About this calculator - Contributions

The Trustee does not intend that this calculator will influence your decision about your super or any financial product and no such intention should be inferred. You should also read the additional information in the disclaimer tab.

What does this calculator let you do?

This calculator is for educational purposes. It can illustrate the additional voluntary contributions you could make into superannuation, and provides an estimate of the impact these additional contributions would have on your take-home pay.

Browser settings

Using your browser in private or incognito mode will impact some of the functionality of this calculator. Cbus recommends switching to standard browser mode before using this calculator. 

Session timing

Your session will auto-refresh after 10 minutes of inactivity and any data entered will be deleted. No data is saved or retained when using this calculator.  

Assumptions

The results this calculator produces are based on some key general and default assumptions. The default assumptions used are explained below. The default assumptions have been based upon current laws and their interpretations which in the opinion of the issuer of the calculator are reasonable for the purpose of determining the estimated projections of retirement income and superannuation balances when producing your results.

You can change the default assumptions in the ‘Settings’ if they do not apply to you (and/or your partner), or if you wish to see how different assumptions affect the results. Any alteration you make or input you provide will be assumed to apply for the whole of the calculation period. Consequently, you should be aware that what actually eventuates is likely to be different from what is assumed will occur and that even small changes to assumptions can make large differences to your results.

Applicable law

Calculations are based on relevant laws current as at March 2024 and are subject to change.

Annual income

If you enter your pay as “take home” pay, this is your pay after tax has been deducted, and after all superannuation contributions you make have been deducted.  If you enter your pay as “before tax” pay this is your income from employment, including any bonus payments, before tax and excluding superannuation and any other packaged benefits. Your income is increased over time in the projections in line with inflation including the expected rise in living standards as outlined later. The calculator assumes that the annual income you have input increased with inflation including the expected rise in living standards is payable over a continuous working life with no breaks, unless you specify otherwise.

Contributions

We assume that you are able to contribute into super because you have been in gainful employment* for at least 40 hours in a period of not more than 30 consecutive days in the financial year in which the contribution is made.

*Gainful employment means being employed for gain or reward in any business, trade, profession, vocation or calling, occupation or employment.

The calculator does not allow you to exceed the concessional and non-concessional contributions limits relevant to your age. This assumption is reasonable as many employers will limit their contributions to the concessional contributions cap, but if yours does not then you could end up with a different amount. At March 2024, the concessional contributions cap is set to $27,500 for all individuals. It is assumed that the concessional contributions cap will increase in future financial years in line with the average weekly ordinary time earnings (AWOTE), but only once $2,500 increments are reached. It is assumed the non-concessional contributions cap will continue to be set at 4 times the concessional cap, hence will increase at the same time as the concessional contributions cap in future years. Should your projected total superannuation balance exceed the projected Transfer Balance Cap at any year in the projection, your projected non-concessional contributions will be restricted to zero for that year.

This calculator does not allow for personal deductible super contributions for sole traders or partners in partnerships.

Employer contributions excluding before-tax (salary sacrifice) contributions

It is assumed that your employer contributes the default Superannuation Guarantee (SG) rate or your nominated Employer Super contribution rate, as a percentage of your annual before tax pay. The annual before tax pay used for employer contributions is not limited to the maximum super contribution base. If your employer does limit SG contributions to the maximum super contribution base, then you could end up with a different amount. The calculator assumes that these employer contributions will increase to the extent required to meet the employer's SG obligations under government legislation. Refer to the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) website for details.

In future years it is assumed that your income and therefore employer contributions will increase with inflation including the expected rise in living standards. Future contribution levels will depend on uncertain factors such as salary levels, rate of salary growth and time out of the workforce for any reason. While the calculator makes some default assumptions about contributions, contribution levels are not guaranteed.

Before-tax (salary sacrifice) contributions

It is assumed that any Before-tax contributions will increase with inflation including the expected rise in living standards over time.

After-tax contributions

In future years it is assumed that your After-tax contributions will increase with inflation including the expected rise in living standards over time.

The calculator will not allow you to enter additional regular contributions greater than your Salary or the non-concessional contributions cap

Government co-contribution

The total income used by the calculator to estimate if you qualify for any co-contribution is equal to your annual salary before tax and before any salary sacrifice. Any income from other sources and other available adjustments are not included in an estimate of total income. Eligibility for the Government co-contribution is also subject to minimum working requirements. For the full definition of 'income' used by the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) and other details on Government co-contribution rules and limits, refer to the ATO website at www.ato.gov.au.

Low income superannuation tax offset

The total income used by the calculator to estimate if you qualify for a Low Income Super Tax Offset (LISTO) is equal to your salary before tax and before any salary sacrifice. Any income from other investments is not included in an estimate of total income. Eligibility for low income superannuation tax offset is also subject to age restrictions and minimum working requirements. For the full definition of 'income' used by the ATO and other details on LISTO rules and limits, refer to the ATO website at www.ato.gov.au.

Transfer Balance Cap

From 1 July 2017 there is a cap on the amount of superannuation eligible to be transferred to account-based pensions in retirement. This Transfer Balance Cap is $1,900,000 at March 2024.

Tax

It is assumed that you have provided your Tax File Number (TFN) to your superannuation fund and that, consequently the usual concessional tax rate of 15% tax is deducted from employer contributions including Before-tax (salary sacrifice) contributions.

The calculator assumes that any other taxes are paid by you outside your superannuation account, including (if applicable):

• Excess Concessional Contribution tax
• Excess Non-Concessional Contribution tax
• Division 293 tax (payable by higher income earners)

No income tax has been applied to estimated retirement income in the results of the calculator.

The tax assumptions used are general in nature only and do not constitute tax advice. Please see your tax adviser for advice that is specific to your individual circumstances.