News : Pensions

Court rejects pension exclusion from TBC

March 6, 2024

Federal Court defined benefit lifetime pensions excess transfer balance transfer balance cap Stern Commissioner of Taxation

The recipient of two defined benefit pensions has lost a court case to have them excluded from the calculation of his excess transfer balance, failing to prove they were not covered by tax laws.

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Pensions, Retirement, Superannuation

Living costs hit retirement confidence

Retirement income covenant Retirement savings Superannuation Cost of living

January 22, 2024

Todd Wills

Rising living expenses are causing a growing number of Australians to harbor less confidence in their quality of life as they approach retirement age.

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Death benefits, Pensions, Tax

$3m super tax pension risk

SMSF Reversionary pension $3m soft cap tax Pension

January 17, 2024

Todd Wills

Reversionary pension beneficiaries may be at risk of an additional tax hit due to a provision contained within the draft legislation for the $3 million soft cap measure.

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Pensions, Superannuation

Revisit reserves before new tax starts

December 14, 2023

Jason Spits

Reserve and legacy pension allocations inside SMSFs should be revisited before the new earnings tax applies as they may be counted as earnings and not contributions.

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Pensions

Logical pension assessment allowed

SMSF minimum pension drawdown exceptional circumstances self assessment ATO

November 30, 2023

Jason Spits

SMSF trustees can self-assess if their personal circumstances have an impact on their ability to pay minimum pensions, but need to do so in a pragmatic way.

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Compliance, Pensions

Drawdowns create commutation limits

Minimum pension drawdown Account-based pensions Commutations Pension commutations

November 29, 2023

Jason Spits

Pension commutations have few limits on them, but super fund members still need to be aware of their obligations to meet minimum drawdown requirements.

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Downsizer, Pensions

Surplus proceeds a pension threat

Downsizer Aged pension AAT asset pension test

November 13, 2023

Jason Spits

A recent AAT case has highlighted the need for retirees to use the full proceeds of a home sale to buy another home to avoid surplus funds impacting pension entitlements.

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ASIC, Compliance, Investments, Pensions

SMSF investment firm’s assets frozen

October 30, 2023

Todd Wills

ASIC has successfully applied to the Federal Court to freeze the assets of a company that provides SMSF investment services after it failed to provide financial statements and auditor reports.