Super Facts & Figures

1. Superannuation Guarantee (SG)

The Superannuation Guarantee (SG) is the compulsory amount your employer must contribute to your super account.

If you are eligible for SG, the SG contribution rate is a minimum percentage of your earnings set by the government that your employer must pay into your super. For 2025-26 the rate is 12% of your ordinary time earnings (that is, the amount you earn for your ordinary hours of work).

There is no maximum age limit for employees to be eligible for SG contributions.

Most employees are covered by SG, however there are some exceptions, for example: If you are under 18, you need to work more than 30 hours per week to qualify for the SG contribution.

For more information on SG exceptions see here.

2. Maximum super contribution base

The current SG contribution rate is 12% of your earnings up to a certain limit. This limit is called the maximum super contribution base. If you earn above that limit for each quarter, your employer does not have to make contributions for the part of your earnings over the limit. The maximum super contribution base is indexed each year in line with average weekly ordinary time earnings (AWOTE).

For the 2025-2026 year the maximum contribution base for each quarter is $62,500 which is a contribution of $7,500.00 per quarter.”

For earlier rates, see here.

3. Government co-contribution

You may be eligible for the co-contribution if:

• you make an eligible non-concessional contribution during the financial year.
• your total income (which includes reportable employer super contributions and reportable fringe benefits) is less than the higher income threshold for that financial year (see table below).
• 10% or more of your total income is from eligible employment-related activities, running a business or a combination of both.
• you are less than 71 years old at the end of the financial year.
• you do not hold an eligible temporary resident visa at any time during the financial year (unless you are a New Zealand citizen or it was a prescribed visa).
• you lodge an income tax return for the relevant financial year.
• your total superannuation balance (which includes super and pension interests) is below $2 million at 30 June of the previous financial year.
• you must not have contributed an amount more than your non-concessional contributions cap for the relevant financial year.

The maximum super co-contribution depends on your income. If income is equal to or less than the lower income threshold ($47,488 for the 2025-26 financial year) you may be eligible for a co-contribution of up to the full 'maximum entitlement'. For every dollar you earn above the lower income threshold, the maximum entitlement is reduced by 3.333 cents. The co-contribution is not payable if the income is at or above the higher income threshold and a minimum payment of $20 applies with payments being rounded to the nearest five cent multiple.

The amount of super co-contribution depends on the amount of non-concessional (after-tax) contributions you put into your super and the 'matching rate' for the financial year in which the contribution was made.

For earlier rates, see here.

The concessional contributions cap (the general cap as shown in the table above) is indexed annually in line with average weekly ordinary time earnings (AWOTE). Indexation does not increase the cap in some years as increases are rounded down to the nearest multiple of $2,500.

If your total super balance is less than $500,000 on 30 June of the previous financial year e.g. 30 June 2025, you can contribute more than the usual before-tax contributions cap by using any unused cap amounts from previous years. This is known as a ‘carry forward’ contribution. You can carry forward unused amounts from 1 July 2020, for up to five years. For example, an unused cap amount from 2020-21 must be used by the end of 2025-26, or it will expire.

For more information on carry-forward of unused concessional contributions, see here.

5.2. Excess concessional contribution

If you go over the concessional contribution cap, you will pay extra tax on the excess contributions (at your marginal tax rate, less 15% tax already paid). If you leave the excess concessional contributions in super, the excess amount will be counted as non-concessional contributions. You also have the option of withdrawing the excess amount out of your account. The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) will send you information on your options when a breach of this cap occurs.

For more information about exceeding the concessional contribution cap, see here.

* Your non-concessional cap is $0 for a financial year if, at the end of the previous financial year e.g 30 June 2025, you have a total superannuation balance greater than or equal to the general transfer balance cap e.g. $2 million (2025-26).

For earlier rates and additional information, see here.

Source: Australian Tax Office (ATO).

For earlier rates, see here.

2. Alternatively, you can choose not to release the excess amount and associated earnings from your super. Your excess non-concessional contributions will then be subject to excess non-concessional contributions tax at the rate of 47% (tax will need to be paid out of super).

A valid election must be made within 60 days of the excess non-concessional contributions determination from the ATO.

For more information about exceeding the non-concessional contribution cap, see here.

6.2. Re-contribution of COVID early release superannuation amounts

From 1 July 2021, individuals who accessed their superannuation under COVID-19 early release will be able to re-contribute up to the amount they received without the contributions counting toward their non-concessional cap. These contributions:

• can be made between 1 July 2021 and 30 June 2030
• cannot exceed the amount accessed under COVID-19 early release
• cannot be claimed as a personal superannuation deduction.

Individuals choosing to re-contribute must notify their fund in an approved form (before or at the time of making the re-contribution).

For the latest information visit the ATO website here.

For more information see here.

7.2. Maximum annual payments

For account based pensions, there is no maximum amount other than the balance of your pension account.

For a transition to retirement income stream, the maximum annual amount that can be paid is 10% of the account balance at the start of the financial year or the start of the income stream.

This cap only applies to monies held in retirement phase. You can find more information here including previous caps.

You can read about how the general transfer balance cap is applied, here.

8. Tax & Tax File Number

8.1. Tax on super

The government provides a range of tax concessions and incentives to complying super funds such as Rest.

Super can be subject to tax on:

• contributions (when contributions are made into your super account)
• earnings (on the investments in super)
• withdrawals.

8.2. Tax on contributions

Concessional (before-tax) contributions are taxed in the fund at a concessional tax rate of 15%.

Those with an income (including super contributions) of more than $250,000 per annum will be subject to additional tax on contributions into super. In effect, the contributions tax paid on contributions will effectively rise from 15% to 30% on some or all super contributions. This is called Division 293 tax.

For more information, please visit the ATO website.

Any concessional contributions above the concessional contribution cap will be subject to additional tax.

A notice of excess concessional contributions determination will be provided by the ATO, requiring you to pay the additional tax. You will have the option of either making a withdrawal from your super account to meet this payment, or paying it directly to the ATO.

For 2025-26, those with adjusted taxable income under $37,000 will receive a low income superannuation tax offset (LISTO). The LISTO payment is equal to 15% of total concessional (before-tax) contributions for a financial year, capped at $500 per year.

For more information about LISTO, please visit here.

Non-concessional (after-tax) contributions are generally not taxed in the fund. However, any non-concessional contributions above the non-concessional cap which are left in super, will be taxed at the rate of 47%. However as discussed above (6.1) you can elect to withdraw the excess contribution amount from your super account to avoid paying the excess contribution tax.

8.3. Tax on earnings

Investment earnings from your super fund are taxed at a rate of up to 15%. This tax is reflected in the unit price for each investment option.

Investment earnings from your ‘retirement phase’ pension fund are tax free (up to your transfer balance cap). If you exceed your personal transfer balance cap amount you will have an excess transfer balance. If this occurs, you will need to commute the excess transfer balance and will be subject to excess transfer balance tax. The transfer balance tax payable is 15% for the first time you exceed the cap, and 30% for subsequent times and is due and payable 21 days after the assessment is issued to you.

Transition to Retirement income streams are not considered to be in ‘retirement phase’ and as such a tax rate of 15% will apply until it is in the retirement phase (e.g, when you are 60 or over and declare retirement, or turn age 65).

8.4. Tax on withdrawals

Super can only be withdrawn in specific circumstances. Generally, if you withdraw any part of your super benefit after age 60, no tax is payable.

Prior to age 60 some tax may be payable and will be deducted from your super benefit by the fund. The tax deducted depends on the components within your account. Superannuation accounts are divided into two components for tax purposes, a tax-free component and a taxable component. The tax-free component will always be tax-free, the taxable component may attract tax depending upon your age.

The tables below show how tax is applied to different types of withdrawals.

Notes:

Additional tax may be payable on any untaxed element of your Rest account or if you have not provided us with your TFN.

The Medicare Levy for the financial year 2025-2026 is 2%. 

Please refer to the ATO website for more information on how the different components of superannuation benefits are taxed.

The above caps are indexed in line with Average Weekly Ordinary Time Earnings (AWOTE), in increments of $5,000 (rounded down).

For more information on the low rate cap, see here.

The above caps are indexed in line with Average Weekly Ordinary Time Earnings (AWOTE), in increments of $5,000 (rounded down).

8.7. Tax File Number (TFN)

Before providing your TFN to us, you (member or beneficiary) need to know that:

Under the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act 1993, your superannuation fund is authorised to collect, use and disclose your tax file number. The trustee of your superannuation fund may disclose your tax file number to another superannuation provider, when your benefits are being transferred, unless you request the trustee of your superannuation fund in writing that your tax file number not be disclosed to any other superannuation provider.

Declining to quote your tax file number to the trustee of your superannuation fund is not an offence. However, giving your tax file number to your superannuation fund will have the following advantages:

• your superannuation fund will be able to accept all permitted types of contributions to your account/s;
• other than the tax that may ordinarily apply, you will not pay more tax than you need to - this affects both contributions to your superannuation and benefit payments when you start drawing down your superannuation benefits; and
• it will make it much easier to find different superannuation accounts in your name so that you receive all your superannuation benefits when you retire.

If you don’t give us your TFN, your concessional contributions will be taxed at 45% plus Medicare levy of 2%. It also means that we can’t accept non-concessional contributions.

9.1. Work Test

Individuals aged 67-74 must still meet the work test to claim a deduction for personal contributions. To meet the work test requirements a person must be gainfully employed (i.e. employed or self-employed for gain or reward) for at least 40 hours within 30 consecutive days in the financial year the contributions are made. If you fail the work test, you may be eligible for the work test exemption, which is only available once. To be eligible you must have met the work test in the previous financial year and have a total superannuation balance below $300,000 at the end of the previous financial year.

10. Housing Affordability Measures - Downsizer Contribution and First Home Super Saver Scheme

10.1. Downsizer Contribution

You may be able to make a downsizer contribution if you sell your home and are aged 55 or over.

The downsizer contribution can only be made from the sale of one home, subject to a cap which is the lesser of $300,000 or total sale proceeds (couples may be able to contribute up to $600,000 combined).

There are conditions you must meet to make a downsizer contribution, some include:

• you must have owned the home for 10 years or more prior to the sale
• the home must qualify for the CGT main residence exemption (in part or whole)
• you must be over age 55 at the time of contribution (the work test does not apply for the downsizer contribution).
• the contribution must generally be made within 90 days of receiving the proceeds of sale, which is usually the date of settlement.

For more information visit the ATO website here.

Or read our fact sheet here.

10.2. First Home Super Saver Scheme

The First Home Super Saver Scheme (FHSSS) allows individuals to make voluntary concessional and non-concessional contributions into super and have them released to help pay for their first home. People saving for their first home can make the following voluntary contributions under the FHSSS:

• Pre-tax contributions also known as concessional contributions, including salary sacrifice or personal deductible contributions.
• Personal after-tax contributions also known as non-concessional contributions.

Contributions that can be released under the scheme are limited to $15,000 in any one financial year and $50,000 across all years. Importantly, you won’t be able to withdraw:

• contributions made before 1 July 2017
• Superannuation Guarantee contributions made by your employer
• mandated employer or member contributions made for you under an award or industrial agreement
• spouse contributions
• government contributions such as co-contributions
• contributions above government caps
• defined benefit contributions.

• 18 years old or older when requesting a First Home Super Saver determination
• are named on the title of the property you buy
• haven’t previously owned property in Australia (unless financial hardship rules apply)
• haven’t previously received a release of your super savings under the scheme.

You can request a FHSSS determination from the ATO to find out the maximum amount you can withdraw under the scheme and when you are ready, you can apply to release your funds through a release request.

For information on eligibility, determinations and release requests see the ATO website.