Superannuation & Life Insurance Benefits

Your superannuation does not form part of your estate and as such may not be distributed in accordance with your Will. The trustee of your superfund will decide how your superannuation is distributed. Your Will is only relevant to your superannuation if the benefits are to be paid directly to your estate.

Superannuation benefits include: existing pension entitlements, account balances and life insurance policies received by the fund.

According to the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act 1993 the direct payment of superannuation by the trustee can only be made to:

  • The deceased's spouse, child or person with whom they were in an interdependency relationship; or
  • The deceased's personal legal representative.

Your superannuation and life insurance may be paid directly to a person who you have nominated as beneficiary. Therefore you may wish to review  who your nominated beneficiary is, to make certain it is still in accordance with your wishes.

Binding Death Nomination

To specify who your superannuation benefits should be paid to, you can make a binding death nomination with most superannuation funds. This is the only exception to the superannuation trustee's power to decide upon the distribution of the superannuation benefits.

A valid Binding Death Nomination:

  • Must comply with formal requirements;
  • Must be in favour of a dependant or the members personal legal representative;
  • Must have been made no more than three years prior to the date of death.

There are strict requirements for a Binding Death Nomination to be valid which we can advise you of and assist you with.

Beneficiary Nomination

A Binding Death Nomination should not be confused with a Beneficiary Nomination. A Beneficiary Nomination is not binding on the superannuation trustee, it is merely the expression of a wish regarding the beneficiary of your superannuation entitlements, there is no requirement on the trustee to comply with this wish.

You may wish to make or review a Binding Death Nomination to be certain that your superannuation is distributed in accordance with your wishes.

You should also note that some Industry Superannuation funds do not offer the Binding Death Nomination, therefore may be important to review your superannuation policy.


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