New figures show that older Australians are taking advantage of government allowances to boost their retirement income using their home.
A government scheme, known as the downsizer contributions, allows Australians over the age of 65 to choose to make contributions of up to $300,000 into their superannuation, if those proceeds are derived from selling their home.
Superannuation is a concessionally taxed environment, and there are caps on the amount you can contribute to superannuation. However, the downsizer contribution does not count towards a superannuation member’s contribution cap.
According to the Minister for Housing and Assistant Treasurer, Michael Sukkar, older Australians downsizing from their family homes have now contributed $1 billion to their superannuation funds.
The minister revealed that 4,246 individuals have utilised the downsizer measure, with 55 per cent of contributions having been made by women and 45 per cent from men.
Individuals from every state and territory have made downsizer contribution.
NSW had the largest proportion of contributions (31 per cent), followed by Victoria (26 per cent) and Queensland (24 per cent).
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