Payment Summary Advice

What employer superannuation contributions should be included on Payment Summaries for Retirement and Defined Benefit Scheme members?

In response to a number of employer enquiries legal advice has been obtained about what employer superannuation contribution amounts should be reported on Payment Summaries (formerly known as Group Certificates) for Retirement and Defined Benefit Scheme members. As the contribution types are slightly different in the two Schemes we will deal with each Scheme separately.

Retirement Scheme

The three types of contributions considered were:

Category 1	Member salary sacrifice (pre-tax) contributions of between 1% and 9% for the purchase of benefit points
Category 2	Other Member salary sacrifice amounts
Category 3	Basic Benefit contributions and Employer contributions relating to Category 1 contributions and Award contributions.

Section 16 - 155(1) (d) of Schedule 1 to the Taxation Administration Act requires the employer to include in the Payment Summary reportable employer super contributions as defined in section 16-182(1).

The section 16-182(1) definition applies to amounts where the amount contributed by the employer is for the individual's benefit and either the individual has the capacity to influence the size of the amount or the way the amount is contributed.

For this reason Category 1 and 2 contributions need to be reported on Payment Summaries as the member has control over the size of the contributions and the way they are contributed.

Category 3 contributions are not reportable as the member has no control over this type of employer payment.

The Defined Benefit Scheme

The same basic principle applies to contributions in the Defined Benefit Scheme however there are a few differences with regard to the contribution categories. The categories considered in the Defined Benefit Scheme were:

Category 1	Member salary sacrifice (pre-tax) contributions for the purchase of units
Category 2	Other Member salary sacrifice amounts
Category 3	Basic Benefit and Employer contributions relating to Category 1 member contributions and Award contributions.

In the Defined Benefit Scheme Category 1 and 2 contributions need to be reported on Payment Summaries as the member has control over the size of the contributions and the way they are contributed while Category 3 contributions are not reportable as the member has no control over this type of employer payment.

If you require further assistance please contact Employer Services by emailing employerservices@eisuper.com.au or by calling the Helpline on 1800 636 441.