If you’ve taken some time off work to care for the kids, it’s likely that your super balance has taken a bit of a hit. This is where contributions from your spouse can help, and there could also be tax benefits from making these contributions.
How spouse contributions work
There are two ways your spouse can contribute to your account:
- Personal spouse contributions: paid directly to your spouse’s account as non-concessional contributions
- Contribution splitting: you can split your concessional (before tax) contributions with your spouse.
If your spouse is a member with us, you can make personal contributions online via BPAY®, EFT or direct debit. If their super is held with another fund, please contact that fund to find out how they accept contributions.
Contributions to your own super account through salary sacrifice are taxed at 15%. Contributions to your partner’s super via a splitting arrangement are not subject to additional tax in your spouse’s account.
Find out more about spouse contributionsAnd if that isn’t reason enough, your investment earnings are also taxed at a lower rate than if you were making money off investments outside of super.
Splitting super contributions
Another way your spouse can help build your super savings is to split their financial year’s pre-tax contributions with you. Your spouse can split up to 85% of their total concessional (before tax) contributions for that financial year into your super fund, as long as:
- the contributions are under the concessional contributions cap (including any carry-forward amounts)
- you’re under 65
- you haven’t reached your preservation age and permanently retired.
Need help?
Speak with a superannuation adviser to discuss your options. There’s no extra cost - it's covered by your membership fee.
