There is a saying, “Time flies when you’re having fun.” But as an Australian employee, you simply cannot allow time to fly especially when you are planning your retirement. And that’s where the superannuation fund comes into the picture. In this blog post, you can check out all the major tips and strategies on how you can maximise your superannuation contribution. 

Key Factors for Superannuation Entitlements

Before we go on to the tips, let’s first understand who is entitled to get superannuation benefits. 

• You must be an Australian resident
• You must be 18 years old or over
• If you earn $450 and more (before tax) per month

If you fulfill all of these conditions, you are eligible to get Superannuation Guarantee contributions from your employer. Also, it does not matter whether you are working as a full-timer, part-timer, or just a casual employee. The only thing is that you have to work 30 hours per week or more. Along with this, even employed temporary residents of Australia are entitled to superannuation. Now let’s proceed with the tips 

#Tip 1 – Make Voluntary  Contributions 

The first way to maximise your Superannuation contribution is by regularly contributing to it. What’s more exciting is that this can be made in addition to your employer’s compulsory contribution. So here you have two types of voluntary contributions: 

The concessional contributions are made against the pre-tax contributions. This includes employer contributions, salary sacrifice contributions, and personal deductible contributions. 

The non-concessional contributions are made against the after-tax contributions. This includes personal contributions made from your take-home pay. 

#Tip 2 – Consider Salary  Sacrificing

Salary sacrifice is where you get your employer to pay a portion of your pre-tax salary paid directly to your superannuation fund. Now that’s going to give an immediate boost to your super contribution. You might wonder if it would reduce your take-home pay. But it’s certainly not that. It’s just that you will be taxed 15% on the money your salary sacrifice. If closely look at, you actually are paying less tax on your salary sacrifice super contributions than you do on your income.

#Tip 3 – Take Advantage of the Government Co-Contribution

Now when you make a personal contribution to your super fund, the government also steps in with a contribution known as co-contribution. This maximum amount is about $500. Also, if you earn less than $54,837 and make personal after-tax contributions to your superannuation fund, you are eligible for this contribution from the government. So, this also means that most low-income earners will not pay any tax on their concessional contributions. 

#Tip 4 – Review Your Investment Strategy

The next tip is to review your super continually. When you choose any super fund, you get various investment options. You choose the most suitable option depending on your risk capability. If you are young, you might take more risk whereas if you are closer to retirement, you may prefer a conservative approach. Make sure you monitor your super when you get an annual or quarterly statement. 

Conclusion 

There might be many other tips as well that can boost your superannuation contribution. The ones mentioned in our blog post are among the most common ones. But in the end, it all comes down to planning and preparation. By effectively planning and strategies, you can boost your superannuation contributions. If you require any assistance in maximising your superannuation contribution, you can rely on KPG Taxation which is a leading tax accounting service provider in Australia. It can help you to manage and boost your super funds.