The 1 July 2017 changes to superannuation pensions introduced a new rule of thumb – most people can only convert $1.6m to a retirement phase pension over their lifetime.

Most practitioners would be aware that superannuation is not covered by the deceased’s will and can only be paid to a limited group of beneficiaries. The practicalities are often still quite opaque.

The Australian Taxation Office are concerned that a number of SMSFs paying capped defined benefit income streams haven’t met their Pay As You Go obligations and are writing to affected SMSFs.

When a superannuation interest in retirement phase is subject to a family law split, there are two ways to report the Transfer Balance Account debit “event” depending on the type of payment split.

With the Federal election looming, the Australian Labor Party’s policy to prevent many taxpayers from receiving a refund for their franking credits has certainly become a dominant issue for many retirees, particularly those with SMSFs.

As we get closer to the end of the financial year, many SMSF members with pensions will be checking the amounts paid from their fund so far to make sure the minimum payment requirements will be met.

In the new world of calculating exempt current pension income, if your 100% pension fund receives a contribution, and a new pension is commenced with that amount immediately on receipt, do you need an actuarial certificate?

Well, in fact pension payments have always needed to be paid in cash. Only lump sums can be taken in-specie.

With the 1 July 2017 introduction of the $1.6m Transfer Balance Cap came a new obligation on superannuation fund trustees to report certain member “events” to the ATO. These events are reported using a “Transfer Balance Account Report” or TBAR.

Prior to 1 July 2017, as a general rule, where an individual was age 60 or over and wanted to draw monies from their pension account in excess of their minimum pension requirements, the excess was simply treated as an additional pension payment.

Must the fund issue a PAYG summary? Does the individual need to report the payments in their personal tax return? Are they still eligible for the untaxed element tax offset?

The majority of SMSFs lodged their Transfer Balance Reports to report the 30 June 2017 value of the members’ pension accounts in the final days of the 2018 financial year. ETB determinations then began issuing three to four days later.