Assessing superannuation 108-05070000

Staff must not ask for or record details of superannuation investments for customers under Age Pension age. This is because of legal advice from the Department of Social Services (DSS). If superannuation has been recorded for a customer under Age Pension age in the past, staff must not change or delete these details after a withdrawal unless the customer has:

• no other products recorded on the Shares (SIS) or Managed investments (MIS) screens, or
• other products recorded on SIS or MIS screens that need updating at the same time

Any updates will result in unnecessary recalculation of the customers managed investments and shares, with no legislative basis for such action.

Overseas superannuation-like investments are treated as overseas managed investments for social security reasons. Some provisions apply. See Foreign income and assets.

Is the owner of an Australian superannuation investment under Age Pension age?

• Yes, and the customer:
• is receiving a disability benefit from it as a lump sum and/or regular payments, go to Step 2
• is receiving regular income payments (income stream or annuity) from it, go to Step 2
• has made a withdrawal. Update any other changes to the customers income and assets as needed. For details on early withdrawals, see Table 3
• is in 13 weeks of reaching Age Pension age, go to Step 2
• has superannuation already recorded on record, do not update. See Table 3 for when it is appropriate to remove the superannuation
• does not fit in the options above, do not record details about the superannuation investments. Procedure ends here
• No, go to Step 2

Is the customer only advising about superannuation?

• Yes, go to Step 4
• No, go to Step 3

Discuss all income and assets updates the customer would like to make during contact e.g. income streams, shares, or foreign incomes.

Only go ahead with the coding if all updates needed can be completed.

If there are concerns with the legitimacy of the customer's information, see Coding income and assets for Centrelink payments and services.

Can the customer provide all the other information needed?

• Yes, go to Step 4
• No:
• The customer must provide more details or documents before the updates can be completed. See Documents required for Centrelink new claims
• Check if more information is needed for the income stream/s
• Once all information is received, go to Step 4

Is the customer applying for an exemption for their superannuation investment from the income and assets tests?

• Yes, see Exempting superannuation investments. Procedure ends here
• No, go to Step 5

Is the customer receiving a disability benefit from their superannuation fund?

• Yes, go to Step 9
• No, go to Step 6

Is the superannuation investment an SMSF?

• Yes, go to Step 7
• No, go to Step 8

• To code the income stream, see Assessing income streams paid from a SMSF or small APRA fund (SAF)
• For the accumulation account, go to Step 11

Note: if a customer has an accumulation account and income stream account in the same SMSF, code each of the accumulation and income stream account balances separately.

Does the customer own an accumulation account and an income stream account with the same superannuation fund (not an SMSF)?

• Yes, assess each of the accumulation and income stream accounts separately
• No, code the income stream or accumulation account

For help with coding:

• the accumulation account, go to Step 11
• the income stream, see:
• Adding or updating a defined benefit income stream
• Adding or updating a life expectancy income stream
• Adding or updating a lifetime income stream
• Adding or updating a market-linked income stream
• Adding or updating a pooled lifetime income stream
• Adding or updating a term income stream
• Adding or updating an account-based income stream

TPD is also known as invalidity benefit:

• It is paid when a member:
• satisfies the 'permanent incapacity' condition of release
• is typically under age 65
• has not reached the normal retirement age
• Can be paid as:
• a one-off lump sum payment (most common)
• an invalidity lifetime pension
• defined benefit fund. For these, assess as a defined benefit income stream
• May include the member's:
• accrued superannuation benefit
• insurance benefit

Is the customer receiving a TPD benefit?

• Yes, and it is:
• a one-off lump sum payment, see Table 3
• a lump sum arrears received at the time of starting regular ongoing payments of an invalidity lifetime pension, see Income from personal injury insurance schemes and disability benefits
• an invalidity pension or disability payment paid as a lifetime defined benefit pension or income stream. If unsure, check with the Level 2 Policy Help Desk. To assess the income stream, see Adding or updating a defined benefit income stream
• No, go to Step 10

TTD is also known as:

• salary continuance
• income protection
• disability income

It is paid:

• as insurance payments under a contract of insurance between a superannuation fund and an insurance company
• for a temporary and/or partial disability

See Income from personal injury insurance schemes and disability benefits.

Procedure ends here.

For an SMSF or SAF, the customer must provide the:

• latest annual member statement, and
• annual financial returns for their superannuation fund

Note:

• Assess the total balance of the SMSF as per the member statement. Do not assess the individual assets
• If the customer says that the balances held in the fund have significantly changed since the statements were issued, request supporting documents showing the change. E.g., bank statements, share portfolios, depending on the changes notified
• If the overall balance of the fund significantly changes, this may also change the balances of each member's holdings. In this case, more evidence must be supplied outlining the percentage of ownership (if applicable) and, if necessary, refer to Local Peer Support (LPS)

These documents are not needed if the SMSF or SAF has an income streams only.

For other superannuation investments (non-SMSF or SAF), the customer must provide an investment certificate or statement showing the:

• name of the fund manager
• full name of the investment product
• APIR codes
• value of the investment or the number of units owned (if a unitised product)

Most providers issue an annual statement. The customer must provide the most recent statement. Only request more documents where the:

• statement is more than 12 months old at time of claim lodgement, and
• customer confirms a more recent statement is available, or
• annual statement does not include information needed for coding, such as investment options and the number of units

Has the customer provided the required information?

• Yes, see Table 2 > Step 1
• No, go to Step 12

• Tell the customer all information is needed before any change can be made to make sure correct entitlement is received
• Request all the information the customer must provide. See Requesting information (CLK)
• If information is needed from the customer's superannuation fund, send a request for information QSS40 letter. Do not send faxes or emails

Procedure ends here until documents are returned.

Does the customer have an SMSF or SAF?

• Yes, go to Step 3
• No, go to Step 2

Tell the customer:

• the value of the superannuation product is an assessable financial asset
• deeming provisions will apply

Note: the customer can apply for an exemption of their superannuation investment from the income and assets tests if they are:

• still employed, and
• unable to access the superannuation without exiting the fund or scheme. See Exempting superannuation investments

Managed investment products are held in the Managed Investment database. The system automatically calculates the income and assesses the asset value of the investment where needed.

For help with coding, see:

• Managed investments - adding a new investment
• Managed investments - updating existing investments

The Financial Investment and Network Support (FINS) Bulletin has coding instructions for individual superannuation funds (e.g., QSuper, REST Super and HESTA Super Fund) if staff cannot find these funds with a name search. Do not code these products on the Unregistered Managed Investments (MIUS) screen.

Procedure ends here.

Superannuation cannot be jointly owned. An SMSF member statement must show the balance for each member. Check:

• the value of the customer's and their partner's member statements
• the annual financial for unallocated reserves. These are also assessed as superannuation assets

Unallocated reserves

• Amounts are first to be attributed to each member based on the contribution each member has made towards the accumulated reserves. That is, those members with more assets in the fund are likely to have made a larger contribution to generating the unallocated reserves. This may change over time where members make contributions or withdrawals
• Will be attributed equally to each member of the fund where it is not possible to attribute the reserves because of each member's interest in the fund

Update the SMSF on the customer's record on the Unregistered Managed Investments (MIUS) screen with the member balance. Include:

• any unallocated reserves
• a DOC with details of the update

For details on coding the MIUS screen, see:

• Managed investments - adding a new investment
• Managed investments - updating existing investments

Is customer over Age Pension age?

• Yes, assess the superannuation fund as a managed investment if the superannuation:
• has not been recorded on the customers record, see Managed investments - adding a new investment
• is recorded on the customers record, see Managed investments - updating existing investments
• No, go to Step 2

If the customer already has superannuation investments recorded, staff must not change these details unless shares or managed investments need updating at the same time. Any updates will cause an unnecessary recalculation of all the customer’s managed investments and shares, with no legislative basis for such an action.

Is the customer’s superannuation fund already recorded on the Managed Investment Summary (MIS) screen?

• Yes, go to Step 3
• No, staff may need to further assess the withdrawn amount depending on what the customer uses these amounts for. See Coding income and assets for Centrelink payments and services. Procedure end here

• Yes, go to Step 4
• No, go to Step 5

• Yes, go to Step 5
• No, do not update the superannuation. Staff may need to further assess the withdrawn amount depending on what the customer uses these amounts for. See Coding income and assets for Centrelink payments and services. Procedure end here

Set the customer's superannuation balance (if shown) to zero:

• Select the superannuation investment from the Managed Investment Summary (MIS) screen. Go to the Managed Investments (MI) screen
• Code '0' in the Super/Rollover $: field
• Code the date the new managed investment or shares were purchased in the Event Date: field
• Code the source of the information in the Source field
• Code the date of receipt in the DOR: field
• Press [Enter]

Staff may need to further assess the withdrawn amount depending on what the customer uses these amounts for. See Coding income and assets for Centrelink payments and services.

Procedure ends here.