How to start salary sacrificing super contributions
- Speak to a financial adviser to discuss your personal financial situation and whether a salary sacrifice arrangement will work for you.
- Talk to your employer about how much you'd like to deduct from your pay, and they'll set up your automatic contributions.
Benefits of salary sacrificing
- Salary sacrifice contributions are taxed at 15%, which is generally lower than the tax you’d pay if you received it as take-home pay.
- It can reduce your taxable income so you may pay less income tax.
Things to consider
- Salary sacrifice super contributions count towards your annual $27,500 concessional contributions cap. See more about contribution caps.
- If you’re a low or middle income earner, after-tax contributions might be a better option as you could be eligible for a government co-contribution (eligibility criteria apply). Visit the ATO website.
- DBD members can make salary sacrifice super contributions as part of their default member contributions.
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Read the transcript
Salary sacrificing is an easy way to give your super a boost and help it grow faster.
It’s when some of the salary you’d normally receive as take-home pay goes into your super instead. You arrange this with your employer. Because it comes out of your salary before you’ve paid income tax, it’s taxed as super at 15% and not your marginal tax rate. By putting some of your pay into your super by salary sacrificing rather than after-tax contributions, you may in fact reduce the overall amount of tax you pay, without affecting your take-home pay—it just depends on your circumstances.
While topping up super is a great way to save, it’s important to be aware of the limits, or caps, the government sets on super contributions. You can keep track of your contributions on MemberOnline, the secure section of our website. Before setting up a salary sacrificing arrangement with your employer or payroll, it’s important to weigh up whether you’d be better off contributing this way or by topping up your super after you’ve been paid.
For more information about salary sacrificing visit unisuper.com.au/salarysacrifice or give us a call on 1800 331 685
If you need helping figuring out if salary sacrificing is right for you, give our team of financial experts a call on 1800 823 842, and we’ll help you work out what solution suits your needs and financial situation.
Even the small contributions you make now can make a real difference to the future you want.
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Things you need to know
*Information contained on this website, including the accessible video content, as prepared and provided by UniSuper Management Pty Ltd ABN 91 006 961 799, AFSL No. 235907 (USM), is of a general nature only. Any advice provided doesn’t take into account your objectives, financial situation or needs. Before you act on any advice you should consider these matters, the relevant Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) and Target Market Determination (TMD) and whether to consult a qualified financial adviser. For a copy of the PDS and TMD, call us on 1800 331 685 or go to unisuper.com.au/pds.
UniSuper Advice is a financial planning service generally available to UniSuper members, former members and their families through USM, which is licensed to provide financial advice services and deal in financial products. See unisuper.com.au/advice for more information, including the Financial Services Guide, or call us on 1800 331 685.
Prepared by USM on behalf of UniSuper Limited (ABN 54 006 027 121, AFSL No. 492806) the trustee of UniSuper (ABN 91 385 943 850) the fund.