In this guide
When a new employee starts working for you, in most cases you must allow them to choose the super fund into which you pay their Superannuation Guarantee (SG) contributions.
Existing employees who are eligible to choose a fund can also direct you to change the super fund you make contributions to.
When an employee has not made a choice, you need to determine whether to pay contributions to your default fund or their stapled fund. (A stapled fund is a super account that is linked or ‘stapled’ to an employee as they move from job to job.)
Important
If your employee is not a member of the super fund they nominate as their chosen fund, you can’t make contributions into the fund until the employee joins.
It is the employee’s responsibility to ensure they are properly registered with their chosen fund.
Who is eligible to choose their fund?
Almost all new employees can choose their super fund.
New employees who are temporary residents or will be working under an enterprise agreement made prior to 1 January 2021 that specifies a super fund are not eligible for this choice.
Existing staff who don’t fall into one of the categories above can generally choose a new super fund for their future contributions, unless they are:
- Working for a State or Federal Government where they are a member of an unfunded super scheme
- Working for an employer that is providing them with super through a defined benefit fund, where they would continue to accrue benefits if contributions were paid elsewhere.
Need to know
A key task in offering choice to your employees is selecting your business’ default super fund.
You can make SG contributions into your default super fund if your employee:
- Commenced work before 1 November 2021 and has not chosen a super fund
- Commenced work on or after 1 November 2021, has not chosen a super fund and does not have a stapled super fund you can use.
Learn about choosing a default fund.
When you must give employees a choice form
This guide is for members
Get full access to our in-depth guides and tools – helping you make more informed super and retirement
Not ready to join? Create a free account to access 100+ starter guides.
-
Comprehensive guidance to super rules and strategies
-
Stay up to date with changing rules
-
Make confident decisions about growing your super
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.