How this cost comparison works
Your required payments + voluntary payments + approved back payments= Your gross commitment
Gross commitment − confirmed cash tax saving= Your net cost
Net cost is shown only when a cash tax saving is confirmed. If tax treatment is unknown, only gross cost is shown. Excluding tax relief is a scenario choice, not a finding that no relief exists.
Employer or government funding is displayed separately. It does not reduce your personal cost. A deduction base is not a cash saving, and tax relief paid into a pension is not a personal refund. Contributions tax, fees, investment returns and the value of future benefits are outside this comparison.
Worked example with invented amounts
In AUD, suppose you pay 2,400 required contributions, 600 voluntary contributions and an accepted 1,200 back payment. Your total commitment is 4,200. A separately confirmed 300 cash tax saving would make the cost 3,900. Over 12 budget months, that is 350 before or 325 after the saving. Separate employer funding of 1,000 raises combined payments to 5,200; your cost stays 3,900. These example amounts are not legal rates, an official quote or a recommended payment.
Budget months do not change a deadline
The monthly amount is a planning equivalent. A back payment can be due in one instalment, and tax relief can arrive later. Use a single currency and the same selected payment period. Check for credits, waivers and corrections before treating an amount as payable.
Your Australia checklist
- Collect gross employer receipts, your own contributions and any separate ATO health-tax assessment for the same period.
- Resolve missing employer super through the proper process and check the cap before an optional payment.
- Confirm fund acceptance, deduction paperwork and actual cash tax effects before choosing a contribution.
Read the country policy, conditions and source explanations.
Compare a specific pension option
Official sources and review date
Sources checked . Review due before . Rules and individual assessments can change sooner.
- Fair Work Ombudsman · Tax, Super Guarantee and unpaid super
- ATO · Medicare levy and Medicare levy surcharge
- ASIC MoneySmart · Super contributions
- ASIC MoneySmart · Super contributions optimiser and assumptions
- ATO · Personal super contributions
- Federal Register of Legislation · Medicare Levy Act, in force 1 July 2026