Super co-contributions

Individuals may be eligible for a Government super co-contribution.

A Government co-contribution means the Government adds to your super. You may be eligible for the super co-contribution, low-income super contribution (LISC) from the 2012-13 to 2016-17 financial years, or low-income super tax offset (LISTO) from 1 July 2017.

Super co-contribution
The Government will make a co-contribution of up to $500 if you are a low or middle-income earner and make personal (after-tax) contributions to your fund.

The eligibility conditions for a co-contribution from the 2017-18 financial year include:
a total superannuation balance less than the general transfer balance cap for that year
the contribution you made to your super fund must not exceed your non-concessional contributions cap for that year.

Low-income super contribution
The low-income super contribution (LISC) is a Government super payment of up to $500 to help low-income earners save for retirement.

If you earn $37,000 or less a year, you may be eligible to receive a LISC payment directly into your super fund.

The LISC is 15 per cent of before-tax super contributions made you or your employer from the 2012-13 to 2016-17 financial years.

If you have reached your ‘preservation age’ and are retired you can apply to have your LISC paid directly to you.

Low-income super tax offset
The low-income tax offset (LISTO) was introduced from 1 July 2017. If you earn income up to $37,000, you may be eligible to receive a refund into your super account. This is on the tax paid on your concessional super contributions up to a cap of $500.

This means most low-income earners will pay no tax on their super contributions.