Salary sacrificing superannuation contributions

Employees who are members of UniSuper, State Authorities Superannuation Scheme (SASS) or State Superannuation Scheme (SSS) may choose to salary sacrifice their compulsory employee superannuation contributions. They may also salary sacrifice additional voluntary contributions into UniSuper.

How salary sacrificing superannuation works

  • Salary sacrificed superannuation contributions (ie pre-tax superannuation contributions) are:

    • Treated as employer contributions.
    • Subject to a 15% contributions tax.
    • Preserved until retirement.
    • Cannot be claimed as a tax deduction.
    • Ineligible for the Commonwealth Government Superannuation Co-contribution.
    • Subject to Government caps on contributions to receive concessional tax treatment.

  • The benefits received from salary sacrificing depend on your income and the rate of your PAYG tax deductions.

Options

1. UniSuper

  • Contributing employees may salary sacrifice their compulsory employee contribution from pre-tax salary.
  • Employees currently contributing 7% of their gross salary would pay 8.25% of their pre-tax salary.
  • Employees, including casual employees who are UniSuper members, may salary sacrifice additional voluntary contributions from their pre-tax salary.

2. SASS

  • Contributing employees may salary sacrifice payment of their compulsory personal contributions entirely from their pre-tax salary; or

  • Contributing employees may salary sacrifice payment of their compulsory personal contributions from a combination of pre-tax and after-tax salary. This option requires employees to nominate their pre-tax contribution based on a percentage of their total contribution. The 15% contributions tax only applies to the pre-tax component of their contribution.

  • SASS does not accept any additional voluntary salary sacrificed contributions. Additional voluntary contributions may be made into:

    • UniSuper; or

    • Another superannuation fund through the University's salary sacrificing provider.

  • The SASS salary sacrificing contribution rates are:

After-tax contributions rate Salary sacrifice rate
1% 1.18%
2% 2.35%
3% 3.53%
4% 4.71%
5% 5.88%
6% 7.06%
7% 8.24%
8% 9.41%
9% 10.59%

3. SSS

  • Contributing employees may salary sacrifice payment of their compulsory personal contributions entirely from their pre-tax salary; or

  • Contributing employees may salary sacrifice payment of their compulsory personal contributions from a combination of pre-tax and after-tax salary. This option requires employees to nominate their pre-tax contribution based on a percentage of their total contribution. The 15% contributions tax only applies to the pre-tax component of their contribution.

  • SSS does not accept any additional voluntary salary sacrificed contributions. Additional voluntary contributions may be made into:

    • UniSuper; or

    • Another superannuation fund through the University's salary sacrificing provider.

Process

Further information

For assistance and further information contact:
Payroll Services
E: payroll@scu.edu.au

Disclaimer

Information contained in the University's documentation on salary sacrificing is privileged and confidential, and is provided to employees of the University on the understanding that it neither represents nor is intended to be legal, taxation or financial advice, or that the University is engaged in giving advice.

Whilst every care has been taken to ensure the accuracy of the information contained in the documentation on salary sacrificing, it is not possible to provide complete information on a website such as this.

Southern Cross University and persons involved in the preparation of documentation on salary sacrificing will not accept any legal responsibility or liability for any errors or omissions that may have been made or to the correctness of the information contained within the documents, or for any loss or damage associated with salary sacrificing by an employee.

Southern Cross University reserves the right to change, adjust or in any way alter, any of the information contained within the documentation relating to salary sacrificing.

Employees are strongly advised to seek independent expert financial advice before entering into any salary sacrificing arrangement.