Work for the SA Government? Learn about the Unique Benefits of Super SA 'Triple S'

Unlike most employees, who’s super guarantee contributions are taxed at 15%, South Australian Government employees enjoy special benefits for their super guarantee contributions, via the Super SA ‘Triple S’ Fund structure.

This special type of constitutionally protected super fund status means you don’t pay the standard 15% tax on contributions into your super. Instead the funds are contributed tax free and you are only taxed when you exit the fund upon retirement, or when you leave the SA Government and rollover your super to another taxable fund. This may seem insignificant when you are young and super seems a lifetime away, but over time it can have a dramatic impact on the size of your final super balance. Imagine having an extra 15% of your annual contributions growing for an extra 30-40 years.

In addition to the unique tax structure of your ‘Triple S’ super fund, SA Government employees have an added benefit of no upper limit on their annual concessional (pre-tax) super contributions.

Normally an individual is limited to a cap of $25,000 into super using pre-tax monies per financial year. However this cap limit does not apply for those with a ‘Triple S’ Super fund, and therefore once you reach preservation age, there are some substantial benefits available to you.

For example, you are able to salary sacrifice a large portion of your taxable income to superannuation, greatly reducing tax payable before retirement. You can balance your cash flow needs with a transition to retirement pension, where you pay only 15% on your pension income versus your marginal tax rates.

For an employee on a marginal tax rate of 30% + this can be a saving of more than 15c per dollar in tax payable, with the ability to maintain your same net take home pay.

Why not book an appointment with a friendly member of our Adelaide based advice team? We can explain everything you need to know in easy to understand language, to help you create a tax effective pre & post retirement strategy.