I have a problem whereby my employer pays us fortnightly. This therefore results in 6 fortnightly payments for 2 Quarters of the year and 7 fortnightly payments for the other 2 Quarters of the year (as evenly over the year, the 4 quarters would equate to 6.5 fortnights, i.e. 13 weeks each), hence the 2 splits.
I found my June 2024 Super payment was less than expected and it appears to be due to the 7 fortnights for Q4 taking me above the Cap of $62,270 per quarter, when on an annual equivalent basis my total annual income is $15k below the Quarterly Maximum Super Contrbution Base multiplied by 4. This seems highly unfair to be penalised due to a company's chosen payment structure.
If my employer paid monthly, I found that I would never exceed the Quarterly cap.
My question therefore is:
Is the Maximum Super Contribution Base value, as defined per a Quarterly basis, a pro-rata for an annual base - e.g. for 2024 where the maximum super contribution base was $62,270 would equate to $249,080 annually
or is it fixed at a Quarterly basis, such that if you exceed the quarterly maximum contribution base for one quarter but are below the level for the other 3 quarters (and therefore below the annual equivalent maximum super contribution base), your super guarantee amount is still capped for that one Quarter where you exceeded the maximum super contribution base ?
E.g. Q1 - $64,000, Q2 - $60,000, Q3 - $60,000, Q4 - $60,000 = $244,000 in FY2
I would note that the declared Q4 payment amounts account for fortnightly pay cycles from 24th March 2024 - 28th June 2024 (7 fortnights in total) - which then exceeds the Q4 window of 1st April 2024 - 30th June 2024.
Any advice and guidance would be appreciated. Unsure why these Super rules are made so complicated? Make it a % valuable on base salary and on an annual basis - simple, no confusion or disputes
2,046 views
2 replies