Salary sacrifice

Salary sacrifice

Boost your super through a salary sacrifice agreement with your employer or through a salary sacrifice provider

One of the best ways to create the life you want to live in retirement is to continually give your super an extra boost over time.

An effective way to do this is may be to salary sacrifice to your super. A salary sacrifice agreement can be made with your employer or through a salary sacrifice provider to make superannuation contributions from your before-tax salary.

By contributing before tax, you could:

 

By contributing before tax, you could:

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Generally, salary sacrifice contributions are taxed 15% when contributions are paid into super account, this may be lower than your marginal tax rate. It also reduces your taxable income, as salary sacrifice contributions are deducted from your before-tax salary.

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With a salary sacrifice agreement in place, you will be saving more for retirement, which will be compounding over time. This could allow you to arrive at a financially sound place, sooner than later. When you’re ready to retire and live your best life, you’ll be better prepared financially.

What you need to consider

  1. There are limits to on the amount you can contribute into your super which vary by scheme.  You will find information below on the impacts to Super SA Select and Triple S members.

  2. If you’re salary sacrificing, you’re agreeing to a before-tax (concessional) contribution and this will not count toward the eligibility for a Commonwealth Government Co-Contribution.

You are only eligible for a Commonwealth Government Co-Contribution through voluntary after-tax contributions and if you meet the eligibility criteria.

 

To read more about Commonwealth Government Co-Contribution click here.

Save now, spend later

The following case studies show the long-term benefits of boosting your super.

Meet Sam

She is saving enough for a round-the-world trip in retirement.

Sam is 26 and works in health care. She earns $66,000 per year and is planning to retire at age 65.

Sam is helping it grow with salary sacrifice contributions of $30 per fortnight. That means she is on track to have an extra $60,300 in her super to spend on a round-the-world trip when she retires at age 65.

    No Salary Sacrifice   With salary sacrifice contribution $30 per fortnight  
Take home pay fortnight   $2,071   $2,055  


As a result Sam:

  • Pays $9 less in IncomeTax
  • Reduces her take home pay by only $16
  • Has $60,300 more in her Super at age 65
Meet Sam
Meet Sam

  • The "extra in your super at age 65" has been calculated based on the following assumptions and rules of the Triple S Scheme as follows:

    • Default employer Super Guarantee contributions of 10% up to 12% by 1 July 2025
    • Salary is excluding Super Guarantee
    • Investment rate of return of 6.1% per annum
    • Price inflation rate of 2.5% per annum and a salary inflation rate of 3.2% per annum
    • Death and Total and Permanent Disablement (TPD) insurance premiums of $117 per annum and Income protection is $105.60 per annum.
    • Administration fees have been calculated at $70.20 per year plus 0.05% of the account balance (capped at $325 per year).

    This calculation estimates an amount payable at a future time and has been adjusted to include price inflation to assume changes in the cost of living.

    Want to learn more about growing your super? Book into a webinar today.

Meet Sarah

She saved enough in super to do more travelling.

Sarah is 40 and is a teacher. She earns $82,000 per year and is planning to retire at age 65.

She is helping it grow with salary sacrifice contributions of $40 per fortnight. That means she is on track to have an extra $34,900 in her super to do more travelling when she retires at age 65.

    No Salary Sacrifice   With salary sacrifice contribution $40 per fortnight  
Take home pay fortnight   $2,474   $2,453  


As a result Sarah:

  • Pays $11 less in IncomeTax
  • Reduces her take home pay by only $21
  • Has $34,900 more in her Super at age 65
Case study
Case study

The "extra in your super at age 65" has been calculated based on the following assumptions and rules of the Triple S Scheme as follows:

  • Default employer Super Guarantee contributions of 10% up to 12% by 1 July 2025
  • Salary is excluding Super Guarantee
  • Investment rate of return of 6.1% per annum
  • Price inflation rate of 2.5% per annum and a salary inflation rate of 3.2% per annum
  • Death and Total and Permanent Disablement (TPD) insurance premiums of $117 per annum and Income protection is $213 per annum.
  • Administration fees have been calculated at $70.20 per year plus 0.05% of the account balance (capped at $325 per year).

This calculation estimates an amount payable at a future time and has been adjusted to include price inflation to assume changes in the cost of living.

Want to learn more about growing your super? Book into a webinar today.

Meet Alan

He saved enough for an ocean cruise in retirement.

Alan is 55 and works in health care. He earns $120,000 per year and is planning to retire at age 65.

He is helping it grow with salary sacrifice contributions of $2,300 per fortnight. That means he is on track to have an extra $737,000 in his super to spend on an ocean cruise when he retires at age 65.

    No Salary Sacrifice   With salary sacrifice contribution $2,308 per fortnight   
Take home pay fortnight   $3,397   $1,924  


As a result Alan:

  • Pays $835 less in IncomeTax
  • Reduces his take home pay by only $1,473
  • Has $737,000 more in his Super at age 65
Case study
Case study

The "extra in your super at age 65" has been calculated based on the following assumptions and rules of the Triple S Scheme as follows:

  • Default employer Super Guarantee contributions of 10% up to 12% by 1 July 2025
  • Salary is excluding Super Guarantee
  • Investment rate of return of 6.1% per annum
  • Price inflation rate of 2.5% per annum and a salary inflation rate of 3.2% per annum
  • Death and Total and Permanent Disablement (TPD) insurance premiums of $117 per annum and Income protection is $936 per annum.
  • Administration fees have been calculated at $70.20 per year plus 0.05% of the account balance (capped at $325 per year).

This calculation estimates an amount payable at a future time and has been adjusted to include price inflation to assume changes in the cost of living.

Want to learn more about growing your super? Book into a webinar today.

  • Want to salary sacrifice directly to Super SA’ as opposed to through a 3rd party provider? Fill in the Salary Sacrifice form.

    Decide on a set dollar amount or percentage to salary sacrifice. Filling in the form is easy and shouldn’t take more than 15 minutes.

    Triple S: Fill in the form now
    Super SA Select: Fill in the form now

    Alternatively you may choose to make salary sacrifice contributions through a 3rd party like Maxxia.

  • If you’re not sure who to give the form, just ask your immediate manager. They should know where the form needs to go. If you are a Police Officer and a member of the Triple S Scheme or Super SA Select then please send your form directly to Super SA to action and we will then forward to your employer or HR delegate for processing.
  • The employer declaration, section 5, will be filled in by your employer or HR delegate. They’ll also hand the completed form to your agency's payroll to process.
  • They’ll adjust your salary as per your instructions in the form and the employer will deduct a $44 fee.

You’ll receive notification from the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) advising you of the amount payable and your payment options. More information is available in the Super SA Division 293 Tax fact sheet and on the ATO website.



Learn more about salary sacrificing into Triple S and Super SA Select.

Triple S

There’s different limit’s that apply to how much you can salary sacrifice with Triple S. Refer to the Triple S Product Disclosure Statement and Member Guide for further information. With this benefit, you could significantly increase the amount you’ve saved in superannuation and could see higher returns over a long period of time.
Read the Triple S Product Disclosure Statement and Member Guide

  • If you salary sacrifice into the Triple S scheme, rather than paying 15% tax up front on your contributions, tax is deducted when you withdraw from the fund, in accordance with the Australian Taxation Office rules for untaxed funds.


    This is subject to applicable tax rates which will depend on whether you roll over, or if you cash out it will also depend on your Commonwealth preservation age. Further information about is available in the Triple S Reference Guide.

Super SA Select

If you’re in the Super SA Select scheme, any concessional contributions (including salary sacrifice and employer contributions) are taxed at a rate of 15% when they’re made by your employer. More information is available in the Super SA Select Reference Guide and on the ATO website. If you have a Super SA Select account, you have a concessional contribution cap that applies (currently $27,500 per financial year), this includes any employer and salary sacrifice contributions. If the sum of your income and relevant concessionally taxed contributions is over $250,000 per year, you’ll be taxed an additional 15% tax on your relevant concessional contributions above the $250,000 threshold.
Read the Super SA Select Product Disclosure Statement and Member Guide

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