Add your home to the mix

Whether you’re starting out or nearing the end of your working life, your property has a role to play

• Super versus first home

For younger women, in particular, saving for a home deposit is often more important than super. But Dixon Advisory’s Nerida Cole says the First Home Super Saver scheme allows you to do both. You can contribute up to $15,000 in a year to save for your home deposit, up to a limit of $30,000. She says the money must be on top of your employer’s compulsory super contributions, but can be in the form of either concessional or non-concessional contributions. You then withdraw the money, plus a deemed rate of earnings (minus any contributions taxes on concessional contributions), when you need it to buy your first home.

• Near retirement

Fitzpatricks’ Colin Lewis says putting in extra super as you near retirement has been made easier by a couple of recent measures. Normally, you can’t contribute to super once you turn 65 unless you meet a work test. However, he says if you have less than $300,000 in super and met the work test last year, you can now contribute for one more year without meeting the test.

This year’s federal budget increased the age at which the work test applied from

65 to 67 from July 1, 2020, giving older people two more years to build their super. Cole says after-tax or non-concessional contributions are a good way to boost your super as you near retirement, especially if you are selling an asset such as a holiday home or investment. This can provide a hefty lump sum to boost the account of the partner with less super. You can contribute up to $100,000 in any year up to age 74, though you’ll have to meet a work test if you’re 65 or older. If you’re under 65, you can “bring forward” the next two years’ contributions by contributing up to $300,000 if your total super balance is less than $1.6 million.