Paying superannuation is an important part of being an employer. But let’s face it, you’ve got a business to run; new business sales targets to reach, new marketing initiatives to prepare and launch, delivering your products and services on time and within budget, customers and employees to keep happy and so on….. of course, you’re no superannuation expert, you’re extremely busy focusing on what you know and do best; you could be easily forgiven for inadvertently overlooking your superannuation obligations. Apart from the financial impact of overlooking your obligations, you could also lose the confidence of your staff, which may result in reduced morale/loss of staff/productivity etc., all of which can be avoided if you take a minute to take a quick employer super health check.
Let’s quickly recap on some key points relating to your superannuation obligations; you may wish to use the following as a quick checklist to help you stay on top of your ongoing superannuation obligations….
Check you’re paying all of your eligible workers….
- But who’s an ‘eligible worker’? Generally speaking, if you pay an employee $450 or more (before tax) in a calendar month, you have to pay Super Guarantee (‘SG’) on top of their wages. If your employee is under 18 or is a private or domestic worker, such as a nanny, they must also work for more than 30 hours per week to qualify. You also may have to pay super for some contractors, even if they quote an Australian business number (ABN).
Check that you’re paying the right amount (9.5%)….
- Currently, you need to pay a minimum of 9.5% of eligible worker’s ordinary time earnings or ‘OTE’. OTE is usually the amount your worker earns for their ordinary hours of work (including things like commissions, shift loadings and allowances, but not overtime payments). To work out what you must pay, multiply your employee’s OTE for the quarter by the SG rate (or the percentage you use if you’re paying super at a higher rate).
Check you’re paying on time….
- At a minimum, you can pay superannuation quarterly. If you fail to pay on time, you may need to pay a Superannuation Guarantee Charge.
Check you’re paying the right place….
- You must pay super into a complying super fund or Retirement Savings Account. Your workers may also be able to choose their own super fund.
Check that you’re paying the right way….
- All employers must use SuperStream when paying superannuation. You may be able to use the Small Business Super Clearing House to distribute payments to your workers’ super funds.
Make sure you keep records to….
- Show you have met your obligations and;
- Keep up to date with your obligations as an employer. As part of our ongoing commitment to you, you can rest assured we at Crosby Dalwood will do what we can to help you stay aware of changes to superannuation that affect you. The ATO also has a range of excellent tools and calculators to help you get it all right.
Got any questions? If you haven’t, that’s fantastic, well done! If you have (and its timely to point out the above checklist is not intended to be an exhaustive list of all the ‘ins and outs and need to knows’!), why not give us a call at Crosby Dalwood. We have a passion for seeking answers to questions that can help you run your business more profitably and efficiently so you can ultimately be more successful. Helping with your superannuation questions along the way is just one small way we can help make your business grow.
Written by Michael Payne
“Michael Payne is not authorised to provide financial advice. For financial advice and services please speak to one of our authorised representatives at Crosby Dalwood.”
“Crosby Dalwood Pty Ltd ABN 30 132 317 876 provides its financial planning services as an Authorised Representative of Count Financial Limited ABN 19 001 974 625, AFSL 227232”.
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