Question 1

What is superannuation?

Accepted Answer

Superannuation (super) is Australia's compulsory retirement savings system. Your employer contributes a percentage of your salary into a super fund, which is invested on your behalf until you reach retirement age. The current super guarantee (SG) rate is 12% of ordinary time earnings.

Question 2

What is the current super guarantee rate?

Accepted Answer

The super guarantee rate is 12% from 1 July 2025. This is the final legislated increase — no further increases are scheduled. Employers must contribute at least this percentage of your ordinary time earnings into your nominated super fund.

Question 3

What is the concessional contributions cap for 2025–26?

Accepted Answer

The concessional contributions cap for 2025–26 is $30,000. This includes employer SG contributions, salary sacrifice, and personal deductible contributions. If you exceed this cap, the excess is added to your assessable income and taxed at your marginal rate.

Question 4

What is the non-concessional contributions cap?

Accepted Answer

The non-concessional contributions (NCC) cap for 2025–26 is $120,000 per year. If your total super balance is under $1.66 million, you may be able to use the bring-forward rule to contribute up to $360,000 over three years. NCCs cannot be made if your total super balance is $1.9 million or more.

Question 5

What are carry-forward contributions?

Accepted Answer

If you haven't used your full concessional contributions cap in previous years, you may be able to carry forward the unused amounts for up to five years. To be eligible, your total super balance must be under $500,000 at the end of 30 June of the previous financial year. This can significantly increase your available cap.

Question 6

What is Division 293 tax?

Accepted Answer

Division 293 is an additional 15% tax on concessional super contributions for high-income earners. It applies when your income plus concessional contributions exceeds $250,000. The extra tax means your concessional contributions are effectively taxed at 30% instead of the standard 15%.

Question 7

How does salary sacrifice into super work?

Accepted Answer

Salary sacrifice means redirecting part of your pre-tax salary into your super fund. These contributions are taxed at 15% (inside super) rather than your marginal tax rate, which can mean significant tax savings if your marginal rate is higher than 15%. However, salary sacrifice amounts are reportable super contributions and are added back for HELP repayment income and Medicare levy surcharge calculations.

Question 8

What does 'in today's dollars' mean?

Accepted Answer

Results shown in today's dollars are adjusted for inflation so you can understand their purchasing power in today's terms. Following ASIC guidelines, we use a two-stage deflator: wage inflation of 3.7% p.a. before retirement (reflecting salary growth) and CPI inflation of 2.5% p.a. after retirement. This means a projected balance of $500,000 in today's dollars would buy roughly the same as $500,000 buys today.

Question 9

How does the Age Pension interact with super?

Accepted Answer

The Age Pension is means-tested against both your income and assets. Your super balance is counted as a financial asset once you reach Age Pension age (67). The calculator estimates your potential pension using both the income test (with deeming rules) and the assets test, and applies the lower result. The Age Pension can significantly supplement retirement income once super balances reduce.

Question 10

When can I access my super?

Accepted Answer

You can generally access your super when you reach your preservation age and permanently retire, or when you turn 65 regardless of work status. For anyone born after 1 July 1964, the preservation age is 60. From age 60, you can also access super through a transition-to-retirement (TTR) pension while still working.

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