Introduction to Super
Most Australians have some superannuation.
There are 5 main types of super funds in Australia: retail, industry, public sector, corporate and self-managed.
Most Australians will have their super with a Retail Fund like MLC or Colonial First State) or an Industry fund (like CBUS or HostPlus).
Understanding Superannuation Death Benefits
There is a common meme on the internet that your debts die with you. Apparently – for some people – it is the height of their ambition to spend everything they can during their lifetime, and then have their final cheque to their funeral director bounce for lack of funds.
Our superannuation death benefits and our family home (if we are lucky enough to own one) are the two largest assets for most ordinary Australians.
Yet most Aussies (including most accountants and lawyers) are utterly gobsmacked to discover that their super does NOT automatically form part of their deceased estate when they die, AND that they CANNOT just treat their super like their Will, and give it to whomever they wish, as if their super is just like a bank account.
The Age Pension was initially introduced in Australia in 1909 when the average life expectancy was below the eligibility age. It was thought that most people would not live long enough to receive it, and those that did would not get it for long.
Now Australia enjoys one of the highest average life expectancies in the world (significantly higher than USA and UK).
The pension was designed to provide income support to older Australians who meet age and income requirements.
It is funded by Australian taxpayers and it accounts for a huge and growing chunk of our national expenditure.
Choosing who will take on the role of Executor of your Will can sometimes be challenging.
Most Will-makers (aka ‘Testators’) appoint a trusted friend or family member as their executor. This person will end up playing a very important role, with a lot of responsibility.
If they instruct an experienced lawyer who specialises in Wills and Estates, then most of the ‘heavy-lifting’ will be done for them by the lawyer.
As a woman over 50 living in South Australia, you’ve likely spent a lifetime building your assets, raising your family, and managing responsibilities with wisdom and care.
Whether you’re still working, retired, or transitioning through significant life changes, one thing is clear: now is the time to take control of your future by ensuring your affairs are protected through integrated estate planning—starting with an Enduring Power of Attorney (EPA).
While many associate estate planning solely with Wills and inheritance, the truth is that a modern, robust estate plan goes much further.
One of the most powerful yet often overlooked tools is the Enduring Power of Attorney.
Several times each year my phone rings and someone asks me how they can locate and view the Will of someone close to them.
The circumstances of these requests vary, but can be broken down into two main groups: Someone has recently died, and their relative wants to know if they are a beneficiary; or an elderly person is becoming forgetful and their relative is concerned that they have been coerced into changing their Will, and want to satisfy their curiosity.
In this age of political correctness, it seems that humour is a dangerous occupation. Each joke must be carefully scrutinised for potential offence to some minority group, and then sanitised of any disrespect to anyone whose delicate sensibilities might be burdened with the weight of somebody laughing at their expense.
Social media seems filled with humourless people who aren’t happy unless they are fired-up and ranting against somebody for some perceived slight or ‘tone-deaf’ comment.
As a result, what used to pass for harmless fun is now seen as social activism. Everyone must be a ‘role-model’ at all times, and everything is a ‘learning-moment’.
When most Australians think about estate planning, they picture a Will, and perhaps one or more delegations or directives such as powers of attorney.
But there’s one powerful piece of the financial puzzle that often gets overlooked: your ‘superannuation death benefits’.
As the superannuation balances of Australians continue to grow—thanks to compulsory employer contributions, voluntary salary sacrificing, and market growth—it’s never been more important to understand how your super fits into your broader estate planning strategy.
In my four-decade career, I have never come close to charging $10,000 to create a Will for any of my thousands of clients, and that includes an international billionaire who controlled 27 different trusts, each with a corporate trustee!
However, I have acted in plenty of probate applications where a cheap or DIY Will has cost at least $10,000 to ‘fix’ after the testator died.
Here are three true examples from my clients in just the last twelve months: