Compulsory member contributions while stood down

If you have been making contributions via BPAY, these contributions were classified as voluntary contributions and added to one of your accumulation accounts.  As any voluntary contributions and compulsory member contributions you make are invested in the same way, we will consider all voluntary contributions made since 1 March 2020 as counting towards your obligation to make compulsory member contributions when we calculate how much you owe, but we will not transfer the payments from your other accumulation account to your Member Account.

If you contributed more than you needed to cover your compulsory member contributions, we will continue to track that against any future compulsory member contributions owing that arise and put them towards those.  If you have paid less than you needed to and are continuing to pay your compulsory member contributions, then we will provide you with a statement that lets you know how much more you need to contribute.

Qantas will automatically deduct your regular compulsory member contributions from your pay for any periods during which you’re working or taking paid leave. There will not be any extra deducted to account for your unpaid compulsory member contributions from your periods of stand down.

Yes, you can. Even if you request to have your compulsory member contributions suspended, you can make extra voluntary contributions later via BPAY.

These contributions will be classified as voluntary contributions when you make them and go into one of your accumulation accounts. It’s important to note that as you are a member of Division 2 without a minimum benefit guarantee from a former Australian Airlines plan, the classification of these contributions as ‘voluntary’ instead of ‘compulsory’ will not affect or change the value of your total super benefit. This is because, although any voluntary and compulsory member contributions you make are credited to different accumulation accounts, all your accumulation accounts are invested in the same way.

Yes, you can. If you have requested to have your compulsory member contributions suspended, you can make extra voluntary contributions later via BPAY or through a salary sacrifice arrangement with Qantas.

Any contributions you make via BPAY will be classified as voluntary contributions when you make them and go into one of your accumulation accounts. It’s important to note that as you are a member of Division 2 without a minimum benefit guarantee from a former Australian Airlines plan, the classification of these contributions as ‘voluntary’ instead of ‘compulsory’ will not affect or change the value of your total super benefit. This is because, although any voluntary and compulsory member contributions you make are credited to different accumulation accounts, all your accumulation accounts are invested in the same way.

Alternatively, you can pay your outstanding contributions through a salary sacrifice arrangement with Payroll. You can do this by filling out the Stand Down Member Contributions Salary Sacrifice Agreement form on The Terminal, and Payroll will begin to deduct contributions from your pay when you return to work. If you choose to set up an arrangement, you must pay the pre-tax amount you have been advised you owed. If you pay this way, your unpaid contributions and any future updates will be managed by Payroll moving forward.

You do not need to be stood up at the time that you fill out the form to enter into the arrangement.

Salary sacrifice contributions, along with contributions made by your employer, are called ‘concessional contributions’. You can make up to $27,500 of concessional contributions to your super each financial year; if you exceed this limit, you may need to pay additional tax.

Your compulsory member contributions go into a separate accumulation account called your Member Account. During periods of stand down, these contributions can’t be deducted from your pay and credited to your Member Account. If you don’t pay the contributions, the net result is that your redundancy benefit does not include the amount of the unpaid contributions or any earnings on those contributions. The defined benefit component of your benefit will not be impacted by the unpaid contributions.

So as a member of Division 2 without a minimum benefit guarantee from an Australian Airlines plan, any unpaid compulsory member contributions are excluded in the calculation of your redundancy benefit as they have not been credited to your accumulation accounts (and have not received any earnings).

For any statement we issued on or before 31 October 2021, you needed to pay those contributions so that they were received by Qantas Super by 30 November 2021. For statements issued after that date, we’ll generally give you at least four weeks from the date we issue your quarterly statement to pay your compulsory member contributions; please check your statement to find the specific due date. If you haven’t paid your contributions owing in full by the stated due date on the last statement you receive from us, you will be treated in accordance with Option 1; that is, you request to suspend your obligation to pay all outstanding and future compulsory member contributions while you’re stood down.

Please ensure you make any payment with enough time to ensure it reaches your account by the due date.

If you haven’t paid them in full by then, you will be treated in accordance with Option 1; that is, you request to suspend your obligation to pay all outstanding and future compulsory member contributions while you’re stood down.

Your compulsory member contributions owing are determined on a post-tax basis. However, if you choose to continue paying your contributions, you can choose to pay them on a pre-tax or post-tax basis. If you want to pay via BPAY, you must pay the post-tax amount owed. If you are back at work and want to pay via salary sacrifice, you must use the pre-tax amount owed.

This is because salary sacrifice contributions are paid from your pre-tax salary, and are taxed at 15% when they reach your super account. This means the amount you salary sacrifice may not match up to the amount owing when it’s determined on a post-tax basis.

For example, if you owe $500 on a post-tax basis and contribute $500 via salary sacrifice, your contribution will have $75 in tax (or 15%) deducted when it reaches your super account. That means you have only contributed $425 of your $500 owing. In order to meet the $500 owing you would need to contribute $588 on a pre-tax basis.

If you set up a salary sacrifice arrangement, your payments moving forward will be managed by Payroll, and you will no longer be bound to the due date specified on the last statement you received from Qantas Super. However, you must enter into the salary sacrifice arrangement before the due date on the last statement you received from us.