Annual Limits on Super Contributions

There are 2 types of super contributions:

There is an annual maximum limit to both the amount of concessional and non-concessional contributions you can receive to your super.

Concessional Contributions

Concessional contributions are so-called because they are taxed at a lower or ‘concessional’ rate than many other forms of investment. These contributions are taxed at the concessional rate of 15% when paid into your super fund, and include:

• For Division 5 (accumulation) members, actual employer contributions (minimum 11.5% of salary in 2024/25), plus some scheme admin fees that your employer pays on your behalf.
• Your pre-tax member contributions (for defined benefit members in Division 2 or 4)
• Your pre-tax additional voluntary contributions (AVCs), such as salary sacrifice contributions*
• For defined benefit members in Division 2, 3 or 4, a notional employer contribution
• Other pre-tax payments (eg. bonus payments or extra contributions)
• Post-tax contributions for which you have claimed a tax deduction

(* Not for Division 3 members. Your member contributions are built into the notional employer contribution rate.)

The table below shows which types of payments are included as concessional contributions for each Division of ElectricSuper membership:

What is a notional employer contribution?

For defined benefit members (in Division 2, 3 or 4), the actual contributions paid by your employer into ElectricSuper to fund all members’ benefits is set by the Scheme Actuary at least once every 3 years. It is an amount that covers all member benefits.

The ATO provide a formula to calculate the notional amount that belongs to each member from the actual amount employers contribute for all members. We use this for our ATO reporting. The formula uses the member’s own contribution rate and salary. The salary at 1 July each year is always used for this.

The notional employer contribution rates are shown below:

(* or Div 3 individual standard rate)

Note

• Your payslip might show different employer contributions which instead relate to the minimum that your employer must contribute to your super under government law (and in defined benefit funds, employers generally fund benefits at a much higher rate than the minimum required.)
• If you are over age 60 and have reached your maximum employer benefit, the notional employer contribution rate may be lower.

Non-concessional Contributions

Non-concessional contributions are contributions to your super which are not given lower, or ‘concessional’ tax treatment.

They include any contributions that you pay into your super from post-tax income, plus

• any excess concessional contributions
• all pre-tax contributions

Non-concessional contributions are not taxed when they are received by ElectricSuper, as generally you have already paid income tax on this money.

What is your non-concessional contributions cap?

The current year’s non-concessional cap can be found on the ATO website. There are exceptions to the cap, which is reviewed and can be adjusted annually.

‘Bring-forward’ rule for under 75s

This rule allows those under 75 years old to make up to 3 years’ worth of non-concessional contributions to their super in a single income year. This means you can contribute up to 3 times the current annual non-concessional contributions cap into your super in one financial year without having to pay extra tax. Essentially, those who use the rule are ‘bringing forward’ their next 2 years of caps into the current year.

Whether you can use the bring-forward rule depends on 2 factors:

1. your total super balance, and
2. your age.

The bring-forward rule is only available to those whose super balance is under a certain limit (known as the Total Super Balance Cap). You can find the current year’s Total Super Balance Cap on the ATO website.

Secondly, you must be under 75 years old for at least one day during the triggering financial year (the first year you use the bring-forward rule) to be eligible.

Work test for over 67s claiming a tax deduction

If you plan to claim a tax deduction for any personal contributions you make to your super, and you are aged 67-74, you will need to meet “the work test”. That is, you must work at least 40 hours over 30 consecutive days before you can claim a tax deduction for these contributions.

However, you can make personal deductible contributions in the financial year immediately after the work test if your Total Super Balance (across all your super accounts) was under $300,000 on 30 June of the previous financial year. You can find the current Total Super Balance on the ATO’s website.

Contributing over age 74

Once you reach age 75, you can’t add to your super yourself at all, although you may still receive employer contributions, Award payments and downsizer contributions if you’re eligible.

In the 28 days following the end of the month you turn 75, you can still receive voluntary employer contributions (such as salary sacrifice), other amounts paid by your employer to your super fund (such as admin fees) and personal contributions and spouse contributions.