From 1st July 2020, the Government has put an end to the work test for members aged 65 and 66 to make voluntary contributions to superannuation without having to meet the work test. From this date, anyone under the age of 67 can make contributions to their super without needing to satisfy the requirements of a work test.
In last year’s federal budget, the Australian Government announced a number of changes to the superannuation contribution rules to provide more flexibility for members to save for their retirement via superannuation. These changes included:
- allowing members aged 65 and 66 to make voluntary contributions to superannuation without having to meet the work test
- increasing the cut-off age for spouse contributions from 70 years to 75 years, and
- enabling members aged 65 and 66 to make up to three years of Non-Concessional Contributions (NCC) to super under the bring forward rule.
While the first two changes have been legislated and came into effect on 1 July 2020, the change to the NCC bring-forward rule is yet to be passed. As a result, careful consideration and advice should be sought prior to making any contributions if you are in this age bracket.
More contributions flexibility for older members
The legislated changes to the work test and spouse contributions are good news for older members, providing a number of important strategic opportunities with members who make large concessional contributions under the new rules can look to consider splitting their concessional contributions with their spouse.
Maximising non-concessional contributions
This delay in making changes in the NCC bring-forward rule will unfortunately provide a level of uncertainty for members turning 67 early in 2020-21, who don’t satisfy the work test or work test exemption.
For example, under the new work test rules, these members can make voluntary member contributions prior to turning 67. However, they may not know at the time of making the contribution whether they will be eligible to make NCCs of up to $300,000 under the proposed new rules, or $100,000 under the existing rules.
For members who will be over 65 but under 67 in 2020-21, the delay in the rule changes may not have as significant an impact. These members may be better off delaying triggering the final bring-forward rule until a later year (ie. after the Bill has been dealt with by Parliament) to maximise their total NCCs.
If you are unsure of your personal situation or have any questions, please give us a call on (08) 8172 9111 or email advice@catapultwealth.com.au.
Australian Taxation Office. 2020. Age restrictions on contributions. [ONLINE] Available at: www.ato.gov.au/ [Accessed 24 September 2020].