August income stream reviews 110-02060020

A customer will receive a letter for the August review of their income stream when the product is paid from a Self-Managed Superannuation Fund (SMSF) or Small APRA funds. The Super 12 monthly review (SAL) applies. The review activity (Super 12 monthly review) appears on the Future Activity List (FAL) screen and the review reason is ‘SAL’.

Actioning the review

Customers can complete the income stream review online by going to:

• my.gov.au
• signing in to their myGov account
• access Centrelink online account
• select 'You need to complete your income stream review' from the 'Tasks' section
• servicesaustralia.gov.au/incomestreamreviews
• enter their Customer Reference Number (CRN)
• enter the One Time Access Code (OTAC) provided in their Income Stream reminder letter. The OTAC allows the customer, their nominee or a trusted third party to complete the review online

Customers can ask a third party (financial advisor or any other person) to complete the income stream review online on their behalf using the OTAC. This is appropriate if they do not have any concerns about their Customer Reference Number (CRN) being disclosed to the third party as this number will be on the online form.

If the customer has a nominee, they will be sent a letter with their own OTAC.

Is the customer able to complete the review online:

• Yes,
• provide advice and support where needed
• if customer is experiencing technical difficulties, see Troubleshooting and escalating issues with Centrelink online accounts and Express Plus Centrelink mobile app
• procedure ends here
• No, go to Step 2

The following information is needed to complete the review(s).

Lifetime and life expectancy asset test exempt income streams paid from an SMSF or SAF:

• the new actuarial certificate for the current financial year. Note: this is actioned by a Complex Assessment Officer (CAO)

Category 9 account-based income streams, (types AIS, ALA, ALP)

• 1 July or later account balance. Note: the closing balance as at 30 June is usually the opening balance for 1 July. Therefore the 30 June balance can be accepted as the 1 July balance
• this is the only information needed for Category 9 income streams

Category 2 account-based income streams (types AIS, ALA, ALP) and Market-linked income streams (type MLI)

• 1 July or later account balance. Note: the closing balance as at 30 June is usually the opening balance for 1 July. Therefore the 30 June balance can be accepted as the 1 July balance
• total gross annual income amount (for the current financial year), and
• any commutations made since 1 July in the previous year.
  Note: check if the commutation has already been updated on the Pension/Annuities Details Variable (SUPV) screen and if a DOC has been recorded
• Additional information for some Market linked income streams:
• the expiry date for any market-linked income streams due to expire
• commutations are generally not able to be made. If there has been a commutation, an income stream schedule is required to determine if it allowable or not

Check what the customer needs and what information is available.

Has the customer made a commutation?

• Yes, and:
• the income stream was fully commuted, refer to Commutation of asset test exempt (ATE) income streams or Commutation of asset-tested income streams as required
• the commutation was from a market-linked income stream, go to Step 3
• the commutation was for an account-based income stream, go to Step 4
• No, go to Step 4

The customer must provide an income stream schedule. If the amount commuted is more than $20,000, ask the customer what has happened to the funds. Ask for any supporting documents needed to code new assets purchased. Market-linked income streams are non-commutable. A schedule is required to:

• confirm the product is a market linked income stream
• establish commutation reason, and
• to determine if the commutation is allowable or not

Has the schedule already been provided?

• Yes, advise the customer all the necessary information has been provided and nothing more is required by the customer
• Remove the review activity from FAL, and scan the customer's schedule
• Determine if the commutation is allowable or not, see Commutation of asset test exempt (ATE) income streams
• If the customer's payment has been suspended, see Step 2 in Table 2
• Update the income stream
• Procedure ends here
• No,
• advise the customer they must provide a schedule from their provider
• procedure ends here until schedule has been returned

If the customer has contacted to:

• provide the details of the review in person or over the phone, see Step 1 in Table 2
• advise of a payment suspension, see Step 2 in Table 2
• advise of a payment cancellation, see Restoration of payments
• advise they have received a reminder letter, go to Step 5
• advise review was completed online, go to Step 5
• advise not yet able to complete review, go to Step 5

If a review has been completed online, but the review activity is still outstanding, keywords will be assigned to it:

• IVSCSOA where a review cannot be automatically finalised and manual Service Officer processing is required
• IVSINFA where the review requires the customer to provide documentation to support details contained within the review

See Resources page of Income stream reviews for frequently asked questions about completing the August income stream reviews online, including the circumstance where the review is not finalised automatically and needs manual processing.

Has all the required information been supplied?

This includes where the customer may have supplied information by post.

• Yes, see Step 1 in Table 2
• No, and the customer
• can provide the requested information and wants to provide the information verbally during the current point of contact, see Step 1 in Table 2
• cannot provide the requested information at this point. Check they understand what is needed and remind the customer to supply by 31 December. Record details on a DOC. Leave any future review activity on the FAL screen. If the review is already on the AL screen, place the review on 'H'old until 31 December. Procedure ends here.

Have the customer's payments been suspended?

• Yes, go to Step 2
• No, go to Step 4

The customer's payment will automatically suspend FSS (No reply to income stream review) if they have not responded to the review or the reminder letter. Reminder letter(s) will have been issued.

Note: due to limitations in the NSS system, payments will be manually suspended FRC (Fail to reply to correspondence) if they have not responded to the review or the reminder letter. See Cancellation, suspension and rejection reason codes for Newstart System (NSS).

The customer's payment can be restored using the Benefit Action (BA) screen if the customer has:

• provided all the information and/or documents needed, or
• completed the online review

Can the customer's payment be restored and income stream details be updated?

• Yes,
• if a schedule has been provided for a market-linked income stream commutation/s, check if the commutation is allowable
• go to Step 3
• No,
• advise the customer to provide the information required for the review including a schedule if commutation made from a market-linked income stream
• procedure ends here

• An activity to cancel the customer's payments 13 weeks after the date of suspension will be on the Future Activity List (FAL) screen:
• Leave the activity on FAL
• When the review becomes due the system will check the customer is current. If they are, the activity will automatically cancel
• Restore the customer's payment using the Benefit Actions (BA) screen by taking the activity to Assessment Results (AR), however do not finalise it
• If the customer's payments are not current some of the fields needed to make the update to the income stream may not display
• In the same activity manually code the updates to the income stream, as the guided procedure cannot be used in the same activity
• Go to Step 8

The income stream(s) is paid from an SMSF or SAF, therefore the Super 12 monthly review (SAL) applies.

This review can include any or all of the following:

• account based income streams
• market-linked income streams, as well
• the actuarial certificate for ATE lifetime and life expectancy products

The review activity will have automatic keywords which will identify the action needed and who is able to do it.

• Keyword 'BTH'
• Includes all reviews for SMSF and SAF income streams
• Example: SAL,AIS,A&B SUPER FUND,2,CLI,12345,BTH
• If the document displayed indicates the customer must provide an actuarial certificate, check the full image by scrolling through all the pages up to the last page to determine if the certificate has been provided.
• Go to Step 5.
• Keyword 'ACCTBAS'
• Account based or market linked product only
• Example: SAL,ALP, A&B SUPER FUND,2,CLI,12345,I&A
• If the IVSUP image indicates the customer has provided the required information for account-based or market-linked income streams
• To update the details, go to Step 6
• Keyword 'ACTUARL'
• For lifetime or life expectancy asset test exempt product requiring actuarial certificate only
• Example: SAL,LIS,A&B SUPER FUND,2,CLI,12345,ACT
• These activities are to be mapped to the CAO team
• Go to Step 13

The customer is required to provide information for both account-based product and the actuarial certificate for the ATE lifetime or life expectancy product.

If the customer has provided:

• information for both product types, or account-based product only, go to Step 6
• actuarial certificate for ATE lifetime or life expectancy product only, go to Step 15

• If the form was scanned, view the scanned image on Document Tools in Customer First
• Go to Step 7

Is the Income Stream Review guided procedure available?

• Yes,
• Run the guided procedure
• For more information about what to update in the relevant fields
• Go to Step 8
• No,
• Manual processing will be needed
• Check the FAL screen. If the income stream review activity is there, select it, then select Continue
• The activity will transfer to the Activity List (AL) screen
• Go to Step 8

• Select the review activity from the AL screen and select Continue. The Pension/Annuities Summary (SUPS) screen will display
• Note the category number (Prd Cat) of the income stream to be updated. Select the product and select Continue. The Pension/Annuities Identification (SUPI) screen will display
• Check the correct income stream product is selected
• Select Continue. The Pensions/annuities Variable (SUPV) screen will display

If the income stream to be updated is a

• Category 9 - Account based deemed income stream, go to Step 9
• Category 2 - Account based grandfathered income stream, go to Step 10
• Market linked income stream, go to Step 13

Has the income stream been exhausted, commuted or closed?

• Yes, see Commutation of asset-tested income streams
• No,
• Event date: for reviews, use the date the customer provides the requested information. Note: do not use 1 July as the event date
• Current Account Balance: enter the new current account balance

While partial commutations for a category 9 income stream are not recorded, if the customer advises of a partial commutation of more than $20,000, ask the customer what has happened to the funds. Ask for any supporting documents needed to code new assets purchased.

Go to Step 14

Has the income stream been exhausted, commuted or closed?

• Yes, see Commutation of asset-tested income streams
• No,
• Event date: for reviews, use the date the customer provides the requested information. Note: do not use 1 July as the event date
• Gross Income Amount: (for Cat 2 only) (Dollars and Cents) enter the new gross annual income amount for the current financial year
• If the gross income amount entered into the system triggers an edit 'E853CQ Gross Income not equal to or greater than $XXXX.xx', go to Step 11
• 1 July Account Balance: (for Cat 2 only) (Round down to the nearest whole number) enter the new 1 July account balance. Note: the closing balance as at 30 June is usually the opening balance for 1 July. Therefore the 30 June balance can be accepted as the 1 July balance
• Current Account Balance: (Round down to the nearest whole number) enter the new current account balance of the income stream. If schedule provided, enter the later of the new 1 July account balance or the current account balance shown on the schedule. If the schedule provided does not display a current account balance, use the new 1 July account balance
• Latest Commutation: (Dollars and Cents) check if any of the commutation have already been recorded. Each commutation is only recorded once. Enter the most recent commutation amount. If there is more than one commutation, add them together
• Commutation Date: the commutation date is only for information. It is not the date of effect during the August review. If there has been more than one commutation, record the date as 30 June unless the latest commutation was after 30 June. If it was after 30 June, use the date of the latest commutation
• If the customer advises of a commutation of more than $20,000, ask the customer what has happened to the funds
• Source: and DOR: the date the customer provided the information
• Go to Step 14

Note: for commutations greater than $20,000, the date of the account balance should be at the date of the commutation.

The minimum amount is not recalculated if the current account balance has reduced or partial commutations have been made. The system calculates the minimum amount that may be drawn in the current financial year based on the 1 July account balance.

As part of the Government response to COVID-19, the minimum drawdown limits for account-based income streams under the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Regulations 1994 have been reduced by 50% for 2019/2020, 2020/2021, 2021/2022 and 2022/2023 financial years. Customers are able to reduce their gross annual income amount, subject to the reduced minimum based on the existing 1 July account balance.

Is the provided 1 July account balance correct for the current financial year (or the opening balance if the income stream started during the financial year)?

• Yes,
• The gross annual income provided by the customer is lower than the minimum amount displayed in the Edit
• Code the minimum amount (Dollars and Cents) as displayed in the Edit
• Tell the customer the gross income amount is less than the minimum amount needed to be drawn in a financial year under the superannuation regulations. Services Australia is required by legislation (section 1099DAA) to apply the minimum in this case
• Complete all fields, go to Step 14
• No, go to Step 12

Tell the customer:

• 1 July account balance is needed within 14 days
• If it is not received, the agency will use the balance given as the 1 July account balance and apply the minimum amount which appeared in the system Edit
• The update cannot be completed until either the customer provides the correct information or the 14 days has expired
• In Customer First, create a manual review on the Review Registration (RVR) screen and complete the fields as follows:
• Service Reason: customer's payment type
• Review Reason: select most appropriate reason
• Due Date: 14 days from request date
• Source: INT
• Date of Receipt: today's date
• Notes: 'Check if account balance for 1 July has been received via document lodgement or verbally for <insert product reference number>. See OB 110-02060020.'
• Keywords: ABPJUL1
• Workgroup: leave blank
• Position: leave blank
• Transfer to Region: leave blank
• The review will mature on the Due Date coded in the RVR activity. Workload Management will allocate the review for manual action
• Procedure ends here until information received or 14 days has expired

Review is due

Has the required information been received?

• Yes,
• Using the new information provided code all fields as per Step 10
• Go to step 14
• No,
• If the 14 days has expired, using the information previously provided, apply the minimum income amount. Code all fields as per Step 10
• Go to Step 14

Has the income stream been exhausted, commuted or closed?

• Yes, see Step 7 in Recording income stream details table
• No,
• Event Date: for reviews, use the date of the customer provides the requested information. Note: do not use 1 July as the event date
• 1 July Account Balance: (Round down to the nearest whole number) enter the new 1 July account balance. Note: the closing balance as at 30 June is usually the opening balance for 1 July. Therefore, the 30 June balance can be accepted as the 1 July balance
• Current Account Balance: (Round down to the nearest whole number) enter the new current account balance of the income stream. If schedule provided, enter the later of the new 1 July account balance or the current account balance shown on the schedule. If the schedule provided does not display a current account balance, use the new 1 July account balance
• Gross Annual Income Amount: (Dollars and Cents) enter the new gross annual income amount for the current financial year. If the edit 'E022SN Amount must be within minimum and maximum calculated amounts' is triggered, check the gross annual income amount, see Adding or updating a market-linked income stream
• Commutation Date: the commutation date is only for information. It is not the date of effect during the August review. If there has been more than one commutation, record the date as 30 June unless the latest commutation was after 30 June. If it was after 30 June, use the date of the latest commutation
• Latest Commutation: (Dollars and Cents) check if any of the commutation have already been recorded. Each commutation is only recorded once. Check if the commutation made is an allowable commutation. Market-linked income streams are non-commutable. See Commutation of asset-test exempt (ATE) income streams for allowable commutations. Enter the most recent commutation amount. If there is more than one commutation, add them together
• Source: and DOR: the date the customer provides the requested information
• Go to Step 14

Did an assessment Warning and Error (AWE) screen display advising 'ACTUARL not updated, a new SAL/SUP review will generate on FAL'?

• Yes,
• A new review activity (keyword ACTUARL) will automatically generate on the FAL screen as the required actuarial certificate has not been updated in the same activity
• Finalise the activity on the AR screen and record details on a DOC
• Go to Step 15
• No,
• Finalise the activity on the AR screen and record details on a DOC (if processed manually)
• Procedure ends here

Check the scanned images on Document Tools. If the actuarial certificate has been scanned, there may be a scanning (SCN) activity on the AL screen.

Has the actuarial certificate been received?

• Yes,
• If the review activity is not already on the AL screen, select the correct income stream review (SAL) from the FAL screen. This will transfer it to the AL screen
• Transfer the activity to region code 'CAO' where a CAO will process the actuarial certificate
• All other staff, procedure ends here
• No,
• The review process will automatically continue
• procedure ends here