The death of a spouse is an emotional time in one’s life, but it’s also a time when many pressing financial decisions need to be made.
For retirees, the surviving spouse is often left with a decision about what to do with their deceased partner’s superannuation death benefit.
There are various options to explore, depending on your circumstances. If your partner left you a reversionary death benefit income stream, should you leave their death benefit in retirement phase alongside your own super pension, thereby maintaining multiple pension accounts? Or should you receive a lump sum death benefit? Or can you combine your pension and your partner’s death benefits for administrative simplicity?