How to grow your partner’s superannuation

Published 11 August 2020 (amended 1 March 2021)

If you are married or in a de-facto relationship, you and your partner can help grow each other’s superannuation so you can both enjoy a comfortable retirement.

This can be helpful if one of you has had time out of the workforce and long periods without contributions. Giving each other’s superannuation a boost is a great way to catch up.

Also, if your partner is not already a member of LGIAsuper, they are welcome to apply to join us. They do not need to work for local government, as we are open to people joining from many other sectors and industries. For further information and online applications, visit Join LGIAsuper today.

Paying into your partner’s superannuation

Anyone can pay into their partner’s superannuation, as long as the recipient partner is aged under 67 years and you must be:

• married or in a de-facto relationship
• both Australian residents at the time the contribution is made
• permanently living together when the contribution is made, i.e. not separated or apart.

If the recipient partner is age 67 to 74, they must meet the conditions above and work at least 40 hours in a consecutive 30-day period during the financial year. When your partner reaches age 75 they can no longer receive a contribution from you. 

Further information about eligibility is available in our super for your partner info sheet.

There are two ways that you can pay into your partner’s superannuation: spouse contributions, and contribution splitting.

Spouse contributions

You can pay amounts directly into your partner’s superannuation with spouse contributions.

Spouse contributions are made from after-tax income (i.e. they cannot be salary sacrificed) and count towards your partner’s non-concessional contributions limit (cap), which is $100,000 for the current financial year.

There is no tax on spouse contributions, as long as they do not exceed the non-concessional contributions cap. If your partner earns between $37,000 and $40,000 each year, you could also receive a tax offset of up to $540.

Further information is available in our super for your partner info sheet.

Contribution splitting

Some of your concessional (before-tax) contributions from the previous financial year can be redirected to your partner’s account. This is known as contributions splitting.

Types of contributions that you can split with your partner include:

• employer contributions
• salary sacrificed contributions
• personal contributions claimed as a tax deduction.

You can split up to 85% of your concessional contributions from the previous financial year. The minimum split amount is $500. Split contributions do not count towards the recipient partner’s concessional contributions cap.

Defined Benefits members can only split salary sacrificed personal contributions.

Further information about eligibility, contribution caps and tax is available in our super for your partner info sheet.

LGIAsuper is available to everyone

Your partner, friends and family can join LGIAsuper and enjoy many of the same membership benefits that you do.

LGIAsuper has a long history of helping Queensland local government employees and their spouses grow their retirement savings. Since mid-2017 we have been open to the wider community as well, so we are welcoming new members from many different sectors and industries.

Join us today

We’re here to help

If you are considering contributing to your partner’s superannuation, speaking to a financial adviser can help you decide what is best for your situation.

LGIAsuper’s financial advice service* can help you consider the options available for paying into your partner’s superannuation.

Fees will vary according to the type and complexity of personal advice required. If you would like to discuss how you and your partner can grow your superannuation together, please call us on 1800 444 396.