The Bring-Forward Rule: A Quick Way to Boost Your Super Before Retirement

The bring-forward rule allows you to contribute more to your super in a short time, helping you get closer to retirement with more savings.

What Is the Bring-Forward Rule?

The bring-forward rule lets you bring forward up to two years' worth of non-concessional contributions (NCCs) if you’re under 75. This means you could contribute up to $360,000 in a single year instead of the usual $120,000 cap.

However, unlike the carry-forward rule for concessional contributions, unused NCCs don’t carry over from previous years.

How Much Can You Bring Forward?

Your total super balance on June 30 of the previous financial year determines how much you can contribute:

-          $360,000 if your balance is less than $1.66 million

-          $240,000 if between $1.66 million and $1.78 million

-          $120,000 if between $1.78 million and $1.9 million (the standard cap)

How to Use the Bring-Forward Rule

To trigger the bring-forward rule, simply contribute more than $120,000 in a year. Once triggered, you can contribute the full $360,000 over the next three years. Example:

-          In Year 1, contribute $120,000 (no trigger).

-          In Year 2, contribute $360,000 (trigger the bring-forward rule).

-          In Year 3, no further contributions allowed under the rule.

Important Tips:

If you contribute more than the annual limit in any year, you’ll trigger the bring-forward rule automatically. Be careful,  if you’ve exceeded your concessional contributions cap and didn’t withdraw the excess, it may count as a non-concessional contribution and trigger the bring-forward rule unexpectedly.

What if the NCC Cap Increases?

Once you trigger the bring-forward rule, it’s based on the cap in the year you triggered it. Any subsequent increase in the cap won’t affect your contribution limits for the bring-forward period.

Who Is Eligible?

To use the bring-forward rule, you must:

-          Be under 75 during the triggering year

-          Have a super balance less than $1.66 million on June 30 of the previous year

-          Not be in an active bring-forward period

The bring-forward rule is a powerful tool to boost your super before retirement, especially if you’re in the final stages of building your super balance. Just be mindful of contribution limits and eligibility rules to make the most of this strategy.