As a member of the Retirement Scheme, each year you can elect to change the amount of benefit points you accrue by adjusting the percentage of your salary that you contribute to super.

This election must be received by 28 February and comes into effect from 1 April.

What are benefit points?

Every year you are required to contribute between 1% and 9% of your Superable Salary¹. Generally, benefit points are accrued at a rate of one benefit point for each 1% of Superable Salary you contribute.

Maximising your benefit points will provide you with a higher Employer Financed Benefit from the Retirement Scheme. Your annual member statement includes member benefit points².

How do benefit points work?

There are three classifications for benefit points:

• Contributed – the amount of benefit points you have ‘purchased’ based on the percentage of Superable Salary you have contributed. Please note, contributed benefit points do not have an impact on your Employer Financed Benefit until they become Accrued benefit points.
  
  
• Maximum – the highest number of benefit points you could have accrued during the time you have been a contributory member of the Retirement Scheme. This is calculated as 6 points multiplied by the number of years you have been a contributory member (up to 30 years). For example, if you have been a contributory member for 20 years, your Maximum benefit points would be 120 points (6 points multiplied by 20 years)².
  
  
• Accrued – is the lesser of your Contributed and Maximum benefit point totals and is used to calculate your super benefit. The maximum number of benefit points you can accrue is 180 (6 points multiplied by 30 years) and this ensures you receive the maximum Employer Financed Benefit.

How do I maximise my Accrued benefit points?

The best way to maximise your Accrued benefit points is to make sure that your Contributed benefit points are equal to or greater than your Maximum benefit points. The easiest way to achieve this is to ensure that you maintain an average annual contribution rate of 6% over the course of your membership.

If your Contributed total is more than your Maximum total, you can contribute less than 6% to, in effect, utilise the benefit points that you have purchased in excess of your Maximum total.

Likewise, if your Contributed total is less than the Maximum total, you can contribute more than 6%(up to 9%) to bring your Contributed total closer to your Maximum total. In some instances, maximising to the full limit may not be achievable depending on when you retire or leave the scheme.

How do I change my contribution rate?

In December each year, we send you a Contribution Rate Election Form. You can use this form to change your contribution rate.

You can make an election each year prior to the end of February. Any change to your contribution rate will come into effect from 1 April and is based on your Superable Salary as at the previous 31 December.

If you need another copy of the form you can download it now or call us on 1300 369 901.

How do benefit points affect the Employer Financed Benefit?

As the Employer Financed Benefit is calculated based on your Accrued benefit points, it is essential that you understand the effect that these have.

Accrued benefit points are used to calculate your Employer Financed Benefit, so the more Accrued benefit points you have, the higher your Employer Financed Benefit will be (subject to the maximum 180 points).

For most employment termination reasons, each Accrued benefit point you have generally provides you with an Employer Financed Benefit of 2.5% of either your Final Salary or Final Average Salary, depending on the circumstances of your exit.

Please note, the Employer Financed Benefit is subject to the 15% contributions tax from 1 July 1988.

Important information

Working part-time, taking leave without pay and whether you were a member of an earlier scheme can affect your benefit points and entitlements. You can find further details about these provisions and benefit points generally in the Benefit Points Fact Sheet.

Alternatively, if you have any questions about how benefit points work, make an appointment with an EISS Super customer relationship manager, or call us on 02 9046 1920.

¹ Your Superable Salary is your annual base salary plus some allowances payable on termination and loading for shift work.
² If you are a part-time employee, your benefit points are adjusted in accordance with a salary ratio which is determined by the relationship between your part-time salary and a relevant full-time equivalent.