The Government Co-contribution and other super incentives In addition to tax benefits, the Government has created further incentives to encourage eligible Australians to save for their retirement through super. The Government co-contribution is a payment made by the government to superannuation for people who, as well as meeting other criteria, are in the low to middle income range and make voluntary after-tax contributions to super. If you earn under $31,920, the Government will pay $1.00 for every $1.00 you contribute to super (after-tax), up to $1,000 per year. If you earn between $31,920 and $61,920, the co-contribution amount will depend on how much you earn and how much you contribute. Voluntary after-tax contributions are sometimes referred to as ‘undeducted' or 'non-concessional' contributions. Am I eligible? You will be eligible for the co-contribution for an income year if: you make personal, after tax superannuation contributions by 30 June to a complying superannuation fund or retirement savings account (RSA). your total income (assessable income plus reportable fringe benefits amd salary sacrifice contributions) is less than $61,920. 10% or more of your total income is from carrying on a business, eligible employment (i.e. employment where you are treated as an employee for Superannuation Guarantee purposes) or a combination of both  you are less than 71 years old at the end of the income year. you do not hold an eligible temporary resident visa at any time during the income year except where a temporary visa holder is also a New Zealand citizen or holder of a subclass 405 (Investor Retirement) or subclass 410 (Retirement) visa you lodge an income tax return for the relevant income year. How can I make personal after-tax super contributions? You can make a personal after-tax contribution via BPAY or Internet Banking on a regular or one-off basis. To find out how to make contributions to your Integra or Corporate Super account click here. Personal after-tax contributions can be made any time before the end of the financial year. Please note, there are limits on the amount of non-concessional contributions that you are allowed to make to your super. Make sure you talk to your financial adviser. How will the government pay my co-contribution? There’s no need to claim the co-contribution. Provided you qualify and submit a tax return for the year ending 30 June, the Government will automatically forward the co-contribution amount to your super fund. It might take a few months for this to occur, and you may wish to inform the Tax Office of which fund to send this to. Please ensure the fund has your tax file number in order to process the co-contribution. Want to see the co-contribution in action? Tracey is a 44-year-old married woman who earns an annual salary of $34,920. She also makes personal contributions of $1000 to her super account, above the 9% of salary her employer must pay. In Tracey’s case the co-contribution payment is $900. Are there any other incentives to save via super? The spouse contribution tax offset encourages people to invest in super on behalf of their non-working or low income earning spouse. By contributing up to $3,000 on behalf of your spouse you may be eligible to receive a tax offset of 18% of your contribution, up to a maximum of $540 per annum. To be eligible to claim the maximum tax offset, your spouse must be receiving in total $10,800 or less in a financial year. A reduced tax offset is payable for spouses earning up to a total of $13,800 in a financial year. A 'spouse' includes another person who, although not legally married to you, lives with you on a bona fide domestic basis as your husband or wife, but does not include a person who lives separately and apart from you on a permanent basis. For more information click here. To be eligible for these benefits you must meet certain requirements. Ask your financial adviser for more information. Click here to learn about how super is invested, or use the menu on the left to navigate through other super educational information.