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Club Super can accept contributions made by a Club Super member for their spouse.

 

What is Spouse Membership?

Spouse membership is where the spouse of an existing Club Super member can join Club Super, without being employed by an employer who makes contributions into Club Super.  This means that the whole family can receive the benefit of the government concessions for spouse members as well as the benefits of being Club Super members.

 

The Federal Government allows superannuation funds to accept spouse contributions so that families can save for a better standard of living in retirement. The spouse contribution will count as a non-concessional contribution for the receiving spouse and should not exceed the non-concessional contributions cap.  As a special incentive, tax offsets are available to tax payers (existing members) who make contributions to a superannuation fund for their non-waged or low income-earning spouse.

 

The spouse of a person includes:

• another person (whether of the same or a different sex) with whom the person is in a relationship that is registered under a law of a State or Territory; and
• another person who, although not legally married to the person, lives with the person on a genuine domestic basis in a relationship as a couple. 

What are the contribution limits?

The Government has placed limits on how much can be contributed to super as non-concessional (after-tax) contributions in a financial year. Currently the limit is $150,000 in a financial year. If you are under age 65, you can bring forward two years of future contributions to make up to the equivalent of three years non-concessional contributions of $450,000. However, you would not be able to make any further non-concessional contributions over the three year period. 

 

What is the Tax Benefit?

The existing member may be entitled to an offset of up to $540 per annum for any superannuation contributions made for you if you are a low-income or non-working spouse.

The offset is calculated as 18% of contributions, up to a maximum of $3,000. The $3,000 limit reduces by $1 for every $1 that your income* exceeds $10,800. Thus, the offset phases out when your income* is $13,800 or more.

  

Who is eligible to receive the Tax Offset?

The offset is available to a person who makes spouse contributions where:

• the person has a spouse;
• the person makes after-tax (i,e. not salary sacrifice) contributions on behalf of his/her spouse (whether the spouse is gainfully employed or not);
• the contributions are not tax deductible for the person contributing;
• both the person contributing (existing member) and the spouse are Australian residents when the contributions are made;
• at the time of making the contributions you and your spouse were not living separately and apart on a permanent basis, and
• the spouse's assessable income* is less than $13,800 p,a.

*Income is defined as assessable income plus reportable fringe benefits plus reportable employer superannuation contributions (RESC).  RESC is generally superannuation contributions which you have asked your employer to make as salary sacrifice (before tax) or additional employer contributions which were not specified under an award, enterprise agreement or legislation paid on your behalf as part of a remuneration package.  Consult your employer to identify the likely RESC for the financial year.

 

Please note: if the tax offset is not available, a contribution can still be made.

 

Criteria for the contributing spouse:

• can be any age;
• must be an Australian resident; and
• must be receiving assessable income (from any source).

Criteria for the member:

• must be an Australian resident;
• does not need to have ever been gainfully employed if under the age of 65 when the contribution is received; and
• if aged between 65-69 must be gainfully employed on a part-time basis (the spouse member must have worked for at least 40 hours in a period of not more than 30 consecutive days in the financial year in which the contribution is made for the spouse. Note the existing member is not able to make a spouse contribution if the spouse is aged 70 or over);

 

Can Club Super accept Rollovers and Contributions for a Spouse Member?

Once Club Super has received an initial eligible spouse contribution, the spouse will become a spouse member. Rollovers from other superannuation funds and personal/employer contributions on behalf of the spouse can then be accepted by Club Super.

 

For more information please read the Product Disclosure Statement. To join Club Super, complete a Spouse Member Application Form and download a Spouse Contribution Advice Form if you wish to make a spouse contribution.

 

Contribution Splitting

If Spouse Contributions do not meet your needs, Club Super also offers Contribution Splitting, which allows you to split or share your super with a spouse.

 

For more information please read the ATO Contribution Splitting Advice Form or contact Club Super.