Tag: Changes to Superannuation

People suffering from a terminal medical condition will have easier access to any lost superannuation they have, with the passage of a Bill through the Parliament – which also extends tax relief for merging super funds and moves some responsibility from DHS to the ATO.

The Treasury Laws Amendment (2018 Measures No. 1) Bill 2018 has passed both houses of Parliament and awaits Royal Assent.

The, as yet, Bill enables the ATO to pay unclaimed superannuation directly to people with a terminal medical condition. Currently these amounts, in most cases, would first have to be transferred to a superannuation account. Read more...

The Government has introduced a Bill to allow the direct payment of lost super to the terminally ill, extend tax relief for merging super funds and shift responsibility for early release of super to the ATO.

The Treasury Laws Amendment (2018 Measures No. 1) Bill 2018 includes new rules for withholding of GST on new property sales, along with a number of superannuation changes.

Update: The Bill has passed the House of Representatives, but the Senate is not sitting this week. The next Senate sitting is on March 19. Read more...

The job of changes to how superannuation is taxed is finished and the Government has no further plans, according to a senior minister.

Kelly O’Dwyer, Minister for Revenue and Financial Services, told the Tax Institute National Superannuation Conference: “I am pleased to report today that the Coalition has done the job that we needed to do on the taxation of superannuation. That job has been finished and legislated. We have no further plans.”

Minister O’Dwyer was referring to the tax changes to super from the 2016 Budget, many of which took effect on 1 July 2017. Read more...

New rules for actuarial certificates and commuting some kinds of superannuation pensions due to the Transfer Balance Cap have been dropped from the final version of the Treasury Laws Amendment (Fair and Sustainable Superannuation) Regulations 2017.

The Treasury Laws Amendment (Fair and Sustainable Superannuation) Regulations 2017 were registered on 27 March 2017, but without some of the proposed changes included in the draft regulations.

Treasury had released a draft version of the regulations for consultation. This draft included an exemption from being required to obtain an actuarial certificate for some funds, resulting from the changes in the Fair and Sustainable superannuation legislation. Read more...

The $1.6 million Transfer Balance Cap is the issue most concerning superannuation professionals, a poll of Tax & Super Australia members has found.

29.1% of respondents to the poll said the Transfer Balance Cap was the issue of most concern.

“Many individuals are concerned with the way the appreciation of investments and investment losses are going to be reflected in this transfer balance cap,” said Tax & Super Australia.

“The short answer is that investment performance is not taken into account for the transfer balance cap. If a pension account grows due to an appreciation of investments, this is well and truly good for the pensioner. However the reverse is true in the case of investment losses – there is no way to replenish the limit imposed by the cap on the account of poorly performing investments.” Read more...

The Government isn’t favouring or targeting any particular type of super fund, but is going to make changes to the super system, Kelly O’Dwyer, Minister for Small Business and Assistant Treasurer, has told the National Press Club.