Transition-to-retirement pensions: Strategies and benefits
Thursday 26 October 2023 at 11:00 am AEDT
In this webinar, Garth will take you through the key benefits of using a transition to retirement pension; from tax planning to achieving better estate planning outcomes. This webinar is a must for all readers approaching or considering retirement.
Q: How hard is it to access super for temporary incapacity? As difficult under ATO compassionate and severe hardship laws? I’ve had to draw down on mortgage before I could access Centrelink now they say I need to be on Centrelink for at least 26 weeks or have a bank foreclosure notice. I have had zero income since March 2021 and owe a lot of money to family. I have been sick with high blood pressure caused by stress at work. I engaged lawyers that didn’t do their job and submit within 21 days so no joy via Fair Work.
A: Sorry to hear about your situation. To access super under the temporary incapacity condition of release you generally need to have income protection insurance within your account. Much more rarely, an income can be paid to you from any additional employer contributions that have been paid on top of the compulsory super guarantee and/or from your voluntary super contributions.
If you do have income protection, a successful claim would require the insurer to be satisfied that you were incapacitated to the extent that you could not continue your occupation at the time you ceased work.
You can contact your super fund to find out if you have income protection cover or an alternative temporary incapacity benefit, and if so, how to make a claim.
You can learn more about the financial hardship and compassionate grounds conditions of release in the following guides:
Early release of super on compassionate grounds
Early release of super due to severe financial hardship
Making concessional super contributions is one of the simplest ways to reduce your tax bill and build your super balance. If you haven’t contributed the maximum in the last few years you might be surprised how much you can put in using carry forward concessional contributions.
Important: All information on SuperGuide is general in nature only and does not take into account your personal objectives, financial situation or needs. You should consider whether any information on SuperGuide is appropriate to you before acting on it. If SuperGuide refers to a financial product you should obtain the relevant product disclosure statement (PDS) or seek personal financial advice before making any investment decisions.
