the same sex or a different sex, with whom you are in a relationship that is registered under an Australian State or Territory law, and
• a person, whether of the same sex or a different sex, with whom you are not legally married but who lives with you on a genuine domestic basis as a couple.

Refer to the fact sheet, Super contribution splitting with your spouse for more information.

How to split your contributions

To split contributions made between 1 July 2009 and 30 June 2010, you must lodge a Contribution splitting application form with UniSuper by 30 June 2011.

If you do not transfer these contributions by 30 June 2011, you will not be able to transfer them in future.

You will be able to split contributions made between 1 July 2010 and 30 June 2011 on or after 1 July 2011.