Choosing the best option for your super

Unique benefits of West State Super

West State Super is an untaxed scheme

This means that you don’t pay income tax on any contributions or on investment earnings that your super account receives while it accumulates. This is sometimes called ‘deferred tax’ because tax only applies to your benefit when it is paid to you. While your money stays in your super account, you benefit from the compounding effect of having 100% of your concessional contributions and investment earnings invested, rather than 85%.

Concessional contributions do not count towards your concessional contributions cap

Most individuals can only contribute $30,000 of concessional contributions per financial year into super and still be subject to concessional tax treatment (assuming they have no unused concessional contributions cap carry forward amounts available). Concessional contributions to West State Super are not capped, but they count towards your cap when making these contributions to a taxed scheme. For example, if you made $50,000 concessional contributions to West State Super (including your employer contributions) you would not be able to make any further concessional contributions to a taxed scheme.

You can take advantage of concessional tax treatment

As a West State Super member, you have an untaxed plan cap, which means your West State Super account allows you to accumulate an untaxed benefit of up to $1.865 million¹ and still be concessionally taxed. If you exceed this cap, tax on the excess is levied at 47%. If you are a West State Super member, you might be able to take advantage of some unique strategies to reduce tax, especially if you started working in the WA public sector before 1 July 1983.

Impact on your super if you change funds

Because of the unique benefits outlined above, where’s what will happen if you change funds and close your West State Super account.

Your super will be taxed immediately

West State Super is an untaxed scheme. If you transfer your benefit to a taxed super fund, you will be taxed on the taxable component - untaxed element by the other fund at a rate of 15% when it is received³. So you’ll immediately have up to 15% less invested in your super.

Your concessional contributions will also count towards your annual cap, which means you might not have the same opportunity to grow your super easily with more contributions.

You can’t change your mind

West State Super is closed to new members. If you choose to close your account, you may not be able to re-join in the future.

Unique benefits of Gold State Super

Your Gold State Super benefit is guaranteed by the WA State Government

This means you can know exactly how much you’ll have when you retire, as your benefit is determined by a defined formula. The formula includes your final average salary, how long you have worked in the WA public sector and your Average Contribution Rate.

Unlike most other super funds, your Gold State Super balance doesn’t change based on the performance of investment markets.

Gold State Super is an untaxed scheme

You don't pay tax until your benefit is paid to you or rolled over to a taxed scheme or retirement income stream.

No separate fees are charged

You aren’t charged any separate fees for administration, insurance and other running expenses.

Gold State Super includes automatic insurance at no cost

If you’re working for the WA public sector and are aged under 60, you have automatic death and disability insurance at no extra cost, for as long as you're making contributions. This cover applies 24 hours a day, seven days a week, no matter where you are.

You can take advantage of concessional tax treatment

As a Gold State Super member, you have an untaxed plan cap, which means your Gold State Super account allows you to accumulate an untaxed benefit of up to $1.865 million² and still be concessionally taxed. If you exceed this cap, tax on the excess is levied at 47%. Concessional contributions such as salary sacrifice to Gold State Super are not capped, but they count towards your cap when making these contributions to a taxed scheme.

If you’re a Gold State Super member, you might be able to take advantage of some unique strategies to reduce tax if you started working in the WA public sector before 1 July 1983.

Impact on your super if you withdraw from Gold State Super

Because of the unique benefits outlined above, where’s what will happen if you change funds and withdraw from your Gold State Super account.

If you change funds, your super will be impacted by investment markets

As a defined benefit fund, your final Gold State Super benefit is determined by applying a fixed formula. Your super is not market-linked, which means it isn’t impacted by the performance of investment markets. If you withdraw from Gold State Super and ask your employer to contribute to a different super fund, your Super Guarantee (SG) will be exposed to movements in the market.

You may have a lot less super to draw on when you retire

The formula used to calculate your Final Benefit includes your salary and how many eligible years you’ve worked in the WA public sector. If you withdraw early from the scheme, these elements could be lower now than what they may be when you retire, which could result in a lower benefit.

If you withdraw from Gold State Super, your Final Benefit will be calculated and preserved in the fund until you meet a condition of release.

You can't roll your Gold State Super over to another fund

If you are under 55 or still working in the WA public sector, you can choose to have your employer contributions paid into another fund, but you can’t roll your Gold State Super over to another super fund. Instead, we preserve¹ your super until you are at least age 55 and no longer working in the WA public sector. During this period, your Final Benefit will accumulate interest in accordance with the State Superannuation Regulations 2001 at the rate of Perth Consumer Price Index (Perth CPI) plus 1% p.a. until you turn 55, then indexed annually at Perth CPI plus 2% p.a.

If you change funds, you may need to pay fees and insurance premiums

With Gold State Super, you have no fees and automatic insurance cover at no extra cost. If you choose to withdraw, the fund you choose will charge fees and you’ll be charged insurance premiums for any cover that you have.

You can’t change your mind

Gold State Super is closed to new members. If you choose to withdraw from Gold State Super, you can’t contribute to it again in the future.