Administering Superannuation

This chapter provides an overview of superannuation administration and discusses how to:

Note. The PeopleSoft system delivers a query that you can run to view the names of all delivered elements designed for Australia. Instructions for running the query are provided in the PeopleSoft Enterprise Global Payroll PeopleBook.

See Also

Understanding How to View Delivered Elements

Click to jump to parent topicUnderstanding Superannuation Administration

The following diagram shows the settings you must specify to ensure correct superannuation calculation and output:

User input and system output for superannuation

Click to jump to parent topicMaking Statutory and Customary Superannuation Deductions

The following deductions are for the common super contributions.

Deduction Name

Calculation Rule

Description

SGCMAN (super - mandatory)

(Statutory)

Base × Percent

The superannuation guarantee (SG) contribution mandated by Australian legislation. Employers normally pay this on behalf of the employees. This is defined to be a percentage of the employee's actual gross earnings for the period. The PeopleSoft-delivered variable AUS VR SGCMAN PCT holds this user-maintainable value.

ER ADDLSPR (employer additional super)

(Customary)

Base × Percent

The super contribution that the company pays in addition to the percentage mandated by the legislation. This is a percentage of the employee's actual gross earnings. The employer defines the value of the percentage. The PeopleSoft-delivered variable SUP VR ERADDL PCT holds this user-maintainable value.

EE SSSPR (employee salary sacrifice super)

(Customary)

Base × Percent

The super contribution that an employee pays as a salary sacrifice. This is defined as a percentage of the employee's actual gross earnings. The percentage is entered at the payee level as a deduction assignment. Refer to the description of the ER MATCHSPR deduction.

AWARDMAN (award - mandatory)

(Customary)

Amount

The super contribution likely to be used by award-based employees. It shows how super can be calculated using a tier-based calculation. With the amount being calculated from a formula SUP FM TIERBSD AMT

ER MATCHSPR (employer matching super)

(Customary)

Base × Percent

The super contribution that the company voluntarily pays on behalf of an employee who contributes to super through salary sacrifice. This shows how a company can match the employee contribution. Only employees with EE SSSPR receive this deduction. Refer to the description of the EE SSSPR deduction.

EE SUPER (employee super)

(Customary)

Amount

The super contribution that an employee pays as an after-tax deduction. This is defined as a flat amount. Employees need to be enrolled to have this deduction taken. The amount is entered at the payee level as a deduction assignment.

Click to jump to parent topicSetting the Calculation Rule

Although a superannuation contribution can be a flat amount or the result of a tier-based calculation, most often it is a percentage of a base; for example, regular gross earnings, actual gross earnings, notional salary, super salary earnings, or compensation rate. The standard element calculation rule options accommodate all the calculation methods applicable to superannuation deductions.

Click to jump to parent topicUsing Tier-Based Calculations

Tier-based calculation is typically used in the Australian public service and all participating commonwealth agencies. In this calculation, contributions are based on the employee's salary range and may be a flat amount or a percentage as illustrated in the following table:

Annual Salary

Annual Amount

Annual %

0.00 - 40,040.00

1,201.20

 

40,041.00 - 64,514.58

An amount

3% of superannuation salary

64,514.59 - 96,772.00

1,935.44

 

> 96,772.00

 

2% of superannuation salary

A user-maintained bracket, SUP BR TIERBSD TBL, stores these values. You can store both an amount and a percentage per range, as illustrated by the second row.

The system uses the annualized super salary (rate code AU SUPERSAL × system element RC FREQ FACTOR) to retrieve the flat amount or percentage to be applied. It then deannualizes the retrieved flat amount to the period frequency. The percentage, however, is applied to the period super salary, not the annualized period salary.

Although annualization and deannualization are normally automatic in the system, for this instance, the process is manual. The frequencies used for this process are stored at the pay group level.

Click to jump to parent topicUsing Percentage Based on Employee Contributions (Matching)

The percentage of the ER MATCHSPR deduction element is based on the percentage of the EE SSSPR deduction element. For example, a company might contribute an extra 1 percent for employees who are voluntarily contributing 1 to 2 percent through salary sacrifice, an extra 2 percent for employees contributing 3 to 4 percent, and an extra 3 percent for employees contributing 5 percent or more.

Note. The EE SSSPR deduction element needs to be resolved before ER MATCHSPR, and ER MATCHSPR needs to be defined as By Eligibility so that it does not require a deduction assignment record.

A user-maintained bracket, SUP BR CMPNY PCT, stores the employee contribution ranges and the matching employer contribution. The deduction ER MATCHSPR uses this bracket to determine the percentage to use.

Note. If the employee does not have a salary sacrifice super contribution, the resulting percentage from this bracket is 0 percent.

Click to jump to parent topicAccommodating Exemption Rules and Limits

Although it is mandatory for employers to pay super contributions for each employee, the following exemptions exist:

Only the first three rules are delivered with this country extension, because the other rules can be accommodated using the standard core employee earnings and deductions assignment functionality.

Click to jump to top of pageClick to jump to parent topicUsing Exemption Rule Checks

Because some employers still process super contributions for employees who fall into the first three of the exemption rules listed in the previous section, you need a way to specify whether the checks and limits apply or not. You achieve this using variables as supporting element overrides.

See Also

Setting Up State Payroll Tax Reporting

Controlling Exemptions and Checking Limits

Click to jump to top of pageClick to jump to parent topicApplying Maximum Earnings Limits

Legislation provides an earnings ceiling that limits the amount an employer is required to contribute. This ceiling is indexed each year and as of July 1, 2009 was 40,170.00 AUD per quarter. Employers do not have to apply the limit, and they can continue to contribute for the employee's super.

The following table shows the reduced amount payable in the third month because the quarterly limit is reached in that month. The SG contribution is based on 9 percent in this example.

Month

Earnings

SG Calc'd On

Cumulative Amount / Month

SG Contribution

January

10,000

10,000

10,000

900

February

20,000

20,000

30,000

1800

March

10,000

5,240 (35,240 – 30,000)

35,240

471.60

This limit check is part of the SGCMAN deduction calculation. Variables determine whether the check occurs and the maximum limit. If the check occurs, the system verifies the employee's quarter-to-date gross earnings against the quarterly limit.

Click to jump to top of pageClick to jump to parent topicChecking Age-Based Limits

These limits apply to employers claiming deductions from company tax liability for contributions made on behalf of their employees. You can have the system validate the total super deductions that an employer has paid for the employee against an age-related limit provided by the Australian Tax Office (ATO). A company might use this validation to restrict an employee's salary sacrifice deductions—because it cannot claim tax deductions for contributions above these limits.

Different age groups have different limits. These limits are indexed every year. The following table lists the limits for financial years 2004-2005, 2005-2006, and 2006-2007.

Age of the Employee

2004-2005 Limits

2005–2006 Limits

2006-2007 Limits

Under 35

13,934 AUD

14,603 AUD

15,260 AUD

35 to 49

38,702 AUD

40,560 AUD

42,385 AUD

50 and over

95,980 AUD

100,587 AUD

105,113 AUD

A user-maintained bracket, SUP BR AGEBSD LMT stores this data.

Note. When you set the variable as a supporting element override to control this check, you must make sure that this deduction adds to the year-to-date (YTD) accumulator that the system uses for the validation. If the YTD accumulator is equal to the limit based on the employee's age, the system does not resolve the super contribution.

The system uses a separate deduction code to resolve the amount necessary to adjust the super contribution.

Click to jump to top of pageClick to jump to parent topicControlling Exemptions and Checking Limits

Supporting element overrides, set as variables at the deduction level, determine whether the checks occur and the limits are imposed. The following table shows the supporting elements and the values that you need to set.

The character value Y instructs the system to make the check. The minimum and maximum earnings limits require a second variable to hold the limit.

Exemption

Variable

Character Value

Amount Value

Minimum earnings

SUP VR MINEARN YN

Y

 

Minimum earnings

SUP VR MINERN AMT

 

Applicable Limit

Age 70 and over

SUP VR 70&OVER YN

Y

 

Age under 18, and work 30 or less hours per week

SUP VR UNDER18 YN

Y

 

Maximum earnings limits

SUP VR MAXEARN YN

Y

 

Maximum earnings limits

SUP VR MAXEARN AMT

 

Applicable Limit

Age-based limits

SUP VR AGEBSD

Y

 

Click to jump to parent topicAccommodating Employee Options

There are a number of employee options related to superannuation that are met by core functionality. Here is a summary of the options and how they are accommodated:

See Also

Setting Up Additional Deduction Recipient Information

Click to jump to parent topicDisplaying Superannuation Information on the Payslip

Australian law requires that payslips must display the superannuation fund name for any superannuation fund deductions, and they must display the membership ID number.

To display the superannuation fund name, access the Earnings and Deductions page (select Set Up HRMS, Product Related, Global Payroll & Absence Mgmt, Payslips, Templates AUS). On the Element Components tab, select Recipient Name from the Description Type list for the related deduction element.

To display the membership number on the payslip, access the Earnings and Deductions page (select Set Up HRMS, Product Related, Global Payroll & Absence Mgmt, Payslips, Templates AUS). On the Element Details tab, select Display Membership ID for the related deduction element.

Click to jump to parent topicCreating the ComSuper Payroll Interface File

This section provides an overview of the Payroll Interface File (PIF) and discusses how to generate the PIF.

Click to jump to top of pageClick to jump to parent topicPayroll Interface File

ComSuper provides an online superannuation service that enables employers to submit, correct, and validate superannuation data using a secure online login. ComSuper worked with employers and payroll providers to replace the Superannuation Exceptions Data (SED) and Continuous Contributions Data (CCD) files with a single file—the Payroll Interface File. Global Payroll for Australia enables you to define PIF data and generate the PIF for delivery to ComSuper.

To define and generate the PIF:

  1. Set up a deduction recipient as a Super Fund Administrator on the Deduction Recipients page. Select a Super Reporting Format and ComSuper Agency ID for that deduction recipient. Ensure that the correct pay entity is added to the deduction recipient.

    Enter all required SuperEC information on the SuperEC Detail page.

  2. Access the Deduction Recipient page using the Super Reporting link on the Payee Recipient page. Enter all required Super Reporting information.

  3. Ensure that the TFN Disclose to Superannuation check box is selected on the Payee Tax Data page for all employees to be included in the PIF.

  4. Run and finalize the calendar groups for which you are generating the PIF.

  5. Run and finalize the payment preparation process for the calendar groups to be included in PIF.

  6. Generate the PIF using the Create Super Rpt File run control page.

See Also

Setting Up Additional Deduction Recipient Information

Creating Payments for Net Payments and Deductions in a Calendar Run

Creating the EFT Cemtex File

Click to jump to top of pageClick to jump to parent topicPages Used to Create the ComSuper Payroll Interface File

Page Name

Definition Name

Navigation

Usage

Create Super Rpt File

GPAU_RC_SUPEREC

Global Payroll & Absence Mgmt, Authority Correspondence, Create Super Rpt File AUS, Create Super Rpt File AUS

Generate the PIF for delivery to ComSuper.

Deduction Recipient List

GPAU_SUPEC_RCP_RC

Click the Deduction Recipient AUS List link on the Create Super Rpt File page AUS.

Add deduction recipients to be included in the PIF.

Click to jump to top of pageClick to jump to parent topicGenerating the PIF

Access the Create Super Rpt File page (Global Payroll & Absence Mgmt, Authority Correspondence, Create Super Rpt File AUS, Create Super Rpt File AUS).

Report Type

Select the type of report you are creating. You can use this page to generate a report file for ComSuper, SuperEC, or Agest.

Placeholder

Date From and Date To

Enter a date range for the report file. The system populates these fields automatically if you select a calendar group in the Calendar Group ID field.

Calendar Group ID

Select the calendar group to be included in the report file.

Note. If you generate the EFT payment file before running this process, the calendar group for which you created the EFT payment file will not be available in the Calendar Group ID field. You must use enter a date range for the PIF file in that case.

Test Indicator

Acknowledgement

Select to receive an acknowledgement after sending a SuperEC message file.

Test Indicator

Select to indicate that the SuperEC message file that you are creating is for test purposes only.

Pay Entity

Pay Entity

Select the pay entity to be included in the report file.

Deduction Recipient AUS List

Click to access the Deduction Recipient List where you can add deduction recipients to the report file.