Transition to retirement income streams moving to retirement phase document pack

Description

Since 1 July 2017 it has been far more critical to identify the precise time a transition to retirement pension moves into “retirement phase” (ie, the recipient turns 65, retires or meets another condition of release that provides full access to their superannuation). At that time, the Trustee must report the value of the pension for Transfer Balance Account purposes and the fund also starts to receive a tax exemption for some or all of its investment income.

Documentation is key here and Heffron has developed a template pack that provides the resolutions and minutes needed to correctly record that move into retirement phase for an existing transition to retirement income stream. We address the change in two parts:

For some members, all that is required from a documentation perspective is the correct notifications and resolutions to reflect the member’s change in circumstances (eg retirement),
For others, it is also necessary to commute some or all pensions to ensure that the $1.6m Transfer Balance Cap is not exceeded.

The order in which this is done is important and the document template pack includes technical notes to explain which documents are required and when. This template pack meets all the requirements for changes during 2017/18, 2018/19 and 2019/20 and can be used for multiple clients during these years.

There is no limit on the number of funds or members for whom these templates may be used - the pack is a tool for accountants or advisers to use in their practice as many times as they wish or for trustees to use for one or all members.

Of course, the change also requires the preparation and lodgement of a Transfer Balance Account Report. Heffron can prepare this at an additional cost should it be required.