Nominate a beneficiary
It's never too early to take control over how your super benefits will be distributed when you die.
Media Super has merged with CBUS. Therefore, when you open a Transition to Retirement (TTR) super income stream account or a Fully Retired super income stream account, you’ll be welcomed into the CBUS fold.
Nominate who gets your pension when you die
With a super income stream account, in the event of your death CBUS must pay out your balance to your eligible beneficiaries.
This might include your spouse (including de-facto and same-sex partners), your children, anyone financially dependent on you, or your legal personal representative.
The details below are a summary of the things you may need to consider when making a death benefit nomination. For full details, including potential tax treatments, please refer to the relevant PDS at cbussuper.com.au/pds.
You can nominate your spouse as a reversionary beneficiary when you first open your CBUS super income stream account. This means that when you die, your payments will revert to your spouse.
They must be a spouse (including de-facto or a partner of the same sex) at the date you start your income stream and at the date of your death.
Once it’s accepted, a reversionary death benefit nomination is generally binding on the fund and is irrevocable. To change or remove your beneficiary at a later date you must start a new income stream then transfer your account balance into it.
At the time of a claim, your beneficiary can choose to continue the income stream or request a lump sum payment.
If you make a binding death benefit nomination, CBUS is required to pay your nominated person/s. This is on the proviso you’re still a member when you die and your death benefit nomination is valid at the time of your death.
A binding death benefit nomination doesn’t expire but you might want to update it from time to time, like if you marry, divorce, or welcome a new child into your family.
CBUS will confirm your nomination/s on your annual super income stream statement. You can check, cancel or make a new nomination at any time through your online account or by completing a Binding death benefit nomination form (PDF).
If you don’t want to nominate a dependant as your beneficiary, you can nominate a legal personal representative. This refers to the executor of your will or administrator of your estate if you don’t have a will. The benefit will then be distributed in accordance with your will or the State intestacy laws if you don’t have a will.
How to make death benefit nominations
When you die, you won't have any control over what happens to your super income stream balance, so it's crucial to make the right beneficiary arrangements now and ensure you update them if things change.
Check that anyone you nominate is eligible, and make sure your super fund offers beneficiary arrangements that you're comfortable with. To read more details, please refer to the relevant PDS at cbussuper.com.au/pds.