Before the 2017 superannuation reforms, often a retired couple would make a simple binding death benefit nomination (BDBN) in favour of each other and assume the surviving spouse could receive either a tax-free lump sum and/or a tax-free pension, and effectively defer any decisions around what to do once they were both gone to the surviving spouse.

SMSF contributions jumped in the June quarter, with trustees using their last non-concessional contribution (NCC) opportunity before the new limited caps kicked in, while benefit payments spiked in order to be used to implement strategies, according to the latest SuperConcepts “SMSF Investment Patterns Survey”.