Introduction
This chapter of the fund reporting protocol will cover the specifics of reporting retirement phase events, the associated reporting of responses to commutation authorities and advising those details to members.
There may also be other reporting obligations such as, but not limited to, opening or closing an account when you report a retirement phase event. The guidance for this reporting and the legislation underpinning it are found in the relevant fund reporting protocol chapter.
If you are reporting in regards to a successor fund transfer, go to the Successor and intra-fund transfer reporting protocol.
Legislative context
Section 390–5 of Schedule 1 in the Taxation Administration Act 1953 (TAA), requires a super provider in relation to a super plan, give the Commissioner a statement about an individual, if the individual held a super interest in the plan at any time during the period specified in a determination under subsection 390–5(6) of Schedule 1 in the TAA.
Details of transaction data relating to the retirement phase interests of members must be reported to us in the approved form so that we can administer the transfer balance cap introduced by the Treasury Laws Amendment (Fair and Sustainable Super) Act 2016.
Retirement phase income stream reporting obligations associated with the transfer balance cap are event-based, not annual reporting. That is – providers will need to report every time there is a 'retirement phase event'. A retirement phase event is a transaction that results in a credit or debit in an individual's transfer balance account, see Transfer balance account – credits and debits. Section 307–80 of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 (ITAA 1997) sets out when a super income stream is in the retirement phase and section 307–70 of the ITAA 1997 defines a super income stream.
From 1 July 2018 the approved form, for entities that are not Self-managed super funds (SMSFs), to report retirement phase events is the Member Account Transaction Service (MATS). A MATS report must link to a Member Account Attribute Service (MAAS) report. You will need to ensure that your MAAS reporting is up-to-date and accurate to ensure that your MATS report is properly assigned to the member. See Transitioning to event-based reporting – MATS and CRT Alert 070/2017 Approach to transitional year for event based reporting for information on transitional arrangements for reporting retirement phase events using the transfer balance account report (TBAR) until on-boarding to MATS is completed.
For more information on reporting, see:
- Legislative Instrument F2018L00906External Link: Taxation Administration Member Account Transaction Service – the Reporting of Information Relating to Super Account Transactions 2018
- Member account reporting and validation chapter
Consequences of late reporting
You should report retirement phase events to us as soon as practicable and no later than 10 business days after the event has occurred to ensure your member’s transfer balance account is updated.
If you do not report by the required date, you may be subject to compliance action and penalties and your member’s transfer balance account may be adversely affected.
What to report
Your obligation is to report a retirement phase event type, event value and event effective date to us when:
- a retirement phase super income stream commences
- a death benefit income stream commences
- a retirement phase income stream is commuted voluntarily (this may include where a commutation is required in order to split the interest as a consequence of a family court order)
- an income stream stops being in the retirement phase
- certain limited recourse borrowing arrangement repayments are made
Specifications for this reporting are found in the MATS BIGExternal Link.
You will also have associated reporting obligations when you:
- commute an amount in response to a commutation authority
- are unable to comply with a commutation authority because of a capped defined benefit income stream or because the member is deceased
- receive any structured settlement (personal injury) contributions.
For more information, see Non-employer contributions.
Some exclusions from retirement phase reporting
Transactions that do not need to be reported include:
- periodic pension payments
- investment earnings and losses
- when an income stream ceases because the interest has been exhausted from pension payments or because the member has died
- transactions that members report to us directly using a Transfer balance event notification form (NAT 74919). Typically, this is when the following events occur
- family law payment split where the interest is retained by the member, but the payments are split to a non-member spouse
- debit event from fraud, dishonesty, or bankruptcy
- structured settlement contributions made before 1 July 2007.