Make the most of the perks

Give your retirement savings a boost by taking advantage of the latest rule changes

- Vita Palestrant

Call it a hangover from the silly season when people look at their empty calendar and decide there’s ample time to plan the year ahead when there’s just four months left to the end of the financial year.

If you want to boost your super and make the most of its generous tax concessions, you need to keep abreast of the changes to the 2022-23 rules.

“Ensuring you are across the changes earlier in the year will give you time to implement appropriate strategies for your retirement,” says Xavier O’Halloran, director of Super Consumers Australia.

“The amount of super your employer must pay you, called the super guarantee, went up from 10% to 10.5% on July 1, 2022, and will continue to rise by 0.5% each year until it reaches 12%. This means your super contribution levels will be increasing each year.”

He says it’s important to make sure you are receiving the right amount of super. If you make voluntary concessional contributions, don’t just “set and forget”. Figure out your retirement target and see if you need to make additional contributions to reach it.

“But be aware of any tax implications that may arise if you exceed your annual contributions cap [currently $27,500]. This is particularly so for people who are near the cap and will see their super automatically increase due to the rising SG amounts.”

Another key change is you no longer need to earn a minimum of $450 a month, per employer, to get the SG. It’s now paid on every dollar you earn.

“Anyone over 18 should earn super on any ordinary time earnings. If you were affected by the threshold, check your super statements to see if you are now receiving contributions,” says O’Halloran.