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Q: I’ve heard that the total amounts I have in superannuation can impact my future contributions and eligibility for certain benefits. As a SASS member, how does my benefit count towards my Total Superannuation Balance?   

Your Total Super Balance (TSB) is one of the most important figures in the superannuation system. It doesn't just show how much super you have. It determines whether you can make certain contributions, access catch-up concessional contributions, use the bring-forward rule and qualify for the government co-contribution. and access some other superannuation concessions. 

Your Total Superannuation Balance (TSB) for a financial year is the current value of your money in the superannuation system at the Assessment Date which is 30 June of the previous financial year. 

It includes: 

  • All accumulation or pre-retirement superannuation accounts including defined benefit. 
  • Retirement phase accounts such as an account-based pension. 
  • And any funds that are in the process of being transferred from one superannuation account to another (known as in-transit rollovers).  

It excludes any structured settlement contributions resulting from personal injury compensation. 

Your superannuation fund reports the value of your superannuation benefit to the ATO, and the ATO determines your TSB. 

As a SASS member, the value included in your TSB will vary depending on your type of benefit and your age.  

The below table outlines the various types of members and the value that will be reported at 30 June depending on whether you are under or over your eligible retirement age (55 or 58) at that date. 
 

Type of memberUnder eligible retirement age*Reached eligible retirement age*
Contributing member, Deferred member under preservation age** Withdrawal benefitRetirement benefit
Deferred member over preservation age# Retirement benefitRetirement benefit 


* Your early retirement age (55 or 58) is shown on your SASS Annual Statement.  

** Including standard deferred members, members who have a deferred benefit due to crystallisation after age 55 and members with deferred benefit due to SES election who are under preservation age.  

# Including standard deferred members, members who have a deferred benefit due to crystallisation after age 55 and members with deferred benefit due to SES election who are over preservation age.  

Your Total Superannuation Balance (TSB) is important because it is used to determine:
 

Your eligibility to make non-concessional (after tax) contributions 

Once the TSB reaches $2.1 million you can no longer make after tax contributions to superannuation without incurring a penalty. 

Your eligibility to make additional after-tax contributions to super above the annual cap 

If you are under age 75 and your TSB was under $1.84 million at 30 June 2026 you may be eligible to contribute up to $390,000 in the 2026/27 financial year. 

If your balance was between $1.84 million and $1.97 million at 30 June 2026, the cap is reduced to $260,000 in the 2026/27 financial year. If your TSB is between $1.97 million and $2.1 million, you cannot use the bring forward arrangement, you're limited to the annual cap of $130,000. And once your TSB reaches $2.1 million or more, you’re not eligible to make non-concessional contributions. 

Eligibility for the government co-contribution 

The government co-contribution is an additional contribution to super to help eligible people boost their retirement savings. If you're a low or middle-income earner and make personal (after-tax) contributions to your super fund, the government also makes a contribution up to a maximum amount of $500. 

To be eligible, your TSB must be below $2.1 million, and you must meet the other eligibility requirements to receive a co-contribution.  

Ability to make catch up concessional (before-tax) contributions to super

If your TSB is below $500k you may be able to make catch up concessional contributions.  Catch-up concessional contributions let you make extra tax-deductible super contributions by using any unused concessional contribution cap space from the previous five financial years.  This can be a useful strategy if you've had periods of lower contributions and want to boost your retirement savings or reduce your taxable income. Catch up contributions cannot be made to your SASS account, you would need to make them to another Super fund. 

Q: I’m expecting an inheritance in the next few months of more than $300,000, and I’d like to contribute this into my super. Can you please explain my options, and how the bring forward rule works? 

Firstly, it's great that you’re thinking about how to make the most of this windfall. Making additional contributions to super can be a smart way to grow your retirement savings in a tax effective way - provided you meet the eligibility rules and caps. Let’s walk through how it works. 

These are the SASS scheme limits to be aware of: while you’re a contributing member of SASS, you can only contribute between 1% and 9% of your salary into your Personal Account^. And if you’ve deferred your benefit in SASS, you can’t contribute to it at all. That means if you’d like to contribute your inheritance as a lump sum, you’ll need to open an account with another super fund.  

^ Before changing your SASS contribution rate, it’s important to understand you may lose the special contribution cap protection. Changing your contribution rate may mean you lose the special condition for SASS members, which deems all before-tax contributions to be within the cap limits. SASS will report only the amount up to the cap to the ATO for members with this special contribution cap protection. Members lose this special condition if they move to a higher benefit category than the category they were in on either 12 May 2009 or 5 September 2006.   

Contribution cap protection

It’s important to check your most recent statement under ‘Your membership details – Contribution cap protection’ or contact the State Super Customer Service to confirm whether the special condition applies to you.

For more information go to SASS Factsheet 16 Contribution caps and your total superannuation balance.

There are two types of personal contributions you can consider: concessional (before-tax) and non-concessional (after-tax). 

If you intend to claim a tax deduction on your contribution, it will count as a concessional contribution. These are capped at $32,500 for the 2026/27 financial year and include all employer contributions, salary sacrifice, and personal deductible contributions. Contributions tax of 15% is deducted when the contribution is added to your account. If you’re a contributing member of SASS, depending on your current contribution rate and how many benefit points you've accrued in SASS, you may still have room under this cap to make a deductible contribution to another super fund. 

If you don’t intend to claim a deduction, the contribution is treated as non-concessional. These are made with after-tax money – like an inheritance – and are limited to$130,000 per year, provided your Total Super Balance (TSB) as at 30 June 2026 was below $2.1 million. 

To access the bring forward arrangement in 2026/27: 

  • You must be under 75 years of age on 1 July 2026 
  • If you have a high total super balance on 30 June 2026, your ability to take advantage of these arrangements in 2026/27 will be limited as shown below. 

The following table shows the bring-forward arrangement for the first year: 

 

Total super balance on 30 June of previous yearNon-concessional contributions cap for the first yearBring-forward period
Less than $1.84 million$390,000 3 years
$1.84 million to less than $1.97 million$260,000 2 years
$1.97 million to less than $2.1 million$130,000Not applicable
$2.1 million or more NilNot applicable


If you're eligible to contribute $390,000 in one financial year, you'll need to wait two financial years to contribute more. For example, if you contribute $390,000 in May 2027 using the bring forward rule, you won’t be able to make any further non-concessional contributions until 1 July 2029, without facing penalties for exceeding the cap. You could pay additional tax of up to 47%. 

Contributing funds to your super will save you tax: earnings inside super are taxed up to 15%, with capital gains tax potentially as low as 10% – compared to marginal tax rates outside of super, which can go as high as 45%. That means if you're happy to put the money aside for the future, super can be an effective way to grow your wealth. 

That said, a few things are worth checking before you go ahead. Make sure you haven’t already triggered the bring forward rule in the last two financial years, and double-check any other non-concessional contributions you’ve made this year – including any after-tax contributions to your SASS account, if you’re not salary sacrificing. These count towards the same cap. 

Also, keep in mind how a large contribution might affect your TSB. If it pushes your balance over key thresholds, it could limit your ability to make other contributions down the track – like catch-up concessional contributions – or use the bring forward rule again. 

This is where a financial planner can be a big help. They can assess your full situation and goals, help you avoid any tax traps, and make sure you’re making the most of your opportunity.

Q: Now that we’re empty nesters, my husband and I are thinking about selling the family home to move somewhere smaller. Can you please explain the benefit of a downsizer contribution, especially if the proceeds from the sale are already Capital Gains Tax free? We would love to know if there’s anything else we should be aware of as we make this decision.  

Downsizer contributions, which allow Australians over 55 who sell their home to make a one-off contribution from the proceeds, are a potentially tax effective way to boost your retirement savings. It’s great to hear you’re putting plenty of thought into it, as this type of contribution can come with important considerations and potential pitfalls. 

One of the biggest advantages of a downsizer contribution is that it is an after-tax contribution. A downsizer contribution can be up to $300,000 per person or $600,000 for a couple if the proceeds exceed the contributed amount. This means no tax is paid on the money when you put it into your super. 

When you’re eligible to withdraw this money from your super in the future, it will be tax-free. By comparison, if you invested the sale proceeds outside of super, for example in a term deposit or shares, the interest or returns would likely be taxed at your personal marginal tax rate. By putting the money into super, you can take advantage of the fund’s lower concessional tax treatment.

The extra piece of good news is that it’s in addition to the other contribution caps and limits. Plus, there’s no upper age limit. This is especially valuable if you’re over 75, as most other types of voluntary contributions are restricted beyond that age. 

It’s important to note that you won’t be able to make a downsizer contribution to your SASS account. You will need to open an account with another super fund and make the downsizer contribution to that fund.

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Contributions of $100,000 and $300,000 are based on a single female (females represent majority of Aware members), making a downsizer contribution at age 55 and retire at age 67.

Contributions of $600,000 are based on a couple (male and female), making a downsizer contribution at age 55 and retire at age 67. Each member will contribute $300,000 into their super.

Extra incomes are rounded to the nearest $1000 and are stated in today’s dollars deflated using Average Weekly Ordinary Time Earnings (AWOTE) of 3.5% p.a. in accumulation phase and CPI of 2.50% p.a. in pension phase.

The downsizer contribution is made at age 55 and invested in the Balanced option with an assumed rate of return of 6.45% net of all taxes and investment fees between the ages 55-67 (inclusive).

Starting from age 67 at retirement, the single and couple started an income stream which is invested in the Conservative Balanced (pension) option. The assumed return is 6.00% p.a net of all taxes and investment fees.

Starting from age 67 at retirement, the single and couple will both attempt to maximise their income until age 95. This means drawing down the maximum sustainable amount until the super balance is exhausted at age 95.

The female member has a starting salary of $85,000 and a starting balance of $156,000.

The male member has a starting salary of $108,000 and starting balance of $203,000.

We assume the gross salary will grow by age according to the age-based Salary Promotional Scale, as well as by time according to the Expected Salary Growth Rate of 3.5% p.a. We apply a gender-neutral age-based Salary Promotional Scale in the projection.

We estimate the Government Age Pension entitlement available to the individual based on their age, income and assets including the estimated super balance at age 67 according to the legislated rules. We have assumed the individual is a homeowner and has $50,000 in personal assets at retirement. Age pension and asset and income test thresholds are valid as at 1st February 2025.

An asset-based fee of 0.15% p.a., capped at a maximum of $750 p.a. and a fixed fee of $52 p.a. is applied in accumulation phase and an asset-based fee of 0.23% p.a., capped at a maximum of $1500 p.a. and a fixed fee of $52 p.a. Is applied in pension phase (Aware Super administration fees are extracted from the PDS from 1 Oct 2024. Please refer to the PDS for more information).

Projection is valid based on the information available as at February 2025.

This example is for illustrative purposes only. It relies on various assumptions. If actual circumstances differ from these assumptions, actual results will be different.

 A few things to note

The home does not need to have been your primary residence for the entire ownership period. And any existing mortgage or debt on the property doesn’t impact the amount you’re eligible to contribute: it’s the total sale proceeds that matter. 

It’s important to know that the 90-day contribution window is strict, so you can plan ahead. Also, be mindful of how a large contribution could affect your Total Super Balance. A large contribution could push your balance over certain thresholds, which might limit your ability to make other types of contributions in future years. 

You also need to consider how it could affect your Age Pension eligibility, if that’s part of your retirement plan. The family home is exempt from Centrelink’s assets test, but once sold, the proceeds can affect your entitlements. If you’re planning to buy another home, the proceeds may be exempt for up to two years, and will be subject to lower deeming rates in the meantime. Some couples also choose to contribute to the younger spouse’s super (if they’re under Age Pension age) to help reduce assessable assets. 

If the sale of your home results in a Capital Gains Tax liability, you may want to explore other contribution strategies too. For example, a personal deductible contribution might help offset some of the tax payable, depending on your situation. 

It’s also worth checking your super fund’s requirements carefully. If the correct form isn’t submitted or the contribution isn’t made exactly as required, it may be treated as a non-concessional contribution – which could lead to unexpected tax or penalties. 

Finally, don’t forget to factor this decision into your estate plan. A large super contribution may change the way your assets are distributed, so it’s a good time to check your wills and beneficiary nominations, especially if you have a blended family or more complex arrangements in place. 

A downsizer contribution can be a valuable way to make the most of your property sale, but it’s not a one-size-fits-all decision. A financial planner can help you weigh your options and make sure you’re taking the right steps for your future.

Where to next?

How SASS deferred members can get the most out of My Retirement Planner > 

How much will you need to cover the cost of living in retirement? >  

Changes to super caps and how to make contributions tax effective > 

AI and retirement calculators: what SASS members need to know > 

Market review and outlook > 

Back to Edition 25 > 

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A quick guide for your super statement

If you’re baffled by your super statement, you’re not alone. Our SASS experts are here to demystify the most common questions members have about their annual statement and offer important information you need to know. 
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