A question that often gets asked when dealing with death benefit nominations is whether a person will qualify under the interdependency or financial dependency definitions. This is an important consideration as meeting the dependency criteria will enable potential beneficiaries to qualify as a dependant and therefore allow them to receive a death benefit. Interdependency relationship...

Your superannuation death benefits must be paid to someone when you die. That somebody will usually be your estate or your nominated beneficiary (also known as your dependants). Paying death benefits to your estate Unlike other assets such as shares and property, your superannuation and any insurance benefits you have in superannuation do not form...

Did you receive a letter from your superannuation fund stating your investments have underperformed and did not meet the superannuation performance test benchmarks? If so, this letter comes as the Australian Prudential Regulatory Authority (APRA) has released its third annual performance test results for superannuation products. The results show that only one ‘MySuper’ fund failed...

Personal deductible contributions can allow individuals to claim a tax deduction for contributions they have made to superannuation provided they meet certain requirements. So what are these requirements and what should you look out for? Eligibility requirements You will be eligible to claim a deduction for your personal superannuation contributions if: You meet the aged...

Did you know you can reduce your income tax by making a large personal tax-deductible contribution from your take-home pay to your super? This strategy may be particularly useful if you will be earning more income this financial year or if you have sold an asset this year and made a large capital gain. What...

Superannuation and age pension eligibility  Come retirement, many folks rely on a combination of their superannuation savings and the age pension in order to financially sustain them moving forward. Accordingly, a front-of-mind issue for individuals is: at what point does your level of superannuation savings and payments impact your eligibility for the age pension? While...

Super withdrawal options For individuals who have retired and met a condition of release, or who have turned 65 and are still working, you can receive your superannuation as a super income stream, as a lump sum, or a combination of both. This third option is quite popular for those who have yet to pay...

Another key Federal Court case may have a bearing on whether you owe certain workers you engage superannuation guarantee or not. For background, early last year the High Court made a game-changing decision in determining whether a worker is an employee or contractor at common law. It ruled that this is determined by the employment...

The increase to the superannuation guarantee (SG) rate from 1 July 2023 will see more employees (and certain contractors) entitled to additional SG contributions on their pay. But what happens when income earned before 30 June is paid after 30 June 2023 – will employees be entitled to the higher SG rate of 11%? SG...

Are you a parent or grandparent wondering whether you can contribute to your child or grandchild’s superannuation account to give them a financial head start? The answer is it is possible, however, there are a few issues to consider before you go down this path. Making contributions to a child’s account Superannuation law categorises contributions...