Tax Advice for Retirees

What should I do to retire comfortably?

As we get older, more and more of us start to take planning for our retirement more seriously. With our system of compulsory superannuation, most of us have been saving for our retirement from the day we started work, but in our younger years, many people regard that employer contribution to super as an annoying diversion of funds that would be better off in our constantly depleted bank account.

Attitudes change though as we move into our middle years and start to focus on the possibility that we might not have enough to live on in retirement. Recent statistices show that to enjoy a "comfortable" retirement, a couple will need a superannuation lump sum of at least $690,000, as well as a part Age Pension. For a single person, the equivalent figure is $595,000. Unfortunately, in the 2023 year the average superannuation balance for men between 60 and 64 years was $338,700 and for women $261,000 - well short of the figures required to support that 'comfortable retirement'.

So, as you enter your 50's, what can you do to improve your retirement savings?

Should I salary sacrifice into super?

A great way to boost your super is to salary sacrifice some additional contributions into your fund. This involves arranging with your employer for some of your pre-tax wages or salary to be paid into your super fund rather than to you. You will save tax and boost your super.

By 'sacrificing' some of your before-tax salary and putting it into your super fund, you get taxed at 15% on the additional contributions. If you normally pay income tax at a higher marginal rate than this, you will save tax. The higher your marginal tax rate, the greater the saving.

Note though, that if you're looking to salary sacrifice, always enter into a formal agreement with your employer which includes the details in your terms of employment. 

What I Need to Know About Making Additional Contributions?

Concessional Contributions

The most common type of contributions to super are concessional contributions, so-called because they are taxed in your super fund at the "concessional" tax rate of 15% when paid in. The most common type of concessional contribution is the one your employer makes to your super fund out of every pay, at a rate of 11.5% of your earnings for the 2025 year. Salary sacrifice contributions are also concessional as are contributions for which a tax deduction has been claimed.

During the 2025 year, you can pay up to $30,000 in concessional contributions into your super fund each year (more if you have not reached your concessional contributions cap in previous years and have a carry forward amount), so if your current contributions are less than that (and you can afford it), you should look to make some additional contributions to reach your cap, perhaps by salary sacrificing.

Non-concessional contributions

Alternatively, you could look to make some non-concessional contributions. These are paid out of your after-tax income (so you don't get any tax relief on the contribution) but they still make sense because once paid, the funds sit in the tax-advantaged environment of the super fund, where any income earned by the fund is taxed at just 15%.

During the 2025 year, you can make up to $120,000 in non-concessional contributions in a single year, if your superannuation fund balance is less than the general transfer balance cap at the end of the financial year prior to the contributions being made. The transfer balance cap for the 2024 and the 2025 year is $1.9 million. If eligible, you may be able to bring forward the non-concessional contributions cap from the next two years to increase your non-concessional cap to $360,000.

Why Should I Combine Super Funds?

Very often, as people change jobs, they start a new super fund with their new employer. The result, by the time they reach middle age, is that they have a large number of super funds, each with a fairly small balance. Each of those funds charges fees which eat into the balance. Spreading your super across multiple accounts like that can, over time, cost thousands of dollars in excess fees; money which will not then be available to you in retirement.

If that sounds like you, it makes sense to combine your super funds into one. Doing that will reduce the fees and charges you suffer each year and give a boost to your retirement pot. There are no tax charges where you combine super accounts and it's easy to arrange through your preferred super provider.

When Can I Retire?

You can retire whenever you like, but you won't necessarily be able to access your super on tax advantaged terms (or at all, if you retire too early).

Generally, you can access your super once you reach your preservation age and retire (or once you reach age 65, whether you retire or not). Your preservation age depends on how old you are:

As a general rule, you can't access your super before your preservation age unless you have a terminal illness, become permanently incapacitated or suffer extreme financial hardship.

The tax treatment of the money you withdraw from your super fund will depend on the type of super fund (taxed or untaxed) and your age when you withdraw the funds. Most super funds are taxed funds (that is, the superannuation fund pays tax on concessional contributions made to the fund and on earnings). Some funds operated by some state governments in Australia for their employees are untaxed funds, that do not pay income tax on concessional contributions or earnings. 

If you are over 60 years of age, and your super fund is a taxed super fund, the money you withdraw will be tax free (whether you withdraw it as a lump sum or as an income stream). 

Speak to H&R Block

If you would like some advice about your tax situation, find your nearest H&R Block office and book an appointment.

July 2022