Understanding your super entitlements
It’s not uncommon for people to be a little unsure about their superannuation entitlements – and many people just expect that their employer will take care of everything.
While workplace agreements and individual contracts can be quite specific about super contributions and which super fund you join, the basics are relatively straightforward.
The Superannuation Guarantee
To help you build savings to fund your retirement years, the government introduced compulsory contributions that employers must make. These are known as Superannuation Guarantee (SG) contributions, and there are rules around who is eligible and payment details like the minimum amounts, frequency, and how the payments are to be made.
Your employer is required to pay SG contributions if you are a permanent or casual employee, and are:
- At least 18 years old, or under 18 and working at least 30 hours per week; and
- Earning at least $450 per month (before tax).
SG Amount
Currently, your employer must pay at least 9.50% of your ‘ordinary time earnings’ to super each quarter (at least four times per year).
‘Ordinary time earnings’ is the amount you earn for your ordinary hours of work, including loadings, allowances, bonuses and commissions – but excluding overtime.
As part of the government’s ‘Stronger Super’ legislation, employer SG contributions will increase from 9.50% in gradual increments from 1 July 2021, reaching 12% on 1 July 2025.
When SG is due
Employers must pay SG amounts at least each quarter, but they can choose to pay more frequently (eg. monthly). They have 28 days after the end of each quarter for your contribution to be paid and received by your super fund.
The following table shows the key periods and cut-off dates:
| SG Quarter | Date payment due* |
| 1 July – 30 September | 28 October |
| 1 October – 31 December | 28 January |
| 1 January – 31 March | 28 April |
| 1 April – 30 June | 28 July |
* Where the cut-off date falls on a non-business day, the next business day is used instead.
If you have any questions about your entitlements or how much super you should be receiving, there are calculators and information available on our website. You can also ask your employer for details, or simply get in touch with us and we’ll be glad to help.
