When you work for someone else, super happens automatically. Your employer pays it, currently 12 percent of your wage, and you barely think about it. When you work for yourself, no one does that for you. Your retirement savings become one more thing that only happens if you make it happen.
Most self-employed people underfund their super badly. Here's what's worth knowing.
You're not required to pay yourself super
As a sole trader, there's no law forcing you to contribute. That freedom is exactly the problem. Without the discipline of automatic payments, years go by and nothing goes in. Future you pays the price.
Contributions can be tax deductible
This is the part people miss. Personal contributions to your super can be claimed as a tax deduction, up to the concessional cap of $32,500 a year. So you're saving for retirement and reducing your taxable income at the same time. For a lot of sole traders, it's one of the most effective tax strategies available.
Timing matters
To claim the deduction, the contribution has to actually reach your super fund before June 30, and you need to lodge a notice of intent with your fund. Leave it too late and the payment won't clear in time, and the deduction is gone for that year.
Even small amounts compound
You don't have to max the cap. Regular modest contributions, started early, grow into something meaningful over a few decades. The hardest part is simply starting.
The bottom line
Super is easy to ignore when you're self-employed because nothing forces the issue. But between the tax deduction and the long-term compounding, contributing deliberately is one of the smarter moves you can make. It's worth building into your numbers rather than leaving to the end of the year.
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