ATO issues guidance to changes to legacy retirement products impacting SMSFs
The ATO has issued guidance on the recent changes that will allow individuals to exit certain legacy retirement products for up to five years.
Changes to the law allowing individuals to exit legacy retirement products and reserve provisions came into effect on 7 December 2024.
The changes enable individuals to exit a specified range of legacy retirement products for up to five years. The product can be held with any superannuation provider (APRA-regulated super fund or an SMSF).
A member can only exit an eligible legacy retirement product (subject to a fund’s trust deed) if:
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It generally commenced before 20 September 2007 or because of a conversion of an earlier legacy product that commenced before that date.
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It is a superannuation income stream product that is a:
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Lifetime pension or annuity (except if paid from a large APRA-regulated super fund that is a defined benefit fund).
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Life expectancy pension or annuity.
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Market-linked pension or annuity.
The changes also impact the treatment of allocations from reserves for the purpose of contribution caps.
See Legacy retirement product commutations and reserves for more information.