RecruitmentSuper Factsheet - Nominating your beneficiaries

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If you die, the Trustee of your super fund has to make sure that your benefits (including your super account balance and any insurance benefit) are paid to your Dependants or your Legal Personal Representative.

There are laws about who the Trustee can pay a death benefit to, and the Trustee must make the decision with your Dependants’ best interests in mind. The law also allows for you to have a say in who gets your benefits in the event of your death. You do this by nominating your beneficiaries. There are two forms of nomination – non-binding and binding.

As your circumstances change, it is important to update your nomination. You can also amend, cancel or confirm an existing nomination at any time.

Non-binding nominations

A non-binding nomination (also called preferred beneficiary nomination) will be used as a guide by the Trustee to decide which Dependant gets your super and how much each Dependant will receive.

These nominations:

• have no fixed term or expiry
• are not binding on the Trustee
• can only apply to your Dependants as defined by superannuation law
• can include more than one beneficiary as long as the individual shares total to 100%.

How do I make a nomination? Download a Nomination of Beneficiary form or call our Customer Service Centre to request a copy. Then simply fill it in, have it witnessed and return it to us so your money will end up with who you want it to.

Binding nominations

A binding nomination of beneficiaries compels the Trustee to pay your death benefit to those you have nominated (provided the nomination is valid under super law).

These nominations:

• are valid for only three years after which time they must be renewed
• are binding so the Trustee must follow your wishes (provided your nomination is valid at the time of your death
• can only include Dependants as defined by superannuation law
• can include more than one beneficary as long as the individual shares total to 100%
• need to be witnessed by two adults who are not named as beneficiaries.

Did you know? Binding nominations of beneficiaries are only valid for three years? You can check the expiry date of your binding nominations on your member statements or by logging into Members Online Services.

Choosing your beneficiaries

There are rules about who can be nominated as a beneficiary. Superannuation law states that only Dependants (including people in an interdependent relationship with you) or your Legal Personal Representative can be listed as a beneficiary.

A dependant includes the following people:

• your spouse or de facto spouse, including same-sex de facto spouses, provided you live together as a couple on a genuine domestic basis
• your child of any age regardless of whether they are financially dependent on you. This includes step children, adopted children, children outside of marriage, your spouse’s children and children born after your death
• anyone financially dependant on you, either partially or fully, at the time of your death
• anyone with an interdependent relatiopnship with you at the time of your death (see below for this definition).

An interdependent relationship exists between two people if:

• they have a close personal relationship, and
• they live together, and
• one or both of them provides the other with financial support, and
• one or both of them provides the other with domestic support and personal care.

Interdependent people do not have to be family members (although they can be). Two people with a close personal relationship who do not meet the last three criteria because one or both suffers from a physical, intellectual or psychiatric disability are still considered to have an interdependent relationship.

Your Legal Personal Representative is the person who looks after your estate when you die. This will be the executor of your will or, if you die without a valid will in place, the appointed administrator of your estate.

Taxation Considerations

There are some differences in the definitions of a Dependant for super law purposes and a Dependant for tax purposes. An individual who is a Dependant for super purposes but not a Dependant for tax purposes is still eligible to receive a super death benefit but the death benefit may be subject to tax. The following table summarises these differences:

Category	Super Dependent	Tax Dependent
• Spouse – including de facto	Yes	Yes
• Former spouse	No	Yes
• Child under 18	Yes	Yes
• Child aged 18 or more	Yes	No
Person in interdependency relationship	Yes	Yes
‘Ordinary meaning’ dependent	Yes	Yes
Other	No	Yes – in limited circumstances #

# A person who is not otherwise a dependent for tax purposes but receives a death benefit lump sum in relation to a person who died in the line of duty as a member of the Defence Force, Australian Federal Police or was a protective services officer, is treated as a dependent for tax purposes.