On 1 July 2025, the Super Guarantee rate will increase from 11.5% to 12% of your before-tax earnings.
On 1 July 2025, the Superannuation Guarantee (SG) – the minimum contribution your employer must make into your super fund – increased from 11.5% to 12% of your base earnings (or ordinary time earnings).
Superannuation Guarantee (SG) rate
As of 1 July 2025, the SG rate has increased from 11.5% to 12%. This means employers must now contribute a minimum of 12% of an employee's ordinary time earnings to their super.
The transfer balance cap from 1 July 2025 is $2 million, an increase of $100,000 from 2024-25. This means that those who have commenced retirement phase income streams for the first time on or after 1 July 2025 will generally be able to commence retirement phase income streams with balances of up to $2 million.
From 1 July 2025, the SG rate is 12% of your employee's ordinary time earnings. You might need to pay a higher SG rate if it's in an award or enterprise agreement. Super contributions are paid in addition to your employee's wages or salary. Employees can ask you to make extra post-tax super payments for them.
Retiring at 60 with $500,000 in super is possible but challenging, depending heavily on your spending, lifestyle, and if you qualify for the Australian Age Pension. You might cover modest expenses using strategies like drawing down around $20,000 annually (using the 4% rule as a guide) plus other income, but it requires careful budgeting, potentially part-time work, and reducing living costs. A financial advisor can help tailor a plan, as $500k alone usually supports a basic to moderate retirement, not a lavish one.
You can access your super when you reach 65, even if you haven't retired. You can also access your super if you've reached your preservation age and retired from full-time work.
After you retire any amounts over the cap need to be transferred into an accumulation account or withdrawn taken out as a lump sum.
In the organisation's super balance update, it found 2.5 per cent of the population have a super account of more than $1 million, as of June 2021. This represents 417,567 individuals, ASFA said, and is a 29 per cent increase from the 322,200 individuals who held over $1 million in June 2019.
Any contributions you make over the cap will be taxed at your marginal rate, less a 15% tax rebate. You may also be charged interest.
Super guarantee rate increase
From 1 July 2025, the superannuation guarantee rate will increase from 11.5% to 12%. The 12% rate will need to be applied for all salary and wages paid to eligible workers on and after 1 July. This is even if some or all of the pay period it relates to is before 1 July.
For the financial year 2025-26, the concessional super contribution cap is $30,000. This means you can contribute up to $30,000 to your super fund from your pre-tax income without incurring additional taxes.
If you're aged 60 or over and withdraw a lump sum: You don't pay any tax when you withdraw from a taxed super fund.
From 1 July 2025, the super guarantee, that is - the percentage of your wage that your employer is required to pay into your super account, will increase from 11.5% to 12.0%.
The current superannuation rate is 12% of your ordinary time earnings. Your employer has to pay super for you at least 4 times a year, every quarter. If you're covered by an award or an employment agreement that gives you a higher super rate than 12%, your employer has to pay the higher rate.
You need to draw down a minimum pension amount every year—even if you don't need the money. Starting your super pension too early means you run the risk of running out of money. Starting an account-based pension can impact your Centrelink entitlements, and you may lose some Government benefits.
Even if you move overseas, your superannuation will typically stay in Australia. If you move to New Zealand, you may be able to transfer your super to a KiwiSaver account. Temporary residents returning home after visiting Australia can apply for a Departing Australia Superannuation Payment.
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The bring-forward rule enables you to accelerate your super contributions by using up to three years' worth of non-concessional (after-tax) contributions caps in a single year. This means you could contribute up to three times the annual limit in one go, or spread your contribution out over two to three years.
If you don't claim your super within six months of departing Australia, your super fund will be required to close your account and transfer the balance to the ATO as unclaimed super. While you can still claim your super from the ATO at any time, your super will no longer receive investment returns.