Your super grows in two main ways. First, employers are required to pay Super Guarantee (SG) contributions into the nominated super fund of all eligible employees. The SG rate is 12% from 1 July 2025. These compulsory payments form the foundation of your retirement savings.

Second, your super is also invested. Depending on your chosen investment option and market performance, your balance may increase over time through investment returns. While returns are not guaranteed and can go up or down, consistent contributions and long-term investing are key ways to grow your super.

If you want to grow your super beyond employer contributions, you may be able to make extra contributions yourself (or have others contribute for you). The right approach depends on your income, age and overall financial situation.

Personal contributions are amounts you pay into super from your own bank account after tax.

 These can be:

• Non‑concessional if you don’t claim a tax deduction, or
• Concessional if you do claim a tax deduction.

Personal contributions:

• are in addition to any compulsory contributions your employer makes on your behalf
• do not include super contributions made through a salary-sacrifice arrangement.

Depending on your circumstances, you can add to your super from your take-home pay up to certain limits. The limit, known as a contribution cap, is $(for the 2025-2026 income year). If you have more than one super fund, all non‑concessional contributions made to all funds are added together and counted towards this cap.

Non-concessional contributions include personal contributions for which you don't claim or haven't been allowed to claim as an income tax deduction.

These after-tax contributions can be a useful option if you have extra savings available and want to explore additional ways to grow your super over time.

For those under 75 years of age, you may be able to make non-concessional contributions up to 3 times the annual contributions cap in a single year. This is known as the “bring forward” option. The bring-forward amount and period depends on your total superannuation balance on the day before the financial year contributions that trigger the bring forward. 

If you exceed the cap for personal contributions, you may be required to pay extra tax and penalties may apply.

Because contribution rules and eligibility can change, it’s important to check the most up-to-date information on the ATO’s non-concessional contributions cap page³ before making payments.

Concessional contributions include personal contributions you claim as a tax deduction.

To claim a deduction for your personal super contributions, you must give your super fund a notice in the approved form and get an acknowledgment from the fund. There are other eligibility criteria you must meet.

The personal super contributions you claim as a deduction will count towards your concessional contributions cap.

The general concessional contributions cap is $30,000 per financial year (combined across all your funds). 

Your employer’s SG contributions and any salary‑sacrifice amounts paid by your employer at your request are not considered ‘personal contributions’ but they also count towards the concessional contributions cap.

Concessional contributions are generally taxed at 15% in your super fund. If your income plus concessional contributions exceeds $250,000 in a financial year, an additional 15% Division 293 tax may apply to some or all of your concessional contributions. In addition, any excess concessional contributions you leave in super will count towards your non-concessional contributions cap.

Because contribution rules and eligibility can change, it’s important to check the most up-to-date information on the ATO’s concessional contributions cap page before making payments.

‘Voluntary contributions’ is an umbrella term covering contributions made to your super by you or others that are not compulsory SG.

Voluntary contributions can include: salary sacrifice contributions; personal contributions; spouse contributions; contributions by parents, other family or friends (not as an employer); contributions by an insurer; employer contributions above SG or award obligations; government co‑contributions; downsizer contributions; super capital gains tax (CGT) cap election amounts; personal injury election amounts; and first home super saver scheme contributions.

Some of these are discussed in the sections below, or refer here for more information.

Salary sacrifice contributions

Salary sacrifice is a voluntary arrangement with your employer to contribute some of your pre‑tax pay into super.  This can be a tax-effective strategy for people looking for structured ways to grow their super through regular additional payments.

Making these contributions will generally reduce the amount of your take-home pay, so this should be considered if thinking about starting a salary sacrifice arrangement.

Contributions tax of 15% generally applies to these contributions (or up to 30% if your assessable income is more than $250,000). Salary sacrifice contributions will count towards your concessional contributions cap along with SG and any other personal contributions for which you have claimed as a deduction.  The yearly concessional contributions cap for 2025-2026 is $30,000 each financial year (combined across all your funds). 

The ATO’s guidance¹ on salary sacrificing super outlines how these arrangements work and what to consider before setting them up. Some super funds, including Australian Ethical’s salary sacrifice option, also provide support in arranging contributions directly through your employer.

Spouse contributions

Spouse contributions² (married or de facto) can be a helpful strategy for couples wanting to build retirement savings more evenly, particularly where one partner has taken time out of the workforce or earns a lower income.

If your spouse’s income is below $40,000, you may consider making a voluntary after-tax contribution to top up their super.

The higher-earning partner who makes a contribution to their low-income earning partner’s super fund may be able to claim a tax offset of up to $540 on the contribution, through their tax return. Contributions you make to your spouse's super are treated as their non-concessional contributions, whether or not you're eligible for the super tax offset.  Other general eligibility conditions apply.

You can find out more about the types of contributions and how they are taxed at via the Australian Taxation Office (ATO). Australian Ethical also provides a practical overview of how spousal contributions work and when they may be appropriate.

If your assessable income and circumstances meet certain eligibility criteria and you make any non-concessional contributions to your super, the government will add money to your super too (known as a government co-contribution) up to a maximum of $500. The amount you get depends on your income and the amount you contribute. You don’t need to apply, you’ll automatically receive the payment when you do your tax return for the financial year if your super fund has your TFN. More information can be found via the ATO.

If you have more than one super account, you may be paying multiple fees and insurance premiums, and these may be eating away at your total super balance. You could consider consolidating your super and future contributions into one account to save on fees. Before rolling out of your super account, be mindful of any benefits you may lose including  insurance coverage you might hold through an account that you close and consider all product features of the fund you are rolling into to make sure it is right for you.  We recommend reading the relevant Product Disclosure Statement and seeking financial advice before making any changes.  

•  Invest for retirement, invest for change

Your super can help grow your future while supporting the kind of world you want to retire into.

• A consistent ethical approach

All our super options follow the same ethical screening process.

• Positive impact through investment

We seek companies creating solutions across climate, health and society.

• Values without compromise

We draw firm boundaries around industries that cause harm.

If you’ve had more than one job and haven’t specified which super fund you’d like your employer to contribute to, there’s a chance you may have multiple super accounts. It’s easy to check if you’ve got any lost super accounts. You can search online using myGov, call the lost super search line or ask your preferred super fund to check on your behalf. Australian Ethical can help you find and consolidate your accounts.