Newsletter
March 2018 Newsletter
Social security means testing of lifetime retirement income streams
The Department of Social Services (DSS) has released its proposed means testing rules for pooled lifetime retirement income streams.
The pension standards were amended from 1 July 2017 to allow for more tax-exempt lifetime superannuation income stream products that enable pooling risk to manage longevity risk. Lifetime pensions and annuities that meet these new standards qualify for tax concessions tax treatment.
The DSS proposes to consider the following amounts when assessing such pooled lifetime income streams as part of social security means testing:
• income test: 70% of all income paid from the income stream product; and
• assets test: 70% of the purchase price of the product until the person reaches the age of their life expectancy at the time they made the purchase, and 35% from then on.
TIP: Under the new rules, deferred super income stream products would receive the same asset test assessment as products where payments begin immediately.