Choosing a beneficiary

Although not everyone’s favourite topic, it’s important to think about what happens to your assets when you pass away. And that includes who’ll receive your super or pension benefit. Fortunately, when it comes to super, you can nominate who you want to receive your benefit, however, it’s not set and forget! In this article we shine a light on the top five questions when it comes to choosing your beneficiaries.

1. Who can be my beneficiary?

When choosing beneficiaries, it’s important to think about who you’d need to financially support in the event you pass away. For most people, this is their spouse or children. You should be aware that you can only nominate your dependants or a Legal Personal Representative (i.e. the executor of your estate). You can read more about this in the Nominating Beneficiaries factsheet.

Important tip: By law, superannuation isn’t automatically considered part of your estate. One way to ensure your benefit is paid to the people you choose, is to nominate the executor of your estate as a binding beneficiary. Then, if you include the relevant provisions in your will, your super will be distributed according to your wishes.

2. Can I nominate more than one beneficiary?

You can split your benefit among multiple beneficiaries, as long as the total percentage adds up to 100 percent.

3. What’s the difference between a binding and a non-binding nomination?

If you have a super account, you can nominate your beneficiaries in two ways; a binding or non-binding nomination. If you choose to make a binding nomination (and complete the relevant form correctly) your nomination will be binding. This means we must pay your benefit to the beneficiaries you’ve nominated when you pass away, as long as they meet the definition of ‘dependant’ under superannuation law (at the date of your death) or are your Legal Personal Representative.

You can also make a non-binding nomination. In that case, we’ll consider your nomination but it won’t require us to pay your super to those you nominate. This is because there are other things we need to consider, such as the financial circumstances of your dependants. This might include whether or not they would have expected you to continue providing for them financially.

Please note, pension account holders can only make a binding nomination.

Did you know? Non-binding nominations can also be managed via your online account.

4. What if I don’t have a nominated beneficiary?

If you don’t have a binding beneficiary nomination and have a super account, your super fund determines how your super is distributed if you pass away. In most cases, the people your super fund can choose to receive your super include your estate, spouse, child/ren, the person you’re in an interdependent relationship with or financial dependants.

If you have a pension account and don’t have a binding nomination, your benefit will be transferred to your spouse if you pass away. If you don’t have a spouse, your pension will be paid to your dependants or Legal Personal Representative.

5. Why do I need to get my form witnessed?

If you want to make a binding nomination, two people who are over the age of 18, and who are not the beneficiaries you’re nominating on the form, must witness you sign your declaration. They must also sign and date the form at the same time as you. It’s also important to read the form carefully and make sure you answer all of the questions. Some common mistakes include:

• Not signing the form
• The witness is a beneficiary
• The benefit percentages do not add up to 100%
• Sending a scanned or photocopied version of the form, rather than the original

What to consider

Updating your beneficiaries is one thing, but the challenge is remembering to do so! It’s a good idea to review your superannuation beneficiaries at least once a year to make sure you’re still comfortable with who you’ve listed. Whenever you or your beneficiaries have a change in circumstance you should consider cancelling or updating your nomination. For example, getting divorced or married, or the death of a loved one may cause you to reconsider your beneficiaries.

Manage your beneficiaries

To manage the beneficiaries on your Mine Super account, download the Nominate your beneficiaries form and complete all details. 

Or, to make a non-binding nomination, go to your online account. But remember, this is only possible for super accounts as pension account holders can only make a binding nomination.