Paying Employees' additional contributions

How you can help your employees to grow their super

Before tax contribution

Type of contribution How it works What do I need to know
Salary sacrifice

An arrangement between you and your employee where additional super contributions will be deducted from the employee’s salary before they pay income tax.

You can make these contributions by updating the salary sacrifice column on the contribution screen within EmployerAccess. This will ensure that the contribution is clearly identifiable and allocated correctly.

Your employee will be able to see their salary sacrifice contribution when they receive their member statement from Rest.

  1. Agree on a salary sacrifice arrangement with your employee.
     
  2. We recommend asking the employee to complete a request in writing for all salary sacrifice packages, which specifies:
     
    • how much of their employment package is to be paid in super
    • how much in wages
  3. Salary sacrifice may be subject to the terms specified in the appropriate award or employment agreement.
Type of contribution Salary sacrifice
How it works

An arrangement between you and your employee where additional super contributions will be deducted from the employee’s salary before they pay income tax.

You can make these contributions by updating the salary sacrifice column on the contribution screen within EmployerAccess. This will ensure that the contribution is clearly identifiable and allocated correctly.

Your employee will be able to see their salary sacrifice contribution when they receive their member statement from Rest.

What do I need to know
  1. Agree on a salary sacrifice arrangement with your employee.
     
  2. We recommend asking the employee to complete a request in writing for all salary sacrifice packages, which specifies:
     
    • how much of their employment package is to be paid in super
    • how much in wages
  3. Salary sacrifice may be subject to the terms specified in the appropriate award or employment agreement.

After tax contribution

Type of contribution How it works What do I need to know Tax deductions/offsets?
Voluntary contribution A payment made using after-tax money on top of the SG contribution. The amount can be as little, or as much as the employee would like to contribute. This can be made on a regular or one-off basis. This payment can be made by the member using the Rest App, BPAY® or Direct Debit.

An employer can also make a payroll deduction.
 
® BPAY and the BPAY logo are registered trademarks of BPAY Pty Ltd ABN 69 079 137 518
An employee may be able to claim a tax deduction for after-tax contributions made during the year.

To claim a tax deduction, they need to submit a 'Notice of intent to claim or vary a deduction for personal super contributions' to Rest.
Government co-contribution The government’s co-contribution scheme may help eligible low-income earners boost their retirement savings. 
 
The government may match 50% of after-tax personal contributions for eligible employees up to a limit of $500. 

The scheme may help an employee whose income is below $60,400 (for the 2024-25 financial year) and who have made or will make an after-tax contribution into their super by 30 June 2024.

To get the maximum co-contribution from the government ($500 each financial year), they will need to add $1,000 into their super and earn under $45,400 (for the 2024-25 financial year). The maximum co-contribution then reduces as their income increases.

See here for more information on co-contribution eligibility

 
Spouse contribution Your employee can help grow their spouse’s super by making spouse contributions.  If an employee’s spouse is a Rest member, this needs to be done through Rest by the employee filling out the form and mailing it to the allocated address. The contributing spouse may be eligible for the spouse tax offset of up to $540.

Visit the ATO’s website for more information
Type of contribution Voluntary contribution
How it works A payment made using after-tax money on top of the SG contribution. The amount can be as little, or as much as the employee would like to contribute. This can be made on a regular or one-off basis.
What do I need to know This payment can be made by the member using the Rest App, BPAY® or Direct Debit.

An employer can also make a payroll deduction.
 
® BPAY and the BPAY logo are registered trademarks of BPAY Pty Ltd ABN 69 079 137 518
Tax deductions/offsets? An employee may be able to claim a tax deduction for after-tax contributions made during the year.

To claim a tax deduction, they need to submit a 'Notice of intent to claim or vary a deduction for personal super contributions' to Rest.
Type of contribution Government co-contribution
How it works The government’s co-contribution scheme may help eligible low-income earners boost their retirement savings. 
 
The government may match 50% of after-tax personal contributions for eligible employees up to a limit of $500. 
What do I need to know

The scheme may help an employee whose income is below $60,400 (for the 2024-25 financial year) and who have made or will make an after-tax contribution into their super by 30 June 2024.

To get the maximum co-contribution from the government ($500 each financial year), they will need to add $1,000 into their super and earn under $45,400 (for the 2024-25 financial year). The maximum co-contribution then reduces as their income increases.

See here for more information on co-contribution eligibility

Tax deductions/offsets?  
Type of contribution Spouse contribution
How it works Your employee can help grow their spouse’s super by making spouse contributions. 
What do I need to know If an employee’s spouse is a Rest member, this needs to be done through Rest by the employee filling out the form and mailing it to the allocated address.
Tax deductions/offsets? The contributing spouse may be eligible for the spouse tax offset of up to $540.

Visit the ATO’s website for more information

Other type of contributions

Type of contribution Description  
Employer award These may be contributions imposed by industrial agreements, awards, trust deeds or governing rules.  
Employer voluntary

This can include an amount above the required Super Guarantee obligations, for example an employer contribution to fund costs such as insurance premiums paid for a member.

 
Type of contribution Employer award
Description These may be contributions imposed by industrial agreements, awards, trust deeds or governing rules.
 
Type of contribution Employer voluntary
Description

This can include an amount above the required Super Guarantee obligations, for example an employer contribution to fund costs such as insurance premiums paid for a member.

 

Important to note

Contribution caps: There are limits or ‘caps’ as to the amount of before and after-tax contributions an employee can make each financial year. If the employee exceeds these limits they can attract additional tax. Learn more about contribution caps here.

  • Employer superannuation guarantee/Award contributions, salary sacrifice contributions and personal contributions for which an employee claims an income tax deduction count towards an employee’s concessional contribution limit. Any contributions in excess of these limits may attract additional tax.
  • Personal contributions (for which no income tax deduction is claimed) count toward employees non-concessional cap. Spouse contributions count toward non-concessional cap of the spouse who receives the contribution.
  • Employees aged between 67 and 74 need to meet the work test to claim a personal superannuation contribution deduction. From 1 July 2022 employees under age 75 will no longer need to meet the work test for salary sacrifice and non-concessional (after tax) contributions, including spouse contributions. Click here to learn more about the work test.
  • Please ensure we have the employee’s Tax File Number (TFN) as we cannot accept their after-tax contributions without it. The law requires contributions deducted from an employee’s after-tax pay to be paid by the employer to a super fund within 28 days after the end of the month in which the deduction is made.
Tax treatment of super is complex and may change. Any tax related information is general information only. Preservation rules prevent a person from accessing their super until they meet a condition of release (i.e. reach preservation age and retire). It’s important to consider personal circumstances and objectives before adding to super. Before making a decision, we recommend seeking advice from an accountant or a licensed financial adviser. 

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