Making contributions

Adding a little extra now can make a surprisingly big difference. It all adds up.

The compulsory super your employer pays into your account may get you a long way towards a retirement you'd like, but it may not be enough to fund the retirement you'd love!

Want to contribute extra? Super!

You have some different options for contributing extra to your super. Which one you’ll choose really depends on your income and situation. You might even find that you’re better off with a combination of contributions over time, and you can change how you contribute as your situation changes.

Salary sacrifice

You can ask your employer to pay some of your salary, before tax is taken out, straight into your super. This is separate from your employer’s normal contribution (that’s the ‘compulsory super’, that employers must pay). Salary sacrifice is your own extra contribution, your employer is just paying out of your pre-tax salary.

Why choose salary sacrifice?

Firstly, once you’ve set this up, you don’t need to think about it again – it will happen automatically each time you’re paid.

Salary sacrifice could also reduce your income for tax purposes, meaning you’ll pay less tax. That’s because the money your employer takes out of your salary and puts into your super is taxed at a maximum rate of 15%. Compare that to the marginal tax rate, which can be anything up to 47% (including the Medicare levy), depending on how much you earn.

Is it for you?

The salary sacrifice option will work for you if your income is high enough that you’re paying more than 15% tax on your overall income, and you won’t miss the money out of your pay. If you’re a low-income earner, you might find that after-tax contributions are the better option.

Most employers do offer salary sacrifice, but not all. So do check with your employer to see whether it’s available to you. You may also consider getting tax advice.

Get started with Salary sacrifice

All you need to do is fill out a payroll deduction form, print it out and give it to your payroll person or HR department. They’ll make the arrangements for you.

Fill in your details using our online form or download the form and fill it out by hand.

After-tax contributions

After-tax contributions are also sometimes called non-concessional contributions or personal contributions. You can pay an amount into your super from your after-tax income or savings. You can do this at any time as a regular transfer or a one-off payment from your bank account. 

Why choose after-tax contributions?

Adding to your super fund when you have some extra cash on hand means when you reach retirement, you could have more savings to retire with. Even small amounts added now can make a big difference to your super in the future, because of investment earnings on your super over that period (note that investment earnings can sometimes be negative in the short term).

And, because you’ve already paid tax on your income, after-tax contributions are not usually taxed again when you deposit them into your super account. You might also be able to claim a tax deduction on these contributions, to reduce the amount of income tax you pay in a financial year.

Is it for you?

Those tax deductions and extra contributions sound great, but please know that if you claim a tax deduction for your personal contributions at tax time, your contributions will change from after-tax to concessional (before-tax) and that means they are subject to contributions tax, at a maximum rate of 15%, and will count towards your yearly $30,000 cap on before-tax contributions.

Find out more about contribution caps

Spouse contributions

This is a great way to support your spouse who may be on a low income without much super being saved or may have lost a job or taken a break from work, for example to look after kids. It’s an investment in a loved one’s future and will ease both your lives in retirement. A spouse is the person you’re legally married to, or in a de facto relationship with (including same sex relationships).

Is it for you?

If you make a contribution to your spouse’s super, you can benefit at tax time. If your partner is earning less than $40,000 a year, you may be able to claim a tax offset.

Under the ATO’s 2024-25 tax rules, you can claim a tax offset of up to 18% on the first $3,000 you pay into your spouse’s superannuation account as an after-tax contribution. This means you can receive a maximum of $540 as a tax offset. The amount you’ll receive depends on how much your spouse earned in the financial year. Anything above $3,000 is ineligible for any further offset.

Government contributions

In some circumstances, the government can make additional contributions to your super.

You don’t need to apply for these government super contributions. If you’re eligible, and Vision Super has your tax file number (TFN), the ATO will pay it to your account automatically.

You may be eligible for a government co-contribution or low-income super tax offset (LISTO). The low-income super tax offset (LISTO) is an Australian government initiative where they contribute up to $500 a year into low income earners’ super accounts to help boost their retirement savings.

For some, $500 might not sound like much, but over time with the magic of compound earnings, a $500 tax offset today could be worth much more by the time you retire. The longer you have between today and retirement, the more your savings will benefit (subject to market activity).

To estimate the impact this may have on your retirement savings try the Retirement income calculator.

The Government co-contribution is another government initiative that helps eligible people boost their retirement savings.

If you are a low or middle-income earner and make personal (after-tax) super contributions to your super fund, the government also makes a contribution (called a co-contribution) up to a maximum amount of $500.

How it works - Sarah’s story

“I’m 45, and I’m a child care worker earning $32,000 a year. I make a $1,000 after-tax contribution to my Vision Super account. After I put in my tax return, the ATO make an additional co-contribution of $500 to my Vision Super account. I didn’t need to do anything except make the contribution and lodge my tax return – simple! The ATO and Vision Super took care of the rest.”

Read our Government co-contributions factsheet

Are you eligible for the co-contribution?

You may be eligible for the government co-contribution payment if you:

  • have made one or more eligible personal super contributions to your super account during the financial year (personal super contributions you claim a tax deduction for don’t count)
  • pass the two income tests (income threshold and 10% eligible income tests)
  • are less than 71 years old at the end of the financial year
  • do not hold a temporary visa at any time during the financial year (unless you are a New Zealand citizen or it was a prescribed visa)
  • lodge your tax return for the relevant financial year
  • have a total superannuation balance less than the general transfer balance cap at the end of 30 June of the previous financial year
  • have not contributed more than your non-concessional contributions cap.

If you’re not sure about any of this, call our Member Services team on 1300 300 820, and we’ll help you. You can also find more by visiting the ATO’s website.

 

Super calculators

Understand your super better and discover ways you can improve your super savings with these calculators.

Make an after-tax contribution

Pay by BPAY

You can set up a regular BPAY payment through your internet banking, or make a one-off contribution at any time from your bank account.

Frequently asked questions

    • Accumulation members

      For Employers using SAFF, the address details changes will automatically flow through to Vision Super via their file.

      DB Members and ad-hoc address updates for Accumulation members

      Employers can update an address for a member anytime via the Employer Online portal. Go to Member Maintenance > Search for and select the member > Click Edit and the follow the prompts.

    • Accumulation members

      For Employers using SAFF, the Termination details will automatically flow through to Vision Super via their file.

      DB Members and ad-hoc Terminations for Accumulation members

      Employers can process a Termination for a member anytime either by submitting Form 19 which you can find on the website under resources or via the Employer Online portal. Just following the path Member Maintenance > Search for and select the member > Click Terminate and the follow the prompts.

    • Please send an email to [email protected] detailing your request or call the Employer Hotline on 1300 304 947

    • We do not currently charge a fee to use our Clearinghouse solution, but per the Clearinghouse agreement we do reserve the right to change this at any time.

    • You can reset your password by visiting the Employer login page and clicking the Forgotten your password link.

      If you have any issues with resetting your password, please call the Employer Hotline on 1300 304 947.

    • If you call us on 1300 304 947 we can arrange for booklets and PDS to be delivered as well as our induction video that’s available for new employees.

    • No, there are no costs involved.

    • If you change your employer in most instances you can request, they pay your super into your Vision Super account. Simply fill in the Choice of Fund form and hand it in to your payroll officer.

      If you have to go with your employers default super fund you may be able to keep your insurance benefits with us because your insurance cover with Vision Super doesn’t necessarily cease when you change employers (provided that you satisfy the terms and conditions contained within the relevant insurance policy).

    • We’d encourage you to talk to us before you engage a lawyer. Vision Super pays more than 85% of insurance claims, so the likelihood is your claim will be paid if you work with us directly, and you’ll end up with more of your money. Many lawyers advertise that they’ll work for you on a ‘no win, no fee’ basis, but if your claim is approved, they may take a large chunk of your payout – it can be around 30% of an entitlement. Our insurance team is here to help you through every step of the claims process, including all the paperwork, without having to get a lawyer involved and potentially losing money you need to pay for medical treatment or maintain your lifestyle.

    • Call us on 1300 300 820 and we will answer any questions and send you the required information.

    • Yes, you can cancel your cover at any time. Any cancellation or reduction of cover will take effect from the date we receive your request or the date you specified in your request (as long as it’s after the date we receive it). If you are replacing your existing cover with an alternative cover, before cancelling we recommend that you have your replacement cover in place first. To talk to us about cancelling a policy, please call us on 1300 300 820.

      If you are thinking about changing your insurance please consider seeking financial advice before making any changes to make sure it is right for you and your needs and circumstances.

       

    • You may be able to get cover if you have a pre-existing medical condition. You will just need to apply to remove the pre-existing condition exclusion when you join by filling in a Personal Statement. Our Insurer will review your application taking into consideration any pre-existing conditions and general health and advise if your request has been accepted.

      If your application is unsuccessful,  there will be a two-year Pre-Existing Condition (PEC) exclusion on Death and TPD cover and Income Protection cover. This means that no benefit will be paid if you are totally and permanently disabled, terminally ill or die as a direct or indirect result of a pre-existing medical condition in the first two years of your insurance cover.

    • You can have multiple income protection policies, and there are legitimate reasons why people choose more than one product.

      However, some income protection policies prevent claimants from receiving more than a certain percentage of their gross salary while off work. What that means is you could have three income protection policies that all offer payments equalling 75 per cent of your gross salary, but you wouldn’t be able to claim the full amount from all three. You would typically be limited to a combined maximum of 75 per cent across the policies.

    • Yes. You can have more than one death, or death and TPD policy in addition to the one you hold in your Vision Super account. However, depending on your circumstances rather than managing multiple policies it might be as simple as increasing the cover you have with us without the need for further medical assessments. It is generally more cost-effective to have one policy so that you are not paying premiums on more than one policy.

      Increases in cover in Vision Super may require a medical assessment. If you are considering cancelling cover you hold outside of Vision Super and replacing it with cover in Vision Super, we recommend you call us first on 1300 300 820. Please consider seeking financial advice before making any changes to make sure your insurance is right for you and your needs and circumstances.

    • We’re required to have Target Market Determinations under the Treasury Laws Amendment (Design and Distribution Obligations and Product Intervention Powers) Act 2019.

      This is to make sure we’re keeping members at the centre of our approach to the design and distribution of our financial products.

      This legislation requires financial services product issuers to design products that are appropriate for the consumers in the target market and consistent with their objectives, financial situation, and needs.

    • A Target Market Determination is a document which describes who a product is appropriate for (target market), and any conditions around how the product can be distributed to customers.

      It also describes the events or circumstances where we may need to review the Target Market Determination for a financial product.

    • Cash investment options are generally a combination of money in the bank and money invested for a short time in money market securities, such as bank term deposits and bank bills.

      If you are risk averse or working to a short timeframe, then a Cash option that typically provides stable, low risk returns may be suitable for you. This type of investment option will protect the nominal value of your superannuation, but the returns will often be low compared with other investment options.

      The risk associated with cash investments is generally minimal, although the returns are also minimal. Cash can be a safe haven in times of economic uncertainty, and occasionally you may wish to preserve capital by allocating some of your super to cash.

      We recommend that you obtain financial advice before making any decisions about investing in our Cash option.

      To book an appointment with a Vision Super financial planner, either call us or complete our online appointment form:

      Go to the form to book an appointment online >

      Call our Contact Centre on 1300 300 820 (Monday to Friday 8:30am to 5pm).

      Advice fees may apply, which will be discussed with you before any work is undertaken.

    • We don’t currently charge switching fees, so there is no impact on your super account balance from switching between investment options. However, if you have the right investment risk profile and your investments are matched up to your risk profile, you shouldn’t be needing to make switches regularly.

      From time to time you should review your risk profile, maybe when you are first starting out in the workforce, are in the middle of your working life, a few years away from retirement and/or going into retirement. Otherwise the investments you have in superannuation should be a ‘set and forget’ strategy where you ride the ups and downs of the investments over a longer period.

      You can switch investment options for some, or all, of your account balance, future contributions, or both. You can also nominate which investment option you would like your withdrawals to be made from.

      You can switch between investment options by logging into our website, or the Vision Super app, or by sending us a completed Investment choice form. You can also call us, on 1300 300 820 (Monday to Friday 8:30am to 5pm).

      Investment switches are processed based on the unit prices of the relevant investment options declared on the next business day after we receive your switching request, unless there is a delay with processing due to abnormal market conditions or system failure.

      Frequent switching between investment options and trying to second-guess the market can be risky, particularly for high-risk investment options designed to be held in the long-term (6-12 years). You should switch only after a thorough review of your long-term investment strategy.

      We recommend that you obtain financial advice before making any decisions about switching between investment options.

      To book an appointment with a Vision Super financial planner, either call us or complete our online appointment form:

      Go to the form to book an appointment online >

      Call our Contact Centre on 1300 300 820 (Monday to Friday 8:30am to 5pm).

      Advice fees may apply, which will be discussed with you before any work is undertaken. For full details on advice costs, please refer to the Vision Super Fees and Costs guide.

    • Growth assets are higher risk but offer a higher potential return compared to defensive assets. They aim to grow the capital that’s invested and provide some income. Defensive assets are lower-risk investments which aim to protect the capital invested while providing an income.

      The classification of assets into either growth or defensive has the advantage of simplicity, but it also has limitations when used as an indicator of risk. The classification does not capture diversification, which can have a larger impact on reducing the overall portfolio risk when assets are combined.

      Another issue is that different people may have different classifications for the same asset type because there are no regulations governing this area and no clear guidance by the regulators on a standardised growth/defensive split. Classifications of growth or defensive assets may also change over time depending on market conditions and pricing.

      We believe that there needs to be greater consistency and transparency in how super funds arrive at their growth/defensive mixes. But in the absence of regulations, there are going to be differences in practice and opinion. To avoid any potential misunderstandings, Vision Super does not publish the growth/defensive split of our investment options.

    • Our primary objective is to maximise our members’ investment returns so that our members have more for their retirement. One of the means by which we try to achieve this objective is to instruct our underlying investment managers to incorporate Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) considerations into their investment decision-making processes. We believe that this approach will help support long-term investment performance and enhance risk management. The way we factor ESG issues into our investment decisions is set out in our ESG Policy.

      We are a signatory and member of a range of organisations that promote responsible investing in the superannuation industry, including the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) and the Australian Council of Superannuation Investors (ACSI). We are also a signatory to the Global Investor Statement to Governments on the Climate Crisis and we are a support investor to the Climate Action 100+ initiative. This is an investor-led initiative aiming to ensure the world’s largest corporate greenhouse gas emitters take appropriate action in relation to climate change.

    • In our PDS we disclose “Investment fees and costs” and “Transaction costs” that include investment expenses relating to the investment management of Vision Super’s assets.

      Investment fees and costs include investment expenses relating to the investment management of Vision Super’s assets, such as base and (in very few cases) performance-related fees paid to investment managers and advisers, management fees charged in investment vehicles, asset consulting fees, bank fees, custodian fees and internal Vision Super costs related to the management of the Fund’s assets.

      Transaction costs include explicit transaction costs incurred by investment managers such as brokerage, settlement costs and stamp duty, as well as buy sell spreads charged by our investment managers or in underlying investment vehicles.

      Investment and transaction fees and costs are not deducted directly from your account. Investment and transaction fees and costs are indirect fees that are deducted from the investment option unit prices and are therefore reflected in the returns allocated to your account through changes in the unit prices.

      Find out the current investment fees for each option here >

    • These items reflect short-term liabilities such as overdrafts and margins that need to be posted to collateral accounts for strategies using exchange traded derivatives following certain market moves.

    • Our Australian equities managers invest in portfolios of predominantly Australian companies. This may well include companies that are property or infrastructure businesses, which are classified as Listed Property or Listed Infrastructure in the portfolio holdings reporting. Similarly, the cash holdings within these portfolios will be reported as Cash.

    • The rules the government has put in place for super funds are designed to provide greater transparency about underlying investments and place increased focus on trustees ensuring their only consideration, when investing, is to act in the best financial interests of our members.  We also take the environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance of companies into account because the research shows that companies that perform well on these factors have better long-term performance. More detail on the way we factor ESG considerations into our decision-making, including our overarching investment beliefs and divestments framework, is set out in our ESG Policy.

      However, if we excluded every company that someone ‘might not like’ from our portfolio, we would have an increasingly narrow field of possible investments. People have a wide range of views on companies they believe we shouldn’t invest in – this list would cover everything from dairy companies, to fashion brands, medical research, gaming and banks.

      Restricting our investments like this would almost certainly reduce adequate diversification and impact on portfolio performance over the longer term – which runs counter to our core obligation to act in the best financial interests of our members.

    • Vision Super excludes companies that are identified by our ESG data provider as having any involvement in the production of tobacco. Vaping companies are also excluded. Our approach is broadly consistent with the Tobacco-Free Finance Pledge under the auspices of Tobacco Free Portfolios and the UNEP Finance Initiative to which we are a signatory.

      Our decision to divest from tobacco producers also reflects the risk that the returns from these companies will be adversely impacted by litigation and/or regulation. The full list of companies that we consider to be prohibited investments is available on our website here.

    • Controversial weapons are ones that can have a severe impact on civilians, and are generally banned under international treaties. Land mines, cluster bombs and nuclear weapons are deemed to be particularly controversial because of their indiscriminate impacts on civilians and the disproportionate harm they cause – in the case of land mines, for many years after a conflict has ended. Despite being widely considered to be controversial and often prohibited by international treaties, these weapons are still produced in some parts of the world.

      Based on information provided by our ESG data provider, Vision Super excludes companies that generate:

      > More than 5% of revenue from critical components for nuclear weapons.

      > Any revenue from critical components of anti-personnel mines, cluster munitions or depleted uranium weaponry.

      The full list of companies that we consider to be prohibited investments is available on our website here.

    • The Fund has some exposure to mining companies.  Mining remains integral to the global economy, including the necessary transition to a renewable economy through the manufacture of renewable energy infrastructure such as wind turbines and solar panels.

    • Our exposure to fossil fuels is implemented through carbon intensity restrictions for our listed equity portfolios. The listed equity asset classes are managed with an approach that aims to provide meaningfully less carbon-intensive exposure versus the respective benchmarks (based on ISS data on scope 1 and 2 carbon intensity levels). Our listed equity carbon intensity restrictions are fund-wide and apply to listed equities across our options.

      For further information please refer to our carbon budget page

    • Centrelink needs to know some details so they can calculate payments such as the age pension. We provide this information directly to Centrelink electronically, on your behalf, every February and August. You can request a Centrelink schedule from Vision Super at any time.

    • No. Once you have opened an account you cannot make any additional contributions. However, you can close your existing account and open a new account, combining any additional contributions with your existing balance.

      Important to know: Government changes to deeming rules could affect you if you choose to close your current account and open a new one. To find out whether your entitlements – including the age pension – could be reduced, we recommend seeking financial advice first.

    • Your regular pension income payments will be paid directly to a personal or joint bank account nominated by you in your application form. You can choose to receive payments twice monthly, monthly, bimonthly, quarterly, four-monthly, six-monthly or annually.

    • You have access to make lump sum withdrawals (over and above your pension (income)) payments from a retirement pension however, with a transition to retirement pension lump sum withdrawals are limited and you can only commute your pension by transferring your account balance into an accumulation product.

    • You need to have met preservation age and have a minimum investment amount of $10,000. Other eligibility conditions apply. Refer to the Vision Super Income Streams PDS for further details.

    • Eligibility for the government age pension depends on your age, residency status, and the income and assets tests, plus the value of your assets. If you are eligible, for all or part of the government age pension, then combining it with your Vision Super pension can work well. You can use the age pension to meet basic living costs and spending money can come from your Vision Super pension.

    • When you open your Pension account, you’ll have the option of nominating your spouse as a ‘reversionary beneficiary’. This means that if you die, the account will change ownership to your spouse and regular payments from the account will be paid to the spouse. Your spouse will then have the option of withdrawing the account balance if he/she meets preservation age and other rules. Alternatively, you can nominate one or more binding or preferred non-binding beneficiary (the beneficiary must be your dependant and/or legal personal representative when you die).

    • Stapling commences on 1 November 2021. From 1 November 2021, employers will need to take new steps to determine the correct super fund for new employees.

    • Where the ATO identifies multiple funds that may be stapled to an employee, tiebreaker rules will apply:

      1. The most recent fund identified by the ATO will be the employee’s stapled fund for the selected period (from the start of the previous financial year until the day when the ATO applies tiebreaker requirements).
      2. If 1. doesn’t apply, it will be the fund that received the most recent contribution over the selected period.
      3. If 1. and 2. don’t apply, it will be the fund that held the largest balance at the end of the previous financial year.
      4. If none of the above applies, the ATO will consider factors like when an employee joined a fund and other relevant information to identify the stapled fund.
      5. Employees will also be able to see details of their stapled super fund in their MyGov account.

    • If you are doing this for a single member and not using the ATO’s bulk upload service, the ATO expects results to be available within minutes.

    • If the ATO provides a stapled super fund response to an employer, the ATO will contact the employee and advise them of the request.

      Employees will receive an SMS if they have a valid mobile number in the ATO records and/or a letter (through myGov or paper) advising who has requested the information and more details on the options available to the employee.

    • Yes, it applies to all employers.

    • Existing employees aren’t affected by these changes. You must continue to make their compulsory superannuation guarantee (SG) payments into the same super fund account you do today.

    • Yes, you still need a default fund. If a new employee starts on or after 1 November 2021, and neither nominates a fund nor has an existing fund, you will pay their contributions to your default fund.

    • We’re required to have Target Market Determinations under the Treasury Laws Amendment (Design and Distribution Obligations and Product Intervention Powers) Act 2019.

      This is to make sure we’re keeping members at the centre of our approach to the design and distribution of our financial products.

      This legislation requires financial services product issuers to design products that are appropriate for the consumers in the target market and consistent with their objectives, financial situation, and needs.

    • A Target Market Determination is a document which describes who a product is appropriate for (target market), and any conditions around how the product can be distributed to customers.

      It also describes the events or circumstances where we may need to review the Target Market Determination for a financial product.

    • It depends how your details have been changed. The most common request is changing a surname due to marriage, which you can do with a certified copy of your marriage certificate, and a Vision Super “Change of Personal Details form” found here: view form

      If you have changed your name another way, we recommend you contact us first on 1300 300 820 so we can outline what documents we need to change your details without issue.

      If you want to change your address, you can do this by logging onto the secure member portal online, or calling our Member Services team on 1300 300 820.

    • You can check your balance 24/7 via Vision Online, our secure member secure site, or via the Vision Super app for mobile devices. You can also contact our Member Services on 1300 300 820 or by emailing us on [email protected]

    • Here’s how it works. You may be able to receive a tax-free contribution from the Government when you make a non-concessional (after-tax) contribution to your super account.  The maximum entitlement that can be received is $500 where your total income is $45,400 or less in the 2024/25 year. This reduces on a sliding scale and cuts out if your total income is above $60,400 in the 2024/25 year.

      ATO source

    • If you’re contributing by BPAY, it can take Vision Super up to two business days to receive your contribution, then up to three business days to process, although most are done the same day they are received. This will depend upon your financial institution’s processing times.

      If you’re contributing by cheque, you will need to allow enough time for your chosen postage method to reach us. Once it has arrived, it can take up to five working days to process.

      We can also process contributions by EFT, however, this may take up to three business days.

    • Our platinum rating from SuperRatings mean we’re in the top 25% of super funds rated by SuperRatings for best value for money superannuation. We’ve been awarded the rating 11 years in a row.