Lurelle is approaching pension age and wants to know about the pension while working.
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Q. Lurelle
I am approaching pension age. I am still working permanent part time and I currently salary sacrifice $200 per fortnight into my superannuation. My question is: would I be able to receive the full amount (or partial amount) of aged pension while continuing to work, albeit less hours, and sacrifice the $200 per fortnight to build up my super account?
A. There are age-related conditions under which your super fund can accept contributions.
But before we get to those, it is unlikely that contributions salary sacrificed into your superannuation would continue to be of benefit if you reduced your hours to the point where you were still able to claim the Age Pension.
According to moneysmart.gov.au, making extra concessional contributions to superannuation is only tax effective if you earn more than $37,000 per year. However, you may want to consult a financial adviser to confirm your exact situation.
Going back to the official rules about contributions that are allowed, if you are 67 to 74 years of age you will still need to meet the work test or satisfy the work test exemption criteria in order to make a contribution to your superannuation and claim a tax deduction.
To satisfy the work test, you must work at least 40 hours during a consecutive 30-day period each income year in order for your fund to accept a personal super contribution for which you can claim a deduction.
To meet the work test exemption criteria, you must have:
- satisfied the work test in the income year preceding the year in which you made the contribution
- a total super balance of less than $300,000 at the end of the previous income year
- not relied on the work test exemption in a previous financial year.
Do you understand the rules about contributing to super after you have reached retirement age? Are they too complicated?
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Disclaimer: All content on YourLifeChoices website is of a general nature and has been prepared without taking into account your objectives, financial situation or needs. It has been prepared with due care but no guarantees are provided for ongoing accuracy or relevance. Before making a decision based on this information, you should consider its appropriateness in regard to your own circumstances. You should seek professional advice from a Centrelink Financial Information Services officer, financial planner, lawyer or tax agent in relation to any aspects that affect your financial and legal circumstances.
