When you transfer some or all of your accumulation account balance to start an eligible Vision Super retirement pension for the first time on or after 1 January 2021, you may receive a credit towards the establishment of your pension account. We refer to this credit as a Retirement bonus. You may also be eligible to a Retirement bonus when your Vision Non-commutable account based pension becomes a retirement income stream.
When you have an accumulation account or a Vision Non-commutable account based pension, Vision Super sets money aside to pay for future capital gains tax when the underlying investment assets are sold. However, when you move from your accumulation account/Vision Non-commutable account based pension to a Vision Super retirement pension, a portion of the investment assets supporting your balance are treated as being tax-free. The Retirement bonus relates to future tax savings the fund will receive in relation to the taxation of the fund’s investment returns (including capital gains) because you have moved from the accumulation/transition phase of your superannuation membership (where investment earnings are subject to tax) to the retirement phase of your superannuation membership (where investment returns are not usually subject to tax).
Please note: The Retirement bonus is not available when establishing a transition to retirement pension (ie. a Vision Non-commutable account based pension). However, when your Vision Non-commutable account based pension becomes a retirement income stream, you may receive a credit at that time subject to eligibility criteria being met and other terms and conditions.
The Retirement Bonus is available to you if you are a Vision Super Saver (VSSS), Vision Personal (VSPP), Australian Services Union (ASUS) or a Non-commutable Account Based Pension (NCAP) member:
The above eligibility criteria needs to be met along with other terms and conditions described below before a Retirement bonus is payable.
If payable, the Retirement bonus is credited to your account balance in your existing account before the retirement pension is commenced.
The applicable terms and conditions, including the calculation methodology are outlined below.
A member will be eligible for a Retirement bonus payment if they meet all of the following conditions:
The following Vision Super members or beneficiaries are not eligible for the Retirement bonus:
The Retirement bonus is calculated at the time you open your eligible Vision Super Account Based Pension and is generally the lesser of the following:
Retirement bonus percentage is the rate declared by Vision Super for the calculation of the retirement bonus from time to time and is currently set at 0.5%. The rate is determined (usually) annually. A 0% rate may apply due to the Fund’s tax position or in other circumstances that the Trustee considers necessary or appropriate.
The Transfer amount is the amount of your accumulation/Vision Non-commutable account based pension account invested in eligible investment options that is used to purchase the eligible Vision retirement pension. For full account transfers to the eligible retirement pension, this is the account balance in eligible investments options at exit date (after all relevant fees/charges). For partial account transfers, this is the requested amount from the eligible investment options which are redeemed as part of the account transfer.
Account balance 12 months prior to commencing your eligible Vision Super Account Based Pension is your account balance in the eligible investment options at 12 months prior to the date you commenced your eligible Vision Super Account Based Pension.
Average balance over 12 months prior to commencing your eligible Vision Super Account Based Pension is the daily balance in eligible options proportioned over 365 days or 366 days for leap years leading up to the date you commenced your eligible Vision Super Account Based Pension.
Examples of the calculation of the transfer amount:
Eligible Member 1:
The Balanced growth investment option is an eligible investment option for the calculation of the Retirement bonus.
| Investment options held by the member | Eligible investment option | Benefit held in that investment option | Retirement bonus payable | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
At the date of the transfer to the eligible retirement pension, | At the date 12 months prior to the transfer to the eligible retirement pension | Average balance over 12 months prior to the transfer to the eligible retirement pension | |||
| (1) | (2) | (3) | |||
| Balanced growth | Yes | $300,000 | $200,000 | $250,000 | |
| Retirement bonus calculations | |||||
| Benefit to be used to commence the eligible retirement pension | $200,000 | $200,000 | $200,000 | $200,000 | |
| Potential Retirement bonus | At a rate of 0.5% | $1,000 | $1,000 | $1,250 | |
| Retirement bonus payable (being the lesser of (1), (2) and (3)) | $1,000 | ||||
Retirement bonus credited immediately before transfer date: $200,000 x 0.5% = $1,000
Total amount transferred into the eligible retirement pension account on transfer date is $201,000
Eligible Member 2:
The Balanced growth investment option is an eligible investment option for the calculation of the Retirement bonus. However, the Cash investment option is not an eligible investment option.
| Investment options held by the member | Eligible investment option | Benefit held in that investment option | Retirement bonus payable | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
At the date of the transfer to the eligible retirement pension, | At the date 12 months prior to the transfer to the eligible retirement pension | Average balance over 12 months prior to the transfer to the eligible retirement pension | |||
| (1) | (2) | (3) | |||
| Balanced growth | Yes | $100,000 | $200,000 | $100,000 | |
| Cash | No | $100,000 | $- | $100,000 | |
| Retirement bonus calculations | |||||
| Benefit to be used to commence the eligible retirement pension | $200,000 | $200,000 | $200,000 | $200,000 | |
| Potential Retirement bonus | At a rate of 0.5% | $500 | $1,000 | $500 | |
| Retirement bonus payable (being the lesser of (1), (2) and (3)) | $500 | ||||
Retirement bonus credited immediately before transfer date: $100,000 x 0.50% = $500
Total amount transferred into the eligible retirement pension account on transfer date is $200,500
Eligible Member 3:
The Balanced growth investment option is an eligible investment option for the calculation of the Retirement bonus.
The Shares investment option is an eligible investment option for the calculation of the Retirement bonus.
| Investment options held by the member | Eligible investment option | Benefit held in that investment option | Retirement bonus payable | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
At the date of the transfer to the eligible retirement pension, | At the date 12 months prior to the transfer to the eligible retirement pension | Average balance over 12 months prior to the transfer to the eligible retirement pension | |||
| (1) | (2) | (3) | |||
| Shares | Yes | $400,000 | $200,000 | $201,095 | |
| Retirement bonus calculations | |||||
| Benefit to be used to commence the eligible retirement pension | $200,000 | $200,000 | $200,000 | $200,000 | |
| Potential Retirement bonus | At a rate of 0.5% | $1,000 | $1,000 | $1,005 | |
| Retirement bonus payable (being the lesser of (1), (2) and (3)) | $1,000 | ||||
Retirement bonus credited immediately before transfer date: $200,000 x 0.5% = $1000
Total amount transferred into the eligible retirement pension account on the transfer date is $401,000.
The above three examples are illustrations only assuming that the relevant terms and conditions are met and a 0.5% Retirement bonus percentage applies. The payment of a Retirement bonus is subject to the Trustee’s discretion having regard to the fund’s tax position (amongst other things) from time to time.
The Trustee may vary eligibility criteria and other terms and conditions (including the calculation methodology) from time to time. You can contact us for further information.
There is no cap on the amount of Retirement bonus a member can receive. However, the government’s transfer balance cap will limit the amount a member can transfer to Retirement pension (refer to the Vision Income Stream PDS for information about the transfer balance cap).
If you or a beneficiary who has received a Retirement bonus close an eligible Retirement pension account (other than in the case of death) within 12 months of receiving the Retirement bonus, 50% of the bonus received will be deducted from the Retirement pension account before the pension account is closed. If the pension is closed in the cooling off period, the full retirement bonus will be deducted.
The bonus is only payable where the Trustee believes that a saving may arise because you commenced an eligible retirement pension (particularly from a tax perspective).
To be able to provide a Retirement bonus to its eligible members, Vision Super must be in a position where the Trustee believes that a saving will arise because the member(s) commenced eligible retirement pension (particularly from a tax perspective). Generally, this requires the Fund assets to have a deferred tax liability (DTL) on an ongoing basis. The amount of the Fund’s DTL is shown in the Fund’s financial statements each 30 June. Adverse market events (as determined by the Trustee) may reduce the Fund’s DTL or impact the Fund’s overall tax position. This will limit or eliminate the Trustee’s ability to pass on a Retirement bonus to eligible members who purchase an eligible retirement pension. Adverse market events include (but are not limited to) significant market downturns which impact the Fund’s assets and create a deferred tax assets (DTAs). The cost of administering the Retirement bonus arrangement will also be taken into consideration when setting the Retirement bonus rate.
You should also read the above in conjunction with the Retirement bonus “Questions and answers” below
The current rate declared for the calculation of the Vision Super Retirement bonus is 0.5%. This rate may vary from time to time. You should check this rate at the time you are setting up your eligible Vision Super retirement pension.
The Fund is currently providing the Retirement bonus for eligible members invested in eligible investment options. However, it may be turned off at any time without any warning.
You should check the rate of the Retirement bonus at the time you are setting up your eligible Vision Super retirement pension.
The amount of the Retirement bonus paid to you will appear on your existing account exit statement and will form part of your transfer amount to your eligible retirement pension account. If you start an eligible retirement pension account from a partial withdrawal, your retirement bonus will be shown on your annual statement of the account you took the partial withdrawal from.
The amount of your Retirement bonus (or your transfer amount, if you are making a partial withdrawal from your account to start your eligible retirement pension) may be reduced if it would cause the total used to purchase your eligible retirement pension to be greater than the ‘transfer balance cap’ (refer to the Vision Income Stream PDS for information about the transfer balance cap).
If your eligible retirement pension is closed within 12 months of receiving the Retirement bonus (other than in the case of your death), we will deduct half the bonus amount from your pension account balance prior to its closure. If your eligible retirement pension is closed within the cooling off period (other than in the case of your death), we will deduct the full amount of the Retirement bonus amount from your pension account balance prior to its closure.
No, the Retirement bonus does not apply to the following investment options:
If your account was invested in any of the investment options listed above during the twelve months prior to starting an eligible retirement income stream, the amount of the Retirement bonus you would receive may be reduced to $nil based on your investment option history during that 12 month period.
No, the Retirement Bonus will not be counted as a concessional or non-concessional contribution for the purposes of any additional tax that may apply to you and/or your contributions. You should speak to a qualified financial planner or your tax adviser for personal advice if you require advice in relation to starting a pension.
No. Contributions tax is not payable on the Retirement bonus.
No. There is a limit of one Retirement bonus per member. The Retirement bonus is automatically paid to your first eligible Retirement income account with Vision Super.
You can call us on 1300 017 589 or by contacting us via email at [email protected] to find out whether you will receive a Retirement bonus if you apply for a retirement pension.
Member Hotline 1300 300 820
Employer Hotline 1300 304 947
Retirement Hotline 1300 017 589
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