When Rebecca Pritchard and her partner were starting a family four years ago, she wanted to ensure her superannuation kept ticking over. 

So, she used a little-known strategy called contribution splitting to redirect some of her husband's super contributions to her fund.

"[I said], 'Here's the contribution I'm bringing to the family, this is my expectation. I'm not going to be getting contributions during this time, but you are, so let's make an adjustment for that,'" she says.

Ms Pritchard, 35, works as a senior financial planner at a firm in Melbourne/Naarm. She has two children aged three and four and says the contribution splitting strategy helped her feel more financially secure at a disruptive time.

In the lead-up to retirement age, the median super balance for women is around 25 per cent lower than that for men, according to the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASFA).

One of the key reasons for this super gender gap, ASFA says, is women taking time out of the workforce or working reduced hours to care for children.

What is contribution splitting?

Meg Heffron is the managing director of a specialist superannuation advice firm. 

Put simply, she explains, contribution splitting is a “legal way of giving some of your super to your spouse so they can build up their super faster.” 

To do it, you simply fill out a form with your super fund. Most funds have their own forms for contribution splitting, but the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) also has a generic form you can use.

“That tells your super fund [what amount] you want … shifted across to your partner's account,” Ms Heffron says. 

Usually, the application can only be made after the financial year is over. So, if you were applying in September 2024, you could only split contributions made in the year to June 30, 2024.

The one time you can apply to split contributions before the end of the financial year is if you’re switching super funds, Ms Heffron says. 

In that case, you’d send in a letter to your super fund applying to split contributions before switching your super to another fund.

Which super contributions can you split with your partner?

Importantly, you can only split "concessional contributions", Ms Heffron says.

These include any contributions to super made by your employer, or any personal contributions you've made that you've claimed a tax deduction for, such as salary sacrificing.

Because concessional contributions are taxed at 15 per cent, you only split up to 85 per cent of the amount. For example, if your employer contributed $10,000 to your super, you could split a maximum of $8,500 of that to your spouse.

Here are some other things to keep in mind:

• You can choose how much super to split, however some funds have restrictions. For example, your fund might not allow you to split less than $1,000 of contributions.
• You don't need to be married — you can also split contributions with your partner if you're in a de facto relationship.
• There are some other restrictions to be aware of, Ms Heffron says, particularly around splitting contributions to spouses close to retirement age.
• This is not something that you can set up and forget. You need to submit a new form each financial year if you want to continue splitting contributions.
• If your marriage or de facto relationship breaks down, each person's super is treated as a shared asset. However, it is possible that using contribution splitting could affect the amount you receive in a settlement.

The benefits of super contribution splitting

Ms Heffron says contribution splitting is helpful for couples who want to even their super balances.

“If you've got people with different work patterns, different salaries, they'll end up building very different super balances,” she says.

There are also other reasons you might want to consider the strategy. For example, if one partner is closer to retirement age than the other, splitting super contributions could help access that money earlier.  

It’s a strategy that Ms Heffron used herself — splitting her contributions to her older partner.

“We wanted to make the contributions, but we wanted to hedge our bets and have access to the money as early as possible,” she says.

How much super you can miss out on after children?

Ms Pritchard says super splitting is a useful way to tackle the super gap and one that more couples should be considering.

For a woman earning $80,000 plus 12 per cent super (the super guarantee rate from July 1, 2025), Ms Pritchard says the impact of taking time out of work after children can be more than $120,000.

That's assuming the woman takes six months of unpaid leave and returns to work four days a week for four years.

"That would then be compounded further by any subsequent children or extended part-time work," she says.

For Ms Pritchard, having her husband split his contributions was a "non-negotiable". She's now working four days a week, and her husband still splits some of his contributions each year.

This article contains general information only. You should consider obtaining independent professional advice in relation to your particular circumstances.