Home / Retiree / Later life planning / Super after death: How to get it to beneficiaries fast

Super after death: How to get it to beneficiaries fast

Those of us who have a valid Will in place often assume our executors will take care of all the necessary paperwork and distribute all our assets, including super, to our chosen beneficiaries as we have instructed.

But when it comes to your super, it’s not that simple. Your Will doesn’t automatically decide who gets your retirement savings. It’s up to the trustee of your super fund to make the final decision, and without the right guidance from you the process can be prolonged and distressing for your loved ones.

To ensure you have a say in who gets your super when you die, and that your wishes are carried out quickly, you need to make the most effective beneficiary nomination for your circumstances.

So how do you go about doing that?

Need to know

A 2022 decision by the High Court has changed the rules in relation to using a binding death benefit nomination if you are a member of an SMSF. Check out the section below on binding nominations in an SMSF for more details.

You don’t own your super assets

When you make a valid Will, it governs the distribution of the assets you own personally, like your house, car and bank accounts. What a lot of people don’t realise is that you don’t own your super account personally. It’s held in trust for you by the trustee of your super fund.

Retirement planning for beginners

Free eBook

Retirement planning for beginners

Our easy-to-follow guide walks you through the fundamentals, giving you the confidence to start your own retirement plans.

"*" indicates required fields

First name*
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Learn about super fund trustees.

Under Australia’s super laws, the trustee of your super fund is the one makes the decision about who receives your super death benefit.

To guide the trustee on who you would like to receive your death benefit, super funds encourage you to fill in a form or make a selection online to nominate your desired beneficiary.

What isn’t always as clear as it could be is the different types of nomination that are available, and how choosing the wrong option can lead to extensive delays or worse – payments to beneficiaries you did not nominate.

As part of their role as the financial services regulator responsible for consumer protection, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) wrote to super fund trustees in May 2024 urging them to improve their communication on this issue.

Types of death benefit nomination

There are four main types of death benefit nomination offered by super funds. It’s important to understand the differences so you choose the one most suitable for your personal situation.

When nominating your beneficiaries you also need to ensure you provide clear instructions and that you have nominated beneficiaries that are eligible to receive your benefits under super law (see Who can I nominate as a beneficiary later in this article).

If your nomination is not valid and clear it can’t be followed. For example, if you nominate two or more beneficiaries, you must clearly indicate the proportion that should be paid to each one and the total must add up to 100%.

Your nomination can be renewed, changed or revoked at any time.

1. Preferred (non-binding) nomination

This is the most common type of death benefit nomination and is offered by most super funds. A preferred nomination can be made online or with a form that does not require witnesses to sign. While this is the simplest nomination to make, it provides the least certainty and leads to the most delays.

With this type of nomination, the trustee of your super fund retains the final say over which of your beneficiaries receives your super and in what proportions. Your nomination is a guide to the trustee about your wishes, but forms only part of their decision-making process.

Most often, the trustee will gather information about your personal situation and consider all your potential beneficiaries, along with your nomination, to determine the most appropriate distribution.

This process can take many months and, less frequently, a year or more. Delays are extended if the fund receives complaints from your dependents about their proposed distribution, if your personal situation is complex, or if the fund has difficulty gathering information from all your potential beneficiaries.

Supercharge your retirement

SuperGuide newsletter

Get pension and retirement tips and strategies with our free monthly newsletter.

"*" indicates required fields

First name*
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

The trustee may also decide to pay your death benefit directly to your Legal Personal Representative (LPR). If this occurs and you don’t have a valid Will, your super death benefit and the rest of your estate will be distributed as required under the intestacy laws applying in your state. Some funds automatically pay your LPR if you do not have a valid binding beneficiary nomination in force.

Need to know: Death benefit disputes

Disputes often arise when your beneficiary nomination is not valid, or you have made a preferred nomination.

These situations can lead to protracted and bitter battles between your potential beneficiaries. These disputes often end up being resolved by the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA), which is the body responsible for managing superannuation complaints that cannot be resolved directly with the fund.

AFCA is not responsible for disputes over the distribution of a deceased SMSF member’s super death benefit. These must be resolved by going through the courts, which can be time consuming and ends up wasting some of your death benefits on legal costs.

2. Lapsing binding death benefit nomination

If you make a valid binding nomination, the trustee of the fund must pay your super death benefit to the beneficiaries you nominate, in the proportions you listed in your nomination. A binding death benefit nomination overrides the normal trustee discretion on payment of a super death benefit.

Lapsing binding nominations expire after three years unless they are renewed. If you don’t renew your nomination, your fund trustee will consider you have made a preferred death benefit nomination and will have the final say over which of your beneficiaries receives your super and in what proportions.

The rules applying to members of an SMSF are different (see SMSF section below).

A binding nomination provides certainty about the distribution of your benefit, which can be useful for tax planning and broader estate planning. For example, beneficiaries eligible to receive super tax free could be nominated while other dependants receive alternative assets.

Having a binding nomination accelerates the process of paying out your super. The trustee does not need to investigate your personal circumstances, so they can make payment as soon as they have the relevant paperwork. This usually includes a certified copy of your death certificate and evidence of your relationship with the beneficiaries you have nominated, for example, a marriage certificate for a spouse and birth certificates for children.

Delays are still possible if there is difficulty in obtaining the required documentation or validating your relationships. This commonly occurs if a coronial inquiry postpones issuing the death certificate, or if there is difficulty in verifying whether a de-facto relationship ended or was ongoing. Being legally married can assist your spouse to receive benefits in a timely way.

Need to know: Valid nominations

For a lapsing binding death benefit nomination to be valid, you must make it in writing, sign and date it, and have it witnessed by two people over 18 who are not nominated as beneficiaries The rules applying to members of an SMSF are different (see SMSF section below).

Most super funds have a form on their website you can download, sign, and return.

3. Non-lapsing binding nominations

A non-lapsing binding nomination does not expire. It remains in place until you cancel it or replace it with a new binding death benefit nomination. It is binding on the trustee unless it is not valid, in the same way as a lapsing binding nomination.

This means you do not need to update your death benefit nomination in writing every three years. With a lapsing nomination, if you forget to renew your nomination or lack the legal capacity to make a new nomination when it expires (such as if you are suffering from dementia), your super fund trustee once again is given discretion to decide who receives your super death benefit (and any life insurance in your super account).

Non-lapsing binding nominations in funds other than SMSFs have been rare in the past, but more providers are now beginning to offer them.

We checked the 20 largest super funds and found that of those that are available to the public, UniSuper, Colonial First State, Aware Super, AMP, Rest (pension members only), MLC, Mercer, Brighter Super, Macquarie and ANZ/OnePath all offer non-lapsing binding nominations. Some of these funds even permit you to make the nomination online.

This list is not exhaustive and could change, so you need to check with your fund to see if this option is available to you. If you have an SMSF, see the SMSF section below.

Super tip

If you make a death benefit nomination, regularly review your nomination – preferably annually – to ensure it’s still right for your personal circumstances.

When you make a valid binding nomination, the trustee of your super fund is required to follow it, even if it is no longer appropriate. So, for example, if you are separated but not yet divorced, and your spouse is nominated as your beneficiary, the trustee must pay your death benefit to them unless you amend or revoke your benefit nomination.

4. Reversionary nomination

If you receive a super pension or income stream, most super funds allow you to make a benefit nomination so the income stream will automatically revert to a particular beneficiary – usually your spouse – on your death.

With this type of death benefit nomination, the fund trustee is required to continue paying the super pension to your beneficiary if your benefit nomination is valid. This can be a simple way to ensure your spouse receives your death benefit, as the trustee has no discretion in the matter.

In some cases, reversionary nominations can only be made when you start a super pension, so if you already have a pension in place you may need to stop and restart it to make it reversionary.

Learn more about reversionary pensions.

Warning

Stopping and restarting a super pension that commenced before 1 January 2015 to make it reversionary can have significant implications. It could affect both your eligibility for social security benefits and your level of aged care fees.

ALWAYS seek advice from a licensed professional such as an independent financial adviser before making this type of decision.

SMSFs and binding death benefit nominations

If you are an SMSF member and want to make a binding nomination, you need to check your fund’s trust deed to see if it allows this type of benefit nomination, as not all SMSF trust deeds do. To be valid, your nomination also needs to be in line with the governing rules of the SMSF.

In June 2022, the High Court handed down a decision in Hill v Zuda Pty Ltd that changed the rules for SMSFs in relation to these nominations. The Court decided regulation 6.17A of the SIS Regulations does not apply to nominations made for an SMSF member.

This means an SMSF, if the fund’s trust deed allows, can have a binding nomination that does not lapse every three years and does not need to be witnessed by two people.

SMSF trustees should always check the fund’s trust deed when a member makes a nomination to ensure it is valid and will bind the trustee when dealing with the member’s death benefit. Following Hill v Zuda, all SMSFs should review any existing binding nominations made by members to ensure they remain appropriate and in line with the fund’s trust deed.

Good to know: A cascading binding nomination

If your SMSF permits a binding nomination, it may be possible to include provisions allowing for a cascading beneficiary nomination. A cascading nomination can be used to cover possibilities such as the death, remarriage or bankruptcy of your beneficiary.

By nominating a second and even subsequent beneficiaries, you can avoid the risk of your death benefit nomination becoming invalid. An example of this situation is if spouses nominate each other as their sole beneficiary and they both die at the same time. A deceased person cannot be a death benefit dependant, so the nomination becomes invalid and the trustee decides who receives the death benefit.

If a cascading nomination indicated that in the event the spouse was deceased or had been divorced, then benefits should flow in equal shares to children (for example), then the nomination would remain valid and in force.

Need to know: Your Will and super death benefits

Your Will governs the distribution of your super death benefit only if your benefit is paid to your legal personal representative (LPR). Your LPR is the executor of your Will, not your lawyer.

This usually only occurs if the trustee of your super fund decides to distribute your benefit to your LPR, or if you have made a valid binding death benefit nomination asking the fund to distribute your super death benefit in this manner.

Who can I nominate as a beneficiary?

A key rule for making a valid death benefit nomination is you must nominate one or more of your dependants under super law, or your legal personal representative (LPR). Your LPR is the executor of your estate.

Superannuation law considers a person to be your dependant if – at the time of your death – they were:

  • Your spouse or de facto spouse, including same sex
  • One of your children of any age
  • In an interdependency relationship with you
  • Financially dependent on you (a dependant in the ordinary sense of the word).

Under super law, you are in an interdependency relationship if you and the other person live together, have a close personal relationship and at least one of you provides the other with financial support, domestic support and personal care. For more details on interdependency relationships, see the ATO website.

If your super is paid to your LPR instead of a dependant, your super benefit forms part of your estate and your Will (or the intestacy law for your state/territory if you die without a valid Will) determines who receives it. The recipients of super that has been paid into your estate do not need to be dependants according to super law, so you can use your Will to direct your super to any person or organisation (such as a charity). If you don’t have any dependants or you simply prefer some or all of your super to be paid to people/organisations that do not meet the definition, directing your savings into your estate by nominating your LPR with a binding nomination and making an effective Will can offer control over the distribution.

Need to know: Super law versus tax law

Confusingly, there are different definitions for who is deemed your dependant under super law and tax law.

Super law governs who is eligible to receive a super death benefit from a super account, while tax law determines how much tax your beneficiary will be required to pay.

The amount of tax paid by a beneficiary of your super death benefit depends on whether the beneficiary is a tax dependant, and whether the money is paid as a lump sum, income stream or a mixture of both.

Estate planning and death benefit nominations

A valid death benefit nomination is an important part of managing how your estate will be distributed after your death. 

Estate planning is a general term used to describe the process of organising your financial affairs so your wealth is efficiently distributed in a tax-effective manner to your chosen beneficiaries. It includes having properly documented and valid Wills, enduring powers of attorney and testamentary trusts in place.

Learn about the difference between standard and testamentary trust Wills.

Even if you’re not wealthy, your estate plan should be regularly reviewed to ensure it considers your changing family situation (such as divorce or a new family member), financial assets and relevant legislation.

If you have an SMSF, having an effective estate plan in place is even more important to ensure your wishes are carried out.

Learn about estate planning and SMSFs.

Superannuation Proceeds Trusts (SPTs)

One estate planning issue to consider is whether the Will should establish a Superannuation Proceeds Trust (SPT). This is a testamentary trust that is specifically designed to hold super death benefits. Super can be directed into your estate to be distributed according to your Will by making a binding nomination in favour of your LPR.

An SPT may be appropriate if there is concern a beneficiary may overspend their inheritance, as the appointed trustee will control the amount and frequency of distributions from the SPT.

An SPT may also reduce tax on the earnings of the benefit for minor children who are beneficiaries.

All beneficiaries of an SPT must be dependants under tax law – see our guide to tax on super death benefits.

Case study: Superannuation Proceeds Trust

Marie has been married to her husband Charles for 30 years and wants to leave him her super benefit. Unfortunately, Charles is an alcoholic and gambler, and Marie is concerned he would spend such a large lump sum unwisely if he had unrestricted access to it.

Marie uses her Will to specify that a Superannuation Proceeds Trust (SPT) should be established with Charles as the beneficiary. Marie can choose a suitable trustee to manage the trust and control the amount Charles can access.

Marie nominates her Legal Personal Representative as her beneficiary for super using a non-lapsing binding nomination, ensuring her super will flow to her estate and be distributed using the SPT.

Common questions about super death benefits

Super death benefits can be confusing, so we’ve addressed some common questions. Many of these questions come from our quarterly member Q&A webinars.

There are several ways to give you certainty that your super benefit will be paid to your nominated beneficiaries and/or your legal personal representative.

If you are a member of an industry or retail super fund, find out if they provide you with a binding death benefit nomination. This directs the trustee of your fund to act as you have instructed to pay your super to your dependants at the time of your death and/or your legal personal representative who is usually the executor of your estate. The trustee is legally bound to pay a proportion of your benefit to whoever you direct in that nomination. If you nominate that your death benefit should be paid to your legal personal representative, usually the executor of your estate, then the benefit must be distributed to your beneficiaries as indicated in your Will.

If you are a member of a self-managed super fund (SMSF) you are also able to make a binding death benefit nomination, which legally binds the trustee to distribute your super as you have directed to your dependants and/or legal personal representative.

In addition, it is possible with an SMSF that the fund’s trust deed appoints someone in your place, such as your legal personal representative, as trustee or director of the corporate trustee to ensure your death benefit is distributed as you have directed.

The answer to your question depends on a number of factors.

Under the superannuation legislation death benefits are required to be paid to either or both your dependants at the time of your death and/or to your legal personal representative who is usually the executor of your estate. Dependants at the time of your death include your spouse and children of any age, someone with whom you are in an interdependency relationship with or a person who is ordinarily dependant on you for support at the time of your death.

As a rule, death benefits paid to dependants are tax free, however, there is one exception – children who are older than 18 who are required to pay tax on the ‘taxable component’ of the death benefit they receive. The tax-free status of your death benefit continues to apply to children over 18 who are disabled or where the child over 18 receives the death benefit because you are a member of the defence force, for example, and have ‘died in the line of duty’. Where the death benefit is paid to your legal personal representative and distributed to your child over 18 via your estate, no Medicare levy is payable on the taxable component of the amount they receive.

Read more about super death benefits and tax.

Read more about super death benefits and tax.

Or does the remaining child receive 100% of the benefit on death of the member?

Whether the remaining child receives 100% of the benefit on the death of the member, if one child predeceases the member, will depend on the wording of the binding death benefit nomination (BDBN). If the fund rules permit, the member’s BDBN could direct the trustee to pay the 50% of a predeceased child’s benefit to the surviving child or to another dependant and/or to the legal personal representative of the deceased.

Can the fund give the choice to pay out in cash or keep in the super fund?

If a death benefit entitlement is made to the surviving spouse, it is possible for the spouse to retain the death benefit in the fund. However, any death benefit retained in the fund must be paid to the surviving spouse as an account-based pension. The capital sum used to commence the pension, including other pensions commenced by the surviving spouse, are required to remain within his or her Transfer Balance Cap.

If the death benefit is paid to the deceased member’s legal personal representative via their estate, it will leave the superannuation system.

No. Under superannuation law, death benefits must be distributed to either or both your dependants and/or legal personal representative (usually the executor of your estate) at the time of your death.

Dependants at the time of your death include your spouse and children of any age, someone with whom you have an interdependency relationship or a person who is ordinarily dependant on you for support at the time of your death.

It is not possible to nominate a disability trust as death benefit beneficiary as beneficiaries are limited to individuals such as dependants and/or the member’s legal personal representative.

And, a technical matter… is it necessary to do one for each pension account if a member has multiple pension accounts?

A death benefit nomination is a formal nomination by a member to the trustee of a super fund as to who the intended beneficiary of their superannuation benefits will be upon their death. Depending on the terms of the super fund deed, the nomination can be binding or non-binding and lapsing or non-lapsing. If the death benefit nomination is a lapsing nomination, it would require renewal prior to the date on which it lapses. If the death benefit nomination is non-lapsing, there is no requirement to update it unless you wish to change the terms of the death benefit nomination.
 
Before making a death benefit nomination, the trust deed of the fund should be reviewed to check whether nominations are allowed and ensure the proposed form is appropriate and complies with the requirements of the fund. Most retail and industry funds will have a nomination form that must be completed and so it is best to ask for that nomination form rather than prepare something bespoke.

The SIS Act and SIS Regulations permit a trust deed to contain provisions enabling a member to make a binding death benefit nomination. The trust deed of a fund with more than six members may adopt the formal requirements for binding death benefit nominations for a non-self-managed fund which are set out in SIS Regulation 6.17A. Some of the key formal requirements are below:
 
(i) The trustee must provide sufficient information to ensure the member understands their right to make a binding nomination.

(ii) The nominees must be dependants or the legal personal representative (that is, the executor or administrator of the estate).

(iii) The proportion payable to each nominee must be certain.

(iv) The nomination must be in writing, signed by the member in the presence of two witnesses who are over 18 and not mentioned in the nomination.

SIS Regulation 6.17A also states that unless revoked by the member, a binding death benefit nomination will lapse after three years or such shorter period as the fund’s deed may specify (but note this does not apply to self-managed super funds).
 
It is important to be aware that the trust deeds of some retail super funds permit members to make non-lapsing beneficiary nominations which are expressed not to lapse after three years. These nominations may or may not be legally binding on the trustee – it depends on the terms of the applicable trust deed.

Self-managed super funds (SMSFs) may have a nomination form annexed to the trust deed and will almost certainly have the requirements for the nomination set out in the body of the trust deed. It is therefore important to review the trust deed carefully.

In regard to your second question, there is no requirement for a binding death benefit nomination to be made for each pension a person has in place as well as another one for their accumulation phase assets. The wording of the nomination will usually refer to how the superannuation benefit, that is the total benefit in the fund, will be allocated. However, if a member of an SMSF wishes to nominate that a particular beneficiary receives the proceeds of a particular pension or the member’s accumulation phase balance, they can do so by having a bespoke binding death benefit nomination drafted by a specialist lawyer.

What will the trustee(s) do in these extraordinary circumstances? Will the monies be directed to the children of the couple by default?

Where a couple who are both in receipt of an account-based pension die simultaneously and they had nominated each other as reversionary beneficiary, the payment of the benefit would depend on a number of factors.

If the fund was a large fund, it would be up to the fund’s trust deed and the trustee decision on payment of the benefit. It is common that the trustee pays the benefit, consisting of the remaining balance of the account-based pension, to the legal personal representative of the respective member for distribution in accordance with their Will.

If the fund is an SMSF, it is possible to make a direction to the trustee of the fund as a binding death benefit nomination. The nomination could direct the trustee that if the nominated reversionary has predeceased the pensioner, the trustee is required to pay the balance of the pension to nominated dependants and/or the respective pensioner’s legal personal representative. It would be worthwhile to seek legal advice on whether the fund’s trust deed requires amendment and the appropriate wording of the binding nomination.

The payment of the death benefit where a beneficiary or beneficiaries predecease the member will depend on the provisions of the fund’s trust deed. It will then be up to the trustee to identify the member’s dependants and/or legal personal representative so they can determine who is eligible to receive the death benefit.

The trustee can determine the member’s legal personal representative from their Will or, if probate has been paid in respect of the member’s estate, the executor will be included in the notice of probate. If the member does not have a Will, it may be necessary for interested parties to apply to the court for letters of administration which will appoint someone to administer the member’s estate.

All children of the deceased are ‘dependants’ for superannuation purposes, with one exception as indicated below. A child includes an adopted child, a stepchild or an ex-nuptial child of the person.

At common law, a stepchild means a child of a husband or wife by a former marriage. The continued existence of a stepchild/stepparent relationship depends on the continuity of the marriage of the child’s natural parent with the stepparent. If the marriage ends, either by divorce or death, the stepchild/stepparent relationship will cease (see ATO ID 2011/77)

It is possible for two disabled brothers to nominate each other as dependants if they are in an interdependency relationship.

An interdependency relationship exists between two people if all the following conditions are met:

  • They have a close personal relationship
  • They live together
  • One or both provides the other with financial support
  • One or both provides the other with domestic support and personal care.

If these conditions are met at the time of the death of one of the brothers, they would be in an interdependency relationship and the surviving brother would qualify as a ‘dependant’ for superannuation purposes.

I have a son who is 25 who I believe would otherwise receive all of my super (minus the tax he would have to pay).

Whether it is possible for some of your super to be paid to your partner would depend on whether they meet the definition of ‘dependant’ under the superannuation law. Under that law death benefits are required to be paid to either or both of the dependants of the deceased at the time of the member’s death and/or their legal personal representative.

Dependants at the time of the member’s death include the spouse or children of the member, someone with whom the deceased is in an interdependency relationship or a person who is ordinarily dependent on the deceased for support at the time of the member’s death. Whether your partner would qualify as a dependant would most likely rely on whether you are in an interdependency relationship with them, or it could be established that they were ordinarily dependent on you for support. These all depend on the circumstances of the relationship and other determining facts.

If your partner was unable to establish that they were your dependant under the superannuation definition at the time of your death, your son may be the sole beneficiary. You may like to seek advice from a specialist in this area who could examine your exact circumstances more closely and provide a solution to what you are trying to achieve.

This is a very difficult question to answer as there have been many cases on death benefits and nominations made by the deceased which have been regarded as valid and others which have been considered invalid. The reasons for the decision of the courts and tribunals Australia-wide are based on the facts of the case as they relate to the principles of equity and do not relate only to statute.  

Two relatively recent cases which have their source in the Western Australia courts are Hill v Zuda and Burgess v Burgess. The case of Hill v Zuda was ultimately determined in the High Court and involved an interpretation of the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act while Burgess v Burgess involved a conflict of interest in the payment of a death benefit to the surviving widow rather than to the estate of the deceased.

Here are the references to these cases:

Read more about court challenges and the importance of good estate planning.

Your superannuation and your personal estate on your death are quite independent of each other. On your death, super is dealt with under the rules of the super fund and any death benefit nominations you may have made.

However, if your death benefit has been paid to your estate because you have nominated your legal personal representative, usually the executor of your estate, then they will have responsibility for distributing it as provided by your Will.

Despite my wife making a binding nomination for me to receive 100% of her death benefit in her AustralianSuper account, I was forced to go through the process/application for payment to the fund, lodge a complaint with their internal complaints team and lodge a complaint with the ombudsman AFCA before the matter was finalised and resolved. Therefore, how effective is a binding nomination in ensuring a smooth payment of death benefits?

Whether a binding nomination is consistent with the fund’s trust deed and has been made validly comes to the circumstances of the case. Most nominations that are made by members result in trustees satisfying their wishes on their death.

In some circumstances, a difference of opinion may arise between a member, beneficiary or trustee on the validity of the nomination. All funds with more than six members are required to establish an internal review process which may be appealed to various complaints authorities, tribunals and ultimately the courts.

It is not possible for a company to be a ‘death benefits dependant’ (which is limited to individuals) and receive a superannuation death benefit from the fund.

Under the superannuation legislation, death benefits must be paid to either or both the dependants of the deceased and/or their legal personal representative. The legal personal representative of the deceased is required to distribute the death benefit in accordance with the Will of the deceased member. Dependants at the time of the member’s death include the spouse or children of the member, someone with whom the deceased is in an interdependency relationship or a person who is ordinarily dependant on the deceased for support at the time of the member’s death.

Upgrade your retirement with a SuperGuide membership

Unlock independent expert guidance to make your super last and boost your income in retirement.
  • Interactive tools and calculators give you power to plan
  • Step-by-step guides help you put plans into action
  • Discover best performing super and pension funds
  • Experts detail tips and strategies to boost your nest egg
  • Comprehensive super rules in plain language
  • Newsletters and webinars keep you on top of the current rules

Find out more


Related topics,

IMPORTANT: All information on SuperGuide is general in nature only and does not take into account your personal objectives, financial situation or needs. You should consider whether any information on SuperGuide is appropriate to you before acting on it. If SuperGuide refers to a financial product you should obtain the relevant product disclosure statement (PDS) or seek personal financial advice before making any investment decisions. Comments provided by readers that may include information relating to tax, superannuation or other rules cannot be relied upon as advice. SuperGuide does not verify the information provided within comments from readers. Learn more

© Copyright SuperGuide 2008-25. Copyright for this guide belongs to SuperGuide Pty Ltd, and cannot be reproduced without express and specific consent. Learn more

Responses

  1. John Lowe Avatar
    John Lowe

    The article states: “A key rule for making a valid death benefit nomination is you must nominate one or more of your dependants under super law, or your legal personal representative (LPR). Your LPR is the executor of your estate.” Does this mean a DGR charity cannot be a valid death benefit nomination for an SMSF? My research elsewhere indicates that a DGR charity can be a valid death benefit nomination for an SMSF. Please advise.
    John

    1. SuperGuide Avatar
      SuperGuide

      Hi John – A charity can’t be nominated as a super beneficiary, including in an SMSF.

      If you want to direct super benefits to a charity after death, the method required is to maintain a valid will specifying the recipient and to nominate your legal personal representative (the executor of your estate) as superannuation beneficiary. The executor is then responsible to distribute assets according to your will, including any superannuation that has been directed to them to be included in your estate.

      Best wishes

      The SuperGuide team

Leave a Reply