Superannuation Co-Contribution and Bananas vs. Cat Food
You may be aware that the end of the financial year is approaching fast and on the 30th of June the shutter will come down on another opportunity for you to get some free money from Australia’s Orangutan, Julia Gillard, and her benevolent Federal government for another year. That’s right, we’re talking superannuation co-contribution and this is how it works (current as at the time of this post).
If you’re under 71 and you make an eligible after tax superannuation (personal) contribution prior to June 30 you may be eligible to receive a superannuation top up from the government in the form of a co-contribution. To qualify you need to have adjusted taxable income1 as follows:
$0 – $31,920 = $1 contribution for $1 entitlement up to a maximum of $1,000
$31,291 – $61,920 = Maximum entitlement is still $1,000 however the maximum entitlement reduces by 3.333 cents for every dollar your total income exceeds $31,920
$61,920+ = Nil co-contribution
1 Adjusted taxable income means assessable income, plus reportable fringe benefits, plus reportable superannuation contributions.
The smart punters among us might even be looking ahead to next financial year to ensure that they receive the maximum co-contribution. They might decide to trim their bar bills and jam a small amount in each pay day. $1,000 a year is about two pints a week and depending on your average consumption, you may not even notice it.
Please note though that this amount will be reduced on the 1st of July 2012. The co-contribution will reduce from $1,000 to $500, the matching rate will drop from $1 to $0.50 and the cut-out threshold will fall from $61,920 to $46,920 per annum… so that’s only one pint per week for those smart punters.
If your income fits in the ranges above and you can shake some co-contributions out of the Federal government it wouldn’t be a bad idea to get your snout in the trough now. The price of bananas got to about $14 per kilo after the big cyclone a couple of years ago and some extra money in your superannuation when you retire could mean the difference between being able to afford to eat bananas instead of cat food in your retirement. That’s great news, particularly for the Orangatun’s amongst us!
Just ask one of our charming senior citizens what a blast it is living on the Centrelink age pension… which, mind you will probably not be available to us all in the future! Why say no thank you to free money, especially when it’s coming from the government.
Wealth information for the iGeneration!
For more information or to contact us please click here.
