Restrictions on voluntary contributions

Understand what voluntary contributions your super fund can accept.

About voluntary contributions

Voluntary contributions you or others can make to your super fund include:

• salary sacrifice contributions
• personal contributions
• spouse contributions
• contributions by parents, other family or friends (not in the capacity of an employer)
• contributions by an insurer
• contributions by employers above their SG or award obligations
• government co-contributions
• downsizer contributions
• super capital gains tax cap election amounts
• personal injury election amounts
• first home super saver scheme contributions

Voluntary contributions don’t include any compulsory contributions by your employer made under:

• super guarantee
• an industrial agreement
• the trust deed or governing rules of a super fund
• a federal, state or territory law.

The trustee can accept compulsory employer contributions for members at any time. This means they can be accepted for a member regardless of the age of the member or the number of hours worked.

The types of voluntary contributions your super fund can accept depends on:

• your age
• whether they have your TFN
• whether you need to meet the work test
• the fund’s governing rules for accepting contributions.
• your total superannuation balance in the case of a non-concessional contribution.

If your super fund can’t accept a contribution because of a restriction, they must return the amount to you or the entity who contributed it.

An exception to the acceptance rules is the CGT small business concessions that involve a look-through earnout right.

2022–23 financial year and later

Aged under 75 years

If you’re under 75 years of age your fund can accept all types of contributions. Downsizer contributions can only be made if you are aged 55 years or older from 1 January 2023, or if you were aged 60 years or older from 1 July 2022 to 31 December 2022.

If you’re 67 to 74 years old, you will be required to meet the work test or work test exemption in order to claim a deduction for a personal superannuation contribution.

Aged 75 years or older

If you’re 75 years or older, your fund can always accept compulsory employer contributions and downsizer contributions.

In the 28 days after the end of the month in which you turn 75 years old, your fund can accept the following types of voluntary contributions:

• voluntary employer contributions, such as salary sacrifice contributions
• other amounts paid by your employer to your super fund, such as administration fees and insurance premiums
• other voluntary contributions such as
• personal contributions
• spouse contributions.

2021–22 financial year and earlier

Aged under 67 years

If you were under 67 years of age during the financial years 2020–21 and 2021–22, your fund could accept all types of contributions. The exception is downsizer contributions, which you could make if you were 65 years or older.

Before 2020–21, the age limit for accepting all types of contributions was 65 years old.

Aged 67 to 69 years

If you were aged 67 to 69 years your fund could accept:

• compulsory employer contributions
• downsizer contributions.

You needed to satisfy the work test or work test exemption in each financial year for your fund to be able accept:

• voluntary employer contributions such as salary sacrifice contributions
• other amounts paid by your employer to your super fund, such as administration fees and insurance premiums
• other voluntary contributions such as
• personal contributions
• spouse contributions.

For 2019–20 and earlier income years, this rule applied if you were aged 65 to 69 years.

Aged 70 to 74 years

If you were 70 to 74 years old, your fund could accept compulsory employer contributions and downsizer contributions, regardless of your employment status.

However, you needed to satisfy the work test or work test exemption in each financial year for your fund to accept:

• voluntary employer contributions such as salary sacrifice contributions
• other amounts paid by your employer to your super fund, such as administration fees and insurance premiums
• other voluntary contributions such as
• personal contributions
• spouse contributions.

These member contributions (other than downsizer contributions) must have been received before or on the 28th day after the end of the month in which you had your 75th birthday.

Before 1 July 2020, if you were 70 to 74 years old your fund could not accept personal contributions made by someone other than yourself, including spouse contributions.

Aged 75 years or older

When you were aged 75 years or older, your fund could always accept compulsory employer contributions and downsizer contributions.

In the 28 days after you turned 75 years old, your fund could accept the following types of contributions if you satisfied the work test or work test exemption:

• voluntary employer contributions such as salary sacrifice contributions
• other amounts paid by your employer to your super fund, such as administration fees and insurance premiums
• other voluntary contributions such as
• personal contributions
• spouse contributions.

Work test

To meet the work test, you must be gainfully employed for at least 40 hours during a consecutive 30-day period in the financial year in which the contributions are made.

This is an annual test – once you meet this test you can make contributions for the entire financial year.

Gainfully employed means employed or self-employed for gain or reward in any business, trade, profession, vocation, calling, occupation or employment.

If you were stood down from your employment due to the impacts of COVID-19 but were receiving the Job Keeper payment, it’s accepted that you were gainfully employed and met the work test.

If you do unpaid work or only receive passive income, such as interest, dividends, trust distributions or rent, you don’t meet the definition of gainfully employed.

If you’re not sure whether you meet the work test rules for contributions, check with your fund.

Work test exemption

For those subject to the work test, if you no longer meet the work test your super fund can still accept voluntary contributions for an extra 12 months from the end of the financial year in which you last met the work test, provided you meet certain criteria. This is called the work test exemption.

If you are in a defined benefit fund you cannot use the work test exemption. However, you can choose to open an accumulation account with another super fund to make voluntary contributions using the work test exemption.

To meet the work test exemption criteria, you must meet 3 conditions:

• you satisfied the work test in the financial year before the year in which you made the contribution
• your total superannuation balance is less than $300,000 at the end of the previous financial year
• you didn’t use the work test exemption in a previous financial year.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask them in the comment section. We will be happy to answer all your queries.