I am 60 and retired. I own my home outright and have no debt. I have $770,000 in superannuation, still in an accumulation account invested in a balanced option earning about 7 per cent. I also have $90,000 in cash earning around 4 per cent, which I am using to fund living expenses of about $45,000 a year. I have no other income and expect to qualify for the age pension at 67.
My super fund offers a 0.65 per cent bonus, based on the 12-month average daily balance, when an accumulation account is converted to a retirement-phase account. Once converted, I can withdraw lump sums as required. Am I better off switching to retirement phase now, or continuing to live off my cash for another year to maximise my super balance and the conversion bonus?
I can see no downside in moving your super into tax-free pension mode now. Once you switch, all earnings become tax-free, immediately lifting your after-tax return, compared to leaving the money in accumulation.
At 60, you still have up to 15 years in which you can add to your super, provided your balance is under $2 million, so flexibility is not lost. A sensible structure is to transfer most of your money into pension mode and leave a small amount in accumulation, with future surplus funds directed there. This maximises tax-free earnings while keeping your options open.
We are a married couple. I am 69 and receive the Disability Support Pension, and my wife, who turns 67 in March 2026, is my carer. When she reaches age pension age, our combined assessable assets will be three vehicles worth around $30,000 in total, cash of approximately $1.1 million, household contents of about $10,000 and shares worth around $10,000. Once my wife turns 67, what, if any, Centrelink payment would we be entitled to, and would we retain access to a concession card such as the Pensioner Concession Card or the Commonwealth Seniors Health Card?
You certainly qualify for the Commonwealth Seniors Health Card, as it is income-tested, not assets-tested. As far as the age pension goes, the cut-off point for the assets test for a homeowner couple is $1,074,000. With assessable assets of about $1,150,000, you are $76,000 above that limit.
If qualifying for the pension is important, it may be worth seeking advice about a lifetime income stream. Under current rules, 40 per cent of the purchase price is excluded from the assets test. For example, buying a lifetime income stream for $300,000 would reduce your assessable assets by $120,000, placing you about $44,000 below the cut-off point and eligible for the age pension.
The Disability Support Pension and age pension are means-tested in the same way. You could expect to receive around $3,400 in combined payments in the first year, with this increasing over time as your assets reduce. Furthermore, the product would provide income for life.
Using the MyNorth Lifetime Income product as an example, investing $300,000 would provide a starting income of more than $21,000 a year (7.14 per cent), with payments adjusted over time based on the performance of the chosen investment portfolio.
The income is paid for life and continues for as long as either of you is alive. Combined with around $3,400 a year from Disability Support Pension and age pension, your total income in the first year could exceed $24,400.
What happens if shares are bequeathed to an Australian citizen who is a non-resident for tax purposes – for example, someone living and working overseas in a country with no capital gains tax – and the shares are later sold?
Julia Hartman of Bantacs says that where the deceased was an Australian tax resident and the shares are widely held, Australia loses the right to tax them once they pass to a non-resident beneficiary. As a result, the CGT rollover does not apply.
Instead, the deceased is deemed to have sold the shares at market value on the date of death, and any capital gain is included in the deceased’s final tax return. From that point on, the tax treatment depends entirely on the beneficiary’s country of residence.
If the beneficiary later returns to Australia as a tax resident while still owning the shares, they are deemed to have acquired them at their market value on the date they resume Australian tax residency.
When payday super starts on July 1, 2026, employers will be required to pay super within seven days of each payday instead of quarterly. As a result, employees earning at the maximum contribution base will receive three months of financial year 2026 super contributions in July 2026, even though those contributions relate to the final quarter of the previous financial year.
This creates an unintended tax outcome: the delayed Q4 FY26 contributions will fall into FY27, pushing affected employees over the concessional contribution cap and exposing them to tax at their marginal rate, despite no increase in income or contributions. Will the ATO increase the concessional contribution cap in FY27 to ensure individuals are not over-taxed purely due to this transitional timing issue?
A spokeswoman for the Assistant Treasurer and Minister for Financial Services, Daniel Mulino, says: “The government will ensure people in these circumstances are not adversely affected as part of the transitional arrangements to support the introduction of payday super.”
“We passed the primary legislation to enact payday super in 2025 ahead of the July 1, 2026 start date, and we’re progressing the implementation arrangements with the ATO, including remaining legislative and regulation changes.”
Noel Whittaker is author of Retirement Made Simple and other books on personal finance. Questions to: noel@noelwhittaker.com.au
- Advice given in this article is general in nature and is not intended to influence readers’ decisions about investing or financial products. They should always seek their own professional advice that takes into account their own personal circumstances before making any financial decisions.
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Noel Whittaker, AM, is the author of Making Money Made Simple and numerous other books on personal finance.Connect via X or email.From our partners
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