How it works

Nominating a beneficiary means that you’re telling us who you’d like your super to go to when you pass away. 

A beneficiary is a person you choose to receive all or part of your account balance when you pass away, including any insured death benefit if applicable. This payment is called your ‘death benefit’.

If you don’t nominate anyone, we’ll decide who your money goes to.

Who can you nominate?

You can only nominate your dependants and/or your legal personal representative.

Dependants

For super purposes, your dependants can include:

• your spouse (including a de facto partner where you live together) 
• your children of any age (including step and adopted children)
• a person you have an interdependency relationship with 
• any other person who, when you pass away, was wholly or partly financially dependent on you

You generally can’t nominate your parents, siblings, other relatives or friends as dependants unless they are either financially dependent on you or an interdependency relationship exists. You can’t nominate pets or charities as dependants.

Example: Sam, 35, lives with and supports his elderly aunt, who doesn’t have an income. He can nominate her as a beneficiary because she’s financially dependent on him. 

Example: Jess, 28, has a toddler and lives with her partner. She can nominate both her child and partner as beneficiaries. 

Legal personal representative

Your legal personal representative is either:

• the executor of your estate (if you have a Will)
• the administrator of your estate appointed by a court (if you don’t have a Will)
• the trustee of your estate if you are under a legal disability, or a person who holds an enduring power of attorney granted by you

If you nominate your legal personal representative to receive your death benefit, the benefit is paid to your estate and will be distributed according to your Will. If you don’t have a Will, the laws on dying without a Will apply.

What types of nominations can you make

There are a few ways to let us know who you’d like to receive your super when you pass away. 

Binding and reversionary beneficiary nominations are legally binding if they’re valid when you pass away. They may result in your beneficiaries receiving your super quicker, as there are less time-consuming steps to work out who your super should go to.

The table below compares the options so you can understand the differences. 

Keep it up-to-date

Life changes, and your beneficiary nominations might need to as well. 

It’s important to regularly review your nomination and whenever your circumstances change. For example, if you get married or divorced, have a child, or lose a nominated beneficiary.

Regularly checking your nominations ensures your super remains aligned with your wishes and current situation.

You can easily check who you’ve nominated in Member Online or through our app to make sure they’re up to date. 

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