How to Pay Super for Your Employees
When you have a business with employees, you not only have to think about your own retirement, but also those who you employ. Paying everyone’s superannuation is an obligation that you need to make sure you meet – paying the right amount for everyone, paying on time, and making your payment the right way.
What you need to do to pay your employees super:
- If they haven’t already, get your employees to fill out a standard choice form. If they don’t complete the form or make a choice, you’ll need to join them to your business’ ‘default’ fund.
- Make sure that you update your employee tax file numbers as soon as you can. You must do this within 14 days of receiving the paperwork whether you have to pay them super or not.
- It is important that you pay at least 9.5% of your staff member’s ‘ordinary time’ earnings to super
- Pay superannuation for each of your employees at least quarterly, before the cut off date. The cut off dates are 28 days after the end of each quarter, so usually the 28th of January, April, July, and October. You can also consider paying monthly if that suits your payment cycle or bookkeeping better.
- If you have any contractors, you may need to pay superannuation for them too. There are certain circumstances where you may have to pay superannuation for contractors, so be sure to check with the ATO or your tax specialist.
- It is really important that you keep accurate records when it comes to your super payments.
Nationwide Super can make the process simple and easy. We have partnered with SCH Online to offer you a ‘clearing house’ solution – where you make one super contribution for all your employees, regardless of which fund their super is with. We’ll take care of the rest! It doesn’t matter how many staff members you have – we’ll make it easy for you. Contact us now, or find out more.
