» Salary sacrifice contribution
» Self-employed
» Social security
» Spouse (for eligible spouse contribution purposes)
» Spouse contributions
» Standard Risk Measure
» Superannuation Guarantee (SG) contributions
» Sustainability
Salary sacrifice contribution
Contributions made from your salary before you pay income tax. Salary sacrifice contributions are paid by the employer and can include regular salary, bonuses and allowances. Please note, salary sacrifice contributions are taxed at 15% and count towards the concessional contributions cap limit.
Note: An agreement must be in place between the employer and the employee before the employee becomes entitled to the amount to be sacrificed.
Self-employed
A person who receives less than 10% of their assessable income from an employer.
Social security
Government income support payments administered by Centrelink. Both assets and income are means tested to determine eligibility.
Spouse (for eligible spouse contribution purposes)
A spouse is defined as a person who is:
- your legal spouse from whom you have not permanently separated, or
- a de facto partner living with you on a bona fide domestic basis as your husband or wife (including a same sex partner).
Spouse contributions
Contributions can be made to superannuation on behalf of a spouse. A tax offset is available for contributions made for a spouse with assessable income and reportable fringe benefits of less than $13,800 pa.
The offset is calculated as 18% of contributions up to $3,000 (maximum offset 18% x $3,000 = $540) for a spouse earning less than $10,800 pa. The $3,000 contribution limit reduces by one dollar for each dollar of income above $10,800, until the offset phases out at $13,800 pa.
Standard Risk Measure
The Standard Risk Measure is based on industry guidance to allow members to compare investment options that are expected to deliver a similar number of negative annual returns over any 20 year period. The Standard Risk Measure is not a complete assessment of all forms of investment risk, for instance it does not detail what the size of a negative return could be or the potential for a positive return to be less than a member may require to meet their objectives. Further, it does not take into account the impact of administration fees and tax on the likelihood of a negative return.
VicSuper assesses the Standard Risk Measure for each of its investment options based on the option's strategic asset allocation.
Members should still ensure they are comfortable with the risks and potential losses associated with their chosen investment option/s.
Superannuation guarantee (SG) contributions
Compulsory contributions your employer is required to make on your behalf (under Commonwealth legislation) for each month in which you are paid $450 or more. Your employer is not obliged to pay SG on any amount you earn above $45,750 in each quarter for the 2012/13 financial year.
The current SG rate is 9% of an employee's salary (before tax) and your employer is required to pay SG contributions at least quarterly based on the following dates:
Quarter | Due Date |
|---|---|
1 July - 30 September | 28 October |
1 October - 31 December | 28 January |
1 January - 31 March | 28 April |
1 April - 30 June | 28 July |
If the cut-off date for payment falls on a weekend or public holiday, the ATO grants a concession to the make the payment by the next business day.
Sustainability
Broadly, sustainability is about meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs. It involves integrating social, environment and economic considerations into the decision-making process to achieve quality of life for both current and future generations worldwide.
