Retirement bonus

The Fund is currently providing a Retirement bonus to eligible members who start an eligible Vision Income Stream on or after 1 January 2021. The Retirement bonus percentage is currently set at 0.5%.

The Trustee may vary eligibility criteria and other terms and conditions (including the calculation methodology) from time to time.

The following explains when you may be eligible for the Retirement bonus and how it works.

When transferring

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.

Who’s eligible to receive the Retirement Bonus?

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:

Who has been a member of the Fund for at least 12 months,
Have established a retirement pension for the first time on or after 1 January 2021, and
Your account was invested in any investment option (other than Cash, Diversified bonds, Property or Infrastructure) for at least twelve months prior to starting the retirement income stream.

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.

Terms and conditions

A member will be eligible for a Retirement bonus payment if they meet all of the following conditions:

The member uses some/all of an existing Vision Super Saver (VSSS), Vision Personal (VSPP) or Australian Services Union (ASUS) account (Vision Super accumulation account) or a Vision Non-commutable account based pension (ie. a Vision super transition to retirement pension) to purchase a Vision account-based pension (including a Three Buckets pension) that is in the retirement phase (Retirement pension) for the first time on or after 1 January 2021
The member has been a member of the Fund for 12 months or more at the time the Retirement pension account is established (the transfer date)
The member’s Vison Super accumulation account/Vision Super transition to retirement pension has been invested in any investment option (other than Cash, Diversified bonds, Property or Infrastructure) for at least 12 months up to the transfer date. If a member’s accumulation account/Vision Super transition to retirement pension is partially invested in Cash, Diversified bonds, Property or Infrastructure (regardless of the period of investment), or invested in any other investment option for a period less than 12 months, this will affect the calculation of the amount of any bonus (see below)
The member has not previously received the Retirement bonus from Vision Super, and
The Trustee has decided to pay the Retirement bonus because of the Fund’s tax position (amongst other things) (see below).

The following Vision Super members or beneficiaries are not eligible for the Retirement bonus:

Members who do not satisfy the eligibility criteria
Members who have previously held a retirement pension (including a Three buckets pension) with Vision Super. (You may still qualify if you have previously held a transition to retirement pension)
Reversionary beneficiary account holders (ie. where an eligible retirement pension continues to be paid to a beneficiary(ies) of the pensioner on the pensioner’s death), and
Members or beneficiaries who meet the eligibility criteria at the transfer date (ie. the date of transfer from their accumulation account to pension account) during a period where the Fund is NOT providing the Retirement bonus.C

How much Retirement bonus will I receive?

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:

The amount transferred to start your eligible Vision Super Account Based Pension (the transfer amount) x Retirement bonus percentage
Your account balance 12 months prior to commencing your eligible Vision Super Account Based Pension x Retirement bonus percentage, or
Your average balance over the 12 months prior to commencing your eligible Vision Super Account Based Pension x Retirement bonus percentage

Where:

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:

Illustrative Retirement bonus example

Eligible Member 1:

Total account balance to be used to commence the eligible retirement pension at the transfer date is $200,000
Has $300,000 assets in the Balanced growth investment option on the transfer date
Had $200,000 assets in the Balance growth investment option twelve months prior to the transfer date

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

Illustrative Retirement bonus example

Eligible Member 2:

Total account balance to be used to commence the eligible retirement pension at the transfer date is $200,000
Has $100,000 assets in the Balanced growth investment option on the transfer date
Has $100,000 assets in the Cash investment option on the transfer date
Had $200,000 assets in the Balanced growth investment option twelve months prior to the transfer date
$100,000 was switched from the Balanced growth investment option to the Cash investment option 1 day after the twelve months prior to the transfer date

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

Illustrative Retirement bonus example

Eligible Member 3:

Total account balance to be used to commence the eligible retirement pension at the transfer date is $200,000
$400,000 assets in the Shares investment option on transfer date
Rolled in 2 days $200,000 before the transfer date

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).

Pension Account closure

If you or a beneficiary who has received a Retirement bonus close an eligible Retirement pension account 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 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 and create 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.

Questions and answers

What is the rate of the Retirement bonus?

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.

Is the Fund currently providing the Retirement bonus?

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.

When will the Retirement Bonus be paid?

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.

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.

Does the Retirement bonus apply to all Vision Super investment options?

No, the Retirement bonus does not apply to the following investment options:

Cash
Diversified bonds
Property, or
Infrastructure.

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.

Is the Retirement bonus reported as a concessional or non-concessional contribution?

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.

Will I have to pay contributions tax on the Retirement bonus?

No. Contributions tax is not payable on the Retirement bonus.

Can I receive more than one 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.

Are you thinking about retiring soon?

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.

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The Fund is currently providing a Retirement bonus to eligible members who start an eligible Vision Income Stream on or after 1 January 2021. The Retirement bonus percentage is currently set at 0.5%.

The Trustee may vary eligibility criteria and other terms and conditions (including the calculation methodology) from time to time.

The following explains when you may be eligible for the Retirement bonus and how it works.

When transferring

Who’s eligible to receive the Retirement Bonus?

Terms and conditions

How much Retirement bonus will I receive?

Where:

Illustrative Retirement bonus example

Illustrative Retirement bonus example

Illustrative Retirement bonus example

Pension Account closure

Questions and answers

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