Death benefit rollovers will be treated differently under SuperStream from 1 October, depending on who the beneficiary is in the eyes of the ATO.

The payment of lump sum death benefits from an SMSF requires an understanding of the process, as well as timeliness, required to meet ATO requirements.

SMSF trustees should allocate funds to funeral expenses but hold them externally so they can be accessed quickly in the event of their death.

A senior superannuation consultant has warned lump sum death benefits can be restrictive when managing the financial obligations resulting from a deceased member’s affairs.

The federal government has released exposure draft legislation allowing a reversionary transition to retirement income stream (TRIS) to automatically be transferred to an eligible dependent upon the death of the member receiving the pension without the beneficiary having to satisfy a condition of release.