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.
Sloppy writing, only adding to the confusion on this topic.
“the paperwork for the commutation request, on the other hand, does need to be lodged before then” implies you’ve got to lodge materials with the ATO before 1 July 2017 – rubbish.
“that journals and accounting entries are sorted …. before the end of 30 June” – rubbish.
Read Practical Compliance Guideline (PCG) 2017/5, and it will become much clearer.