The Superannuation Guarantee Explained

Posted 16 Apr '21

The Superannuation Guarantee Explained

Are you paying the correct amount of superannuation to your employees on time? The Superannuation Guarantee can be complex. It is critical to understand and ensure you are meeting your obligations.

The minimum Superannuation Guarantee (SG) is calculated as a percentage of each eligible employee’s earnings (ordinary time earnings) to a complying super fund or retirement savings account (RSA).

As an employer, you pay the super guarantee (SG) for eligible employees which is calculated from the day they start with you.

• You must make the payments at least four times a year, so they are received by your employee's super fund by the quarterly due dates.

       When the due date falls on a weekend of public holiday, it automatically changes to the next
       business day.

• You can make payments more regularly than quarterly if you want to (for example, fortnightly or monthly) as long as your total SG obligation for the quarter is received into your employee's super fund by the due date.

• Contributions are considered paid when the super fund receives them. You also need to report quarterly in regard to your superannuation guarantee contribution.

• When SG payments are made on time, you can claim a tax deduction for SG payments in the financial year that you make them.

• Late payments attract the super guarantee charge (SGC) and are not deductible. (We‘ll talk more about that in an upcoming business blog post!)

• The superannuation guarantee statutory rate has remained at 9.5% since July 2014. However, plans have been in place for some years now, to increase the rate to 12% incrementally.

Ensuring you pay and report on the super guarantee is critical. WDF Professional can process super on your behalf, ensuring the right amount is paid on time for a low, fixed fee. Please feel free to get in touch with your WDF Professional contact or phone 02 6921 5444.