West State Super

West State Super is a super scheme that was available to WA public sector employees prior to April 2007. This fund is now closed to new members.

West State Super offers a number of benefits:

  • Value for money - competitive fees and a history of consistent and sound long-term investment returns.
  • Untaxed fund - which means you are growing your investment faster because 100% of your contributions and investment earnings are compounding until you pay tax when you access your benefit.
  • Before-tax contributions do not count towards your concessional contribution cap. Your West State Super account allows you to accumulate an untaxed benefit of up to $1.2551 million and still be concessionally taxed. Usually individuals can only contribute $25,000 per financial year into super and still be subject to concessional tax treatment. 
  • The knowledge that your super provider has received the highest ratings from leading research agencies - see how GESB compares with other super funds according to Chant West.
  • Flexibility to control what assets your super is invested in through your choice of investment plan.
  • Automatic cover available for eligible members for death, permanent disablement and salary continuance insurance.
  • Convenient access to your account through Member Online, or through your locally-based Member Services Centre.
  • Free member education services, including seminars and webinars.

 

West State Super is:

  • Market-linked. West State Super is an accumulation scheme that is linked to investment markets, similar to most other super funds. Your account balance builds up over time from contributions from you and your employer, as well as from investment earnings. You have a choice of investment plans, which determine what type of assets your money is invested in.
  • An untaxed scheme, which means contributions and investment earnings are not taxed until you access your benefit. This means that you earn investment returns on the full amount of your contributions over the life of your super fund. Tax is deferred until when your benefit is paid to you or rolled over to a taxed fund.

1Untaxed plan cap per super fund for the 2012/13 financial year, indexed annually for future years.


Lump-sum benefit case study

Below is an example of a tax calculation on a lump sum benefit.

John, 61, a recently retired WA police officer, wants to access his West State Super balance of $300,000 as a lump sum payment.

Since he has already contributed $50,000 from his post-tax income, this component is tax free. The following shows how the tax is calculated on his final benefit.

  Amount Tax rate Tax withheld1
Gross benefit $300,000    
Tax-free component  $50,000 0%  Nil
Taxable component - untaxed element $250,000 16.5%  $41,250
Net benefit $258,750
    

1 Includes Medicare levy. See the Tax and super fact sheet for more information.

The tax-free component is not subject to tax. The untaxed element of $250,000 is taxed at a rate of 16.5% because John is taking the benefit as a lump sum.

If John had elected to transfer his West State benefit to a taxed super scheme, such as GESB Super or GESB's Allocated Pension, the untaxed element of his benefit would have been taxed at only 15% (or $37,500) leaving him with a net benefit of $262,500.

For more information on West State Super and how the scheme works, read the Understanding your West State Super account fact sheet.

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GESB offers three types of insurance that eligible members automatically receive. You can also tailor the level of your insurance to make sure you're covered in case you are no longer able to work. Give yourself peace of mind and make sure your insurance cover is right for your circumstances.
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