SuperGuide

Superannuation and retirement planning information

April 2025 Retiree newsletter

How to apply for the Home Equity Access Scheme (HEAS)
Tapping into the equity in your home is a great way to free up additional retirement income, but accessing the government’s HEAS scheme takes time and patience. Read more.
How to apply for the Home Equity Access Scheme (HEAS)
Tapping into the equity in your home is a great way to free up additional retirement income, but accessing the government’s HEAS scheme takes time and patience. Read more.
Super pensions: Trends in payment frequency, flexibility, fees and more
Despite calls for more innovative pension products, most super funds are tinkering around the edges of their retirement offerings. Read more.
Super pensions: Trends in payment frequency, flexibility, fees and more
Despite calls for more innovative pension products, most super funds are tinkering around the edges of their retirement offerings. Read more.
Super strategies after losing your spouse in retirement: What are the rules?
Inheriting your spouse’s super in retirement needs careful planning to ensure you make the most of the tax-free pension phase without exceeding your limit. Read more.
Super strategies after losing your spouse in retirement: What are the rules?
Inheriting your spouse’s super in retirement needs careful planning to ensure you make the most of the tax-free pension phase without exceeding your limit. Read more.
The Age Pension when living apart: What you need to know
Many retired couples reach a point where one of them needs to go into aged care. What does this mean for their pension? For once, the news is good. Read more.
The Age Pension when living apart: What you need to know
Many retired couples reach a point where one of them needs to go into aged care. What does this mean for their pension? For once, the news is good. Read more.

2025 year-end superannuation tips and traps

Thursday 15 May 2025 at 11:00 am AEST

Year-end strategies and procedures to get the best outcomes from your superannuation before the end of the 2024-25 financial year.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Watch our previous webinar, When can I access my super? All conditions of release explained.

Q: I’m 62 and retired from the workforce. I have a hypothetical question about Super. I have an account-based income stream which has taxable component I want to “wash”. I also have a sizeable component still in Accumulation phase that I want to “wash” the Taxable proportion from. The end of the FY is coming soon. I would to delay the time I wash it until the beginning of the next FY (2025/26) – and I can take advantage of the 3 year bring forward rule if I take funds out of the accumulation side of the Super system now to get below the $1.66M TSB threshold. If I wash it as it stands now I can only take advantage of 2 years of bring forward rule. So hypothetically, if I pull $360K out now (to get below the threshold), can I bring $360K back into accumulation early in 2025/26, and ALSO pull all out of the account based income stream back into the Accumulation fund, and then recombine the 2 amounts into a new and larger (now “washed”) Account-based income stream. Or am I ONLY allowed to have a 360K amount brought into the accumulation stream in a FY, regardless of whether the source is internal or external to the Super system?

A: A transfer from the pension (retirement) phase back into the accumulation phase is not a contribution and does not count towards contribution caps, including any bring forward arrangement.

Only contributions count towards caps.

Transferring money from a pension account into an accumulation account also will not change its tax components, since it is not a withdrawal and contribution but merely a transfer/rollover. For example, if a pension is made up of 80% taxable component and 20% tax-free component, then any transfer from it to the accumulation phase will be made up of the same proportions. The transfer will not convert taxable component into tax-free component.

When attempting to maximise non-concessional (after tax) contributions using the bring forward rule, it is also important to consider if some contribution could be made during the current financial year, without triggering bring forward. In many cases this can allow contributions up to the usual cap in the current year and a three-year bring forward in the following year, for a total of four years worth of contribution cap in a short period.

Keeping new contributions in alternative super accounts separate from taxable components may also be required to maintain the effectiveness of a strategy to ‘wash’ taxable components into tax-free component.

Our case study on the recontribution strategy may be informative, and assistance from a financial planner to tailor the strategy appropriately to your situation may also be required, particularly when managing a high balance and its interactions with the relevant caps.

In an environment of high property prices and rents, sharing the burden by living with family in retirement has appeal. A properly structured and well thought through granny flat arrangement is essential to protect everyone involved and ensure there are no unexpected consequences for your Age Pension.

Important: All information on SuperGuide is general in nature only and does not take into account your personal objectives, financial situation or needs. You should consider whether any information on SuperGuide is appropriate to you before acting on it. If SuperGuide refers to a financial product you should obtain the relevant product disclosure statement (PDS) or seek personal financial advice before making any investment decisions.

Superguide Pty Ltd ATF Superguide Unit Trust as a Corporate Authorised Representative (CAR) is a Corporate Authorised Representative of Independent Financial Advisers Australia, AFSL 464629.