Timing issues flagged with pension commutations
SMSF practitioners have been urged to get the paperwork for pension commutations completed before 30 June 2017, with many still under the false assumption they have till the end of December.
Cooper Grace Ward partner Scott Hay-Bartlem said while the ATO outlined in Practical Compliance Guideline (PCG) 2017/5 that a pension doesn’t physically need to be commuted before 1 July, the paperwork for the commutation request, on the other hand, does need to be done before then.
“I think a lot of advisers are still confused about the fact you need to have your commutation happening at the end of June and have the documentation in place,” Mr Hay-Bartlem said.
“I’ve got people telling me they’ve got till 31 December 2017, which is actually not the global rule.”
Mr Hay-Bartlem said SMSF practitioners need to make sure their commutation paperwork is in place, journals and accounting entries are sorted, and everything is tidied up before the end of 30 June.
Miranda Brownlee
Miranda Brownlee is the deputy editor of SMSF Adviser, which is the leading source of news, strategy and educational content for professionals working in the SMSF sector.
Since joining the team in 2014, Miranda has been responsible for breaking some of the biggest superannuation stories in Australia, and has reported extensively on technical strategy and legislative updates.
Miranda also has broad business and financial services reporting experience, having written for titles including Investor Daily, ifa and Accountants Daily.
