No. Energy Super is an industry superannuation fund with a legacy for employees working in the energy industry in Queensland. Today, we are a Public Offer fund, which means our membership is drawn from a much wider community, including spouses, other family members and friends. Want to find out more information on becoming a member? Visit our 'how to join' page or refer to the Energy Super Member Guide.
You may be able to get up to $1,000 from the Federal Government added to your superannuation account if you qualify for the Government's co-contribution scheme. To qualify you usually have to meet the following criteria:
To learn more about the Government co-contribution and to get all the eligibility details, including contribution calculations, go to our Government co-contribution Fact Sheet.
* Total Income is defined as your assessable income plus reportable fringe benefits plus reportable employer superannuation contributions (e.g. salary sacrifice). Your employer can give you information about Reportable Employer Superannuation Contributions and Fringe Benefits that apply to you.** Eligible employment is where a person is treated as an employee for Superannuation Guarantee purposes.
Yes. Just visit:
Before consolidating your super accounts, be sure to check with other funds about exit or withdrawal fees or whether you’ll have any loss of services or benefits such as insurance. It can also be important to consider discussing your personal circumstances with a financial adviser.
Energy Super offers subsidised financial advice to members.
If you've lost track of some of your super it's probably been registered with the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) as lost super. To locate your lost super call the ATO's SuperSeeker phone service on 13 28 65 or search online at www.ato.gov.au/superseeker. You'll need to have your Tax File Number handy for the search.
Yes, providing your spouse is under age 65 or, if aged 65-69, has been gainfully employed for at least 40 hours over a period of no more than 30 consecutive days in the financial year in which the contribution is made.
Making contributions for your spouse helps build a superannuation benefit for your spouse and you may be eligible to claim a tax offset.
If your spouse's income is less than $10,800 p.a. you can claim a tax offset of 18% of the super contributions (up to a maximum of $3,000 p.a.) made on behalf of your spouse (this provides a maximum tax offset of $540 annually). The tax offset phases out for incomes between $10,800 p.a. and $13,800 p.a.
To make these contributions simply complete a Spouse contribution Form and return it to us with your super payment.
Different contributions are treated differently for tax purposes, so we need to know how to allocate each contribution. Therefore you need to complete and return the relevant form (i.e. a Lump sum contribution payments, Spouse contribution or Employer contribution remittance). Or contact us and we'll send the forms to you. The sooner we get your completed form, the sooner we can invest your contribution.
If your employer is not registered with Energy Super, you or your employer can still make contributions via your financial institution's online or phone service.
Energy Super understands that not all members have the same views about how their super should be invested. That's why we give you the opportunity to choose the investment strategy that best suits your investment style and tolerance for risk.
To see the full range of investment options available to our members, click here.
If you don't make an investment choice when joining Energy Super your super will be invested in the default option applicable to you. For most members this will be the Balanced option.
You can still remain a member of the Fund if you leave your Energy Super employer and your new employer is able to make contributions to your account if you have choice of fund.
To do this you'll need to provide your new employer with completed Take me with you Form.
If you're leaving your Energy Super employer you should also contact us to discuss your insurance arrangements as soon as possible because you may be able to continue your cover without providing evidence of health. To find out more call our Energy Super contact centre on 1300 4 ENERGY (1300 436 374).
If you're leaving your employer as a Defined Benefit member and want to stay with Energy Super, please contact the Energy Super contact centre on 1300 4 ENERGY (1300 436 374) to discuss your options.
With Energy Super's insurance arrangements you have a convenient low cost solution for all your personal insurance needs. The type of insurance cover available through Energy Super includes:
It's important to read the Energy Super Member Guide first to find out what sort of insurance cover is suitable for you and the appropriate eligibility. Energy Super also gives members a range of educational modules, including insurance.
It is strongly recommended that you choose your superannuation beneficiaries since there is no default option should you choose not to. In such cases the Fund's trustees have discretion over where your superannuation is distributed upon your death.
A Will only deals with assets that are owned by the testator, or creator of the Will, in their own right. Assets that are controlled, but not owned, cannot pass through the Will. Superannuation funds are held in trust, which means they do not classify as an estate asset and cannot pass through a Will. That's why nominating your beneficiaries is important to avoid the uncertainty of having someone else make the decision on your behalf.
There are generally two types of nominations where you can choose your preferred beneficiaries:
A non-binding nomination is not legally binding and only persuasive in terms of helping Fund trustees delegate your super. A binding nomination legally requires trustees to respect your beneficiary wishes. In nominating beneficiaries the person nominated to receive your superannuation benefit must be your dependant or legal personal representative, as defined under the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act 1993.
You can nominate beneficiaries anytime. To nominate your beneficiaries please complete the relevant death benefit nomination form you'll find in the publications and forms section of our website.
Because superannuation is intended to be a long term investment, the Government requires that it remain preserved in a super fund until you meet a 'condition of release'. To find out what the 'conditions of release' are click here.
There are three preservation components that can be accessed at different times:
Your preservation age is the age at which you can access your benefits if you are permanently retired. This depends on your date of birth and will normally be between age 55 and 60.
For more information please read our Accessing your benefits Fact sheet. More information on conditions of release, accessing benefits for medical reasons, and other factors worth considering are also included in this fact sheet.
No. Contributions are generally divided into two categories - before tax (concessional) and after tax (non-concessional).
Concessional contributions are the contributions you and your employer make into super before tax is taken out of your wages. These contributions are subject to a concessional tax rate of 15% that is applied when they go into the Fund, provided that the Fund has been informed of your Tax File Number (TFN). Concessional contributions include:
Non-concessional contributions include:
The following contributions are not taxed going into the Fund but do not count as a non-concessional contribution:
There are limits and caps for certain contributions, so for more information please read our Contributions Fact sheet. Another handy fact sheet is Tax and your super. It outlines the taxation applied to your contributions, investment returns, and benefit payments.
Alternatively, to help you work out how close you are to your concessional (before tax) contribution limit, use the relevant contribution cap calculator.
Salary sacrifice is an arrangement between an employee and an employer where the employee chooses to forgo (or sacrifice) part of their salary as income, and instead has it paid into superannuation as a before tax contribution, or towards another approved salary sacrifice arrangement. The process by which salary sacrificing to super works is:
Depending on your personal financial situation you may pay less tax resulting in either increased take home pay or increased super contributions. Superannuation contributions are generally taxed at a lower rate than your salary. Therefore by diverting part of your salary to your super before tax is calculated and deducted, you may pay less tax on that amount.
For more information please read our Salary sacrifice Fact sheet.
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