Who Gets Your Super if You Pass Away?

Nominating a beneficiary tells your super fund who should receive your super. It’s a simple task that can make a big a difference to your peace of mind.

If you don’t nominate a beneficiary, your super fund will follow the relevant laws to determine who receives your balance.

Who can you nominate?

For a nomination to be valid, the beneficiary must be your dependant or your legal personal representative at the date of your death. This can include:

• Your spouse, including de-facto or same-sex partner.
• One or more of your children, including step and adopted children.
• Someone who lives with you and depends on you financially. 

Nomination options 

Here are the options when deciding what happens to your super:

Binding nomination

• Lapsing binding nomination – expires after three years, unless renewed.
• Non-lapsing binding nomination – doesn’t expire, unless changed or cancelled. 

Binding nominations legally oblige your super fund to pay your balance to the person(s) you nominate, as long as the nomination is valid.

Non-binding nomination

You can nominate who you’d prefer to be paid, but this isn’t legally binding. Your fund will looks at super laws to decide who receives your balance.

Reversionary nomination for retirement accounts 

The eligible person you nominate can receive regular payments from your pension-account, as long as the nomination is valid. 

How to check who you’ve nominated

Most super funds give you several ways to check your beneficiary nominations. If you’re with AustralianSuper, the easiest way to check is to log into your account or the mobile app and go to ‘Beneficiaries’.

You can also contact your super fund directly or find it on your most recent annual super statement. If you have multiple super accounts, make sure you check the nominations in each fund separately, because they don't share information with each other. Pay attention to the type of nomination you've made, when it was last updated and whether it's still valid. 

A good time to check your nominations is following a major life event. This could be after a marriage or divorce, when you have children or grandchildren, or after an illness.

How to make or change a nomination

When you set up a super account, you’ll be asked to nominate a beneficiary. But it’s not compulsory. If you haven’t made a nomination yet, it’s easy to do. 

If you’re with AustralianSuper, you can make a non-binding nomination by logging into your online account or via the mobile app, head to the ‘Beneficiaries’ section and follow the prompts. You can also contact your super fund directly. 

To make a binding nomination, you’ll have to complete a form and have it signed before two witnesses who aren’t nominated as the beneficiaries. 

Read about nominating a beneficiary 

Sponsored by AustralianSuper Pty Ltd, ABN 94 006 457 987, AFSL 233788, Trustee of AustralianSuper ABN 65 714 394 898. 

Any general advice provided in this article is provided under the AFSL held by AustralianSuper, it does not take into account your personal objectives, financial situation or needs. Before making a decision, consider if the information is right for you and refer to the relevant Product Disclosure Statement, available at australiansuper.com/PDS or by calling 1300 300 273. A Target Market Determination (TMD) is a document that outlines the target market a product has been designed for. Find the TMDs at australiansuper.com/TMD.