Nominate your beneficiaries
Have you considered who your super would go to if something were to happen to you? Here you'll find information about how to nominate your beneficiaries.
A beneficiary is someone you nominate to receive your super (and if you have insurance, your insurance payment) when you die. You can leave your super to more than one person, you just need to specify the percentage of your balance you would like each person to receive.
You can make a non-lapsing binding or non-binding nomination online at any time. Before you submit your nomination, you’ll need to know:
Who you want to receive your money
Whether you want your nomination to be legally binding
Whether your nominees are eligible under superannuation law
The beneficiary nomination process
Nominating a beneficiary is quick and easy online:
Log into your account and go to the 'Beneficiaries' tab.
Create or update a non-lapsing binding nomination or a non-binding nomination by clicking the ‘Update beneficiaries’ button. If you have more than one account with us, you’ll need to select each account and add beneficiaries separately. You can have the same or different beneficiaries for each account.
Enter the details of the person you'd like to nominate, including your relationship to them, their name, date of birth and the percentage of your super you’d like them to receive. If you’re nominating more than one person, you’ll need to fill out details for each, and the total distribution value must add up to 100%.
Review your nomination and sign the declaration. After clicking submit, you’ll proceed to the beneficiary confirmation page and can see that your nomination has been successfully registered. From here, you can download a copy of the nomination for your records or exit the page.
Please note that non-lapsing binding nominations only take effect once the Trustee of Vision Super has consented to them. We will notify you by email or a letter in the post when consent has been given.
*If you wish to make (or update) a lapsing binding nomination, follow step one but you’ll then need to download and complete a paper copy of the beneficiary nomination form. The signed and witnessed form must be returned to Vision Super.
Compare your nomination options
Non-lapsing binding nomination | Lapsing binding nomination | Non-binding nomination | |
|---|---|---|---|
Is it legally binding? | Yes | Yes | No |
Does it expire? | No | Yes | Yes |
Who has the final decision? | Your nomination | Your nomination | Vision Super Trustee |
Can I update it? | Yes (change or cancel online) | Yes (paper form only) | Yes (change or cancel online) |
Not sure which option might be right for you? Below is some more information about the different types of beneficiary nominations.
Binding nomination
Non-binding nomination
Reversionary nomination (for pension accounts)
If you want your super to be distributed in a particular way, you can do this by making a binding nomination. If you make a valid binding nomination, we generally have to pay your super in the way you've specified. There are two options for binding nominations:
A non-lapsing binding nomination stays in effect indefinitely – unless you change or cancel it. This nomination does not expire but may become invalid due to major life events like marriage or divorce.
A lapsing binding nomination expires three years from the date you sign it. You can renew it, change it to a non-lapsing binding nomination or make a new one at any time. We will let you know when your binding nomination is due to expire and if you don’t renew it, we'll treat it as a non-binding nomination.
An example of why you might want to make a binding nomination would be if you wanted your super to go to your adult children, not your spouse. Your spouse is automatically assumed to be your financial dependent, and without a binding nomination the Trustee may pay them your whole benefit if you or your spouse have no children under 18.
However, you can make a binding nomination to ensure your adult children who aren’t financially dependent on you get some or even all of your benefit. Vision Super would not be able to consider the financial needs of your spouse and must pay the benefit to your adult children in accordance with your nomination.
Who can I nominate?
These are set out in superannuation law and include your dependants, such as:
Your husband, wife or partner, including de facto partner
Your child (including adopted children and stepchildren)
A person with whom you have an interdependent relationship at the time of your death.
Two people are considered to have been in an interdependent relationship if they meet all three of these conditions:
They had a close personal relationship
They lived together
One or both of them provided financial, domestic and personal support to the other.
Typically, your parents, siblings, nieces, nephews, friends, neighbours, or housemates do not qualify as eligible beneficiaries, unless you had an interdependent relationship with them before your death.
If you would like to leave your super to someone who is not a dependant under superannuation law, you can nominate your legal personal representative (eg the executor of your Will - they don’t have to be a lawyer). Your super (and any insurance payment) would then be paid out according to the instructions in your Will.
Why isn’t super automatically included in my estate?
There are specific rules that apply to your super (including any insured benefits applicable to you) when you die. Unlike other valuable assets you might have, like your home, a car or even shares, super has very specific purposes including – to fund your retirement, or to provide for people who you were financially providing for at the time of your death, like your partner and children.
Because it’s a different type of asset with a different purpose, it’s dealt with differently when you die. Instead of going into your estate, like your house or car, your super is usually paid as a lump sum to your beneficiaries. With the purpose of super in mind, your spouse and/or children are usually given preference if the Vision Super Trustee has to decide who gets your money.
Will my super be taxed?
Whether super death benefits are subject to tax depend on a number of factors including whether the recipient is a dependant for tax purposes (tax dependant). Under tax law, a tax dependant is defined differently to a dependant under superannuation law and includes a deceased's existing or former spouse (including defacto), a child of the deceased under 18, and a person financially dependent on, or in an interdependency relationship with, the deceased.
If your super is going to a financial dependant like your partner or kids, or an interdependent, there won’t be any tax withheld when we pay the benefit. If your super is going to a non-financial dependent, tax must be withheld. If it’s paid to your estate so it can be distributed according to your Will, we won’t take tax out, but the estate may have to pay tax. This will be calculated by the executor or administrator of your estate and paid out of the estate.
The tax rates for taxed funds like Vision Super vary depending on whether a death benefit is paid as a lump sum or an ongoing (reversionary) pension and are shown below. The table assumes your fund holds your tax file number. The taxation rules are complex, and special rules may apply to defined benefit pensions. We recommend that you seek tax advice.
Benefit type | Deceased’s age | Benefit paid to | Beneficiary age | Tax treatment | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Taxed element | Untaxed element | ||||
Lump sum | Any age | Dependant | Any age* | Tax free | Tax free |
Lump sum | Any age | Non-dependant | Any age | Maximum rate of 15% (plus 2% Medicare levy) | Maximum rate of 30% (plus 2% Medicare levy) |
Pension | Any age | Dependant | 60 or older | Tax free | Marginal rates with a 10% tax offset |
Pension | Under 60 | Dependant | Under 60* | Marginal rates with a 15% tax offset | Marginal rates with no tax offset |
Pension | 60 or older | Dependant | Any age | Tax free | Taxed at marginal rates with a 10% tax offset |
* A child must be under 18, or a financial dependant or interdependant of age, to be a tax dependant.
Case study
This is an illustration only. How death benefits are distributed depends on a fund's trust deed, the deceased member's circumstances and the exercise of the Trustee's discretion (where there is no valid and effective binding beneficiary nomination). Peter is married to Jenny. Their two kids, Max (age 21) and Noah (age 16) and Jenny’s brother Sam all live with them. Peter also had a daughter, Mary (age 25) with his ex-wife. Mary lives with her mother. The table below shows how a beneficiary nomination might apply after Peter’s death.
Peter’s nomination | Decision | Tax treatment | |
Binding nomination | Peter’s three children equally | Valid binding nomination completed so no decision by Trustee: Benefit is payable in equal shares to his three children. | We will take tax out of the benefit as Mary and Max are adult children who are not financially dependent on, or in an interdependent relationship with, the deceased (ie. they are not tax dependants). |
Binding nomination | 100% to his daughter Mary | Valid binding nomination completed so no decision by Trustee: Benefit is payable to Mary as a sole beneficiary. | We will take tax out of the benefit as Mary is an adult child who is not a tax dependant. |
Preferred nomination | 60% to his wife Jenny | The Trustee decides. The decision may not be the same as the preferred nomination for example, the Trustee may decide: 80% to his wife Jenny | We will not take tax out for the benefit paid to Jenny but tax will be taken out from both Max and Mary’s benefits because they are not tax dependants. |
No nomination | N/A | The Trustee decides. For example, the Trustee may decide 100% to his wife Jenny as Max and Mary are not financially dependant | We will not take tax out from the death benefit. |