Government co-contributions

Are you eligible to increase your retirement savings?
The Government Co-contribution Scheme applies to personal contributions (post-tax) made by low and middle-income earners.

Under certain conditions, the Government will provide a co-contribution of $1.50 for every $1.00 of personal contributions you make to your superannuation account—up to a maximum of $1,000 (ie this equates to a maximum Government co-contribution of $1,500).

The maximum co-contribution of $1,500 will be available to persons with assessable incomes of up to $30,342. The maximum co-contribution will phase out at five cents for each $1.00 of income over $30,342 up to a maximum income of $60,342 (as per the table below).

Assessable income plus reportable fringe benefits Co-contribution if I make an after tax contribution of: $1,000 or more $800 $500 $200 $30,342 or less $1,500 $1,200 $750 $300 $32,342 $1,400 $1,200 $750 $300 $34,342 $1,300 $1,200 $750 $300 $36,342 $1,200 $1,200 $750 $300 $38,342 $1,100 $1,100 $750 $300 $40,342 $1,000 $1,000 $750 $300 $42,342 $900 $900 $750 $300 $44,342 $800 $800 $750 $300 $46,342 $700 $700 $700 $300 $48,342 $600 $600 $600 $300 $50,342 $500 $500 $500 $300 $52,342 $400 $400 $400 $300 $54,342 $300 $300 $300 $300 $56,342 $200 $200 $200 $200 $58,342 $100 $100 $100 $100 $60,342 or more $0 $0 $0 $0

• Your contribution to super must be your own personal contribution and made on an after tax basis (salary sacrifice contributions DO NOT qualify for the co-contribution).
• You must lodge an income tax return for the financial year.
• You must receive 10% or more of your total income during the financial year from eligible employment, running a business or a combination of both. Eligible employment generally means anything that results in the person being treated as an employee.
• Your total income must be less than $60,342 for the financial year. (Total income includes your salary or wages and net business income as well as other income such as dividends, interest, plus reportable fringe benefits.)
• You must be under 71 years old at the end of the financial year.
• You must not be the holder of a temporary resident visa at any time during the financial year.

• Contribute post-tax superannuation contribution(s) before the end of the financial year by either:
  • making a lump sum (after tax) contribution by completing the Lump sum payment form
  • speaking to your payroll office about making regular post-tax contributions via your salary.
• Should you have an enterprise agreement in place with your employer giving you extra superannuation support if you contribute to super, it may be to your advantage to consider making some of your superannuation contributions on a post-tax basis. In this case, fortnightly payroll deductions may be more suitable than a lump sum payment.
• Members should seek independent financial advice regarding the make-up of their contributions to superannuation.

Of course, you can still continue to make salary sacrifice (pre-tax) contributions as well, if you so choose.

• The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) will work out your entitlement using information supplied by CSRF (usually in October) and from your income tax return.
• The co-contribution will be paid directly into your CSRF superannuation account once the ATO data-matching is completed.
• If you have more than one super find, the ATO determines which fund to send the contribution to.
• To calculate your own personal government co-contribution amount, please refer to the ATO website  .

Spouse contributions do not qualify for the co-contribution, but if your spouse is receiving less than $13,800 in assessable income per annum you are able to make an after tax contribution and can claim a tax offset. The offset is 18% of post-tax spouse contributions of up to $3,000, with a maximum tax offset of $540.