ACT NOW to ensure your super is in order before 30 June 2024
In this article:
- Personal Contributions
- Concessional Contributions
- ‘Catch Up’ Concessional Contributions
- Non Concessional Contributions
- Work Test
- Minimum Pension 2023/24
Personal Contributions
If you are looking to maximise your personal contributions in 2023/24, please carefully review the limits and information provided below.
There will be an increase in the contribution limits taking effect from 1 July 2024 so these are also noted below for planning purposes.
| Financial Year | Concessional Cap (pre-tax) | Non-concessional Cap (after tax) |
| (Employer / Salary Sacrifice Personal Deductible) | (Personal After Tax & Subject to Total Super Balance <$1.9m) | |
| 2023/24 | $27,500 | $110,000 |
| 2024/25 | $30,000 | $120,000 |
Concessional Contributions
Your contributions must be received in your super fund before 30 June 2024 to ensure that:
- you are eligible to claim a deduction in 2023/24 for your contributions made;
- the contribution is counted against your limit in the correct financial year.
Please remember that 30 June 2024 falls on a Sunday so please do not leave your contributions until the last minute. They need to be cleared in the fund’s bank account by no later than Friday 28 June 2024. Please allow at least three days for any interbank transfer to occur.
Be sure to check the amount of actual employer or personal contributions already received / due to be received in your super fund before making any top up contributions.
Any person aged 67-74 must meet the work test during 2023/24 in order to be able to claim a deduction for any personal contributions. See below for further detail. Any person aged 75 or older is unable to make personal contributions.
‘Catch Up’ Concessional Contributions
These rules commenced on 1 July 2018 so we are now into the fifth year of ‘catch up’ contributions whereby a person with a super balance of less than $500,000 as at 30 June 2023 is able to make a personal concessional contribution in 2023/24 equal to the unused amount of the concessional contribution limits applicable from 2018/19 to 2022/23. Please note that 2023/24 is the last year in which any unused contributions from 2018/19 can be claimed as they drop off after five years.
| Financial Year | Applicable limit |
| 2018/19 | $25,000 |
| 2019/20 | $25,000 |
| 2020/21 | $25,000 |
| 2021/22 | $27,500 |
| 2022/23 | $27,500 |
For example, Sam had employer contributions of $15,000 for each of 2018/19, 2019/20 and 2020/21 and $18,500 for each of 2021/22 and 2022/23. His total superannuation balance at 30 June 2023 was $380,000. If Sam has higher than normal taxable income in 2023/24, due to say, a capital gain then, in addition to his current year 2023/24 contributions he can contribute an extra $48,000 as a personal concessional contribution before 30 June 2024 to reduce his taxable income. The extra $48,000 comprises $30,000 in unused contributions from 2018/19 to 2020/21 and $18,000 in unused contributions from 2021/22 and 2022/23.
Please contact us if you want to check your unused catch up contribution amount.
Non Concessional Contributions
It is possible to ‘bring forward’ up to 3 years of contributions in 2023/24 if you were under age 75 on 1 July 2023 and your total superannuation balance at 30 June 2023 was within the thresholds noted below:
| Total Super Balance as at 30 June 2023 | Age <75 on 1 July 2023 |
| Your Total Super Balance is the combined total of all balances in super funds of which you are a member | |
| Less than $1,680,000 | $330,000 |
| Greater than $1,680,000 but less than $1,790,000 | $220,000 |
| Greater than $1,790,000 but less than $1,900,000 | $110,000 |
| Greater than $1,900,000 | $0 |
Please note for planning purposes that the bring forward thresholds will change on 1 July 2024 with effect for 2024/25. These changes are noted in the following table below:
| Total Super Balance as at 30 June 2024 | Age <75 on 1 July 2024 |
| Less than $1,660,000 | $360,000 |
| Greater than $1,660,000 but less than $1,780,000 | $240,000 |
| Greater than $1,780,000 but less than $1,900,000 | $120,000 |
| Greater than $1,900,000 | $0 |
Strategy Tip
- If wanting to maximise super contributions, consider contributing only $110,000 in 2023/24 to enable a contribution of $360,000 in 2024/25, provided all eligibility criteria are met.
- If wanting to equalise super balances between spouses, consider a withdrawal from the high balance and a contribution into the low balance. This is useful for optimising the member balances to take full advantage of the pension cap and various eligibility provisions associated with a person’s total superannuation balance. It also has the effect of lowering the ‘taxable’ portion of that member’s benefit which reduces any future tax payable on death benefits received by the beneficiaries. Please talk to us if you are keen to learn more about this.
If you are aged 67 to 74 years, you must satisfy a work test in order to be eligible to claim a tax deduction for your personal concessional contributions.
Work Test
To satisfy the work test, you must have worked at least 40 hours in a consecutive 30-day period in the 2023/24 financial year.
If you are aged 75 or over, your super fund is only able to accept mandated employer contributions (i.e. superannuation guarantee amounts) on your behalf.
Minimum Pension 2023/24
If you are in pension phase, please check to ensure you have withdrawn your minimum pension for this financial year before 30 June 2024. Where these requirements have not been met your fund will be subject to 15% tax on its pension asset investment earnings, rather than being tax-free.
For our SMSF clients, the amount would have been notified to you in the completion letter in the FY23 financials package. Please contact us if you are unsure of your minimum pension payment for 2023/24.
CONTACT US if you would like advice on any of the above strategies that may benefit your circumstances.