Pension Commutation

About Product

The LYD Account Based Pension Commutation ("ABPC") enables a member to commute their pension into a lump sum. It may also enable a reversionary pension member to take a lump sum in the event of the death of the member.

► $129.00 (inc GST) - OR provided under your unlimited membership (exc ASIC fee)

► The master document has been signed off by LY Legal and is congruent with Australian law.

General Information

The ABPC converts some or all of the member’s or reversionary beneficiaries’ pension to a lump sum cash or asset equivalent.

If the member has more than one account based pension, the pension in which the commutation is to be made from can be identified by either the name of the ABP (if given), or the original ABP commencement date.

Benefits

Easy to complete, use and apply.
Can be used for reversionary pensions.
In the event that a member has more than one ABP, the ABP can be identified by either a name or original commencement date.
May be paid in-specie subject to adverse stamp duty consequences or asset commutation restrictions.
A commutation payment debits a member’s TBAR and should be used as a partial commutation once the member takes a minimum pension in a year.

Frequently Asked Legal Questions

What is a commutation?

A commutation is the conversion of an income stream into a lump sum.

How is it to be used?

The original pension member may want to take a lump sum rather than an income stream. In addition, as it debits a member’s TBAR, it is a common strategy to take a minimum pension and a commutation payment of the remaining amount the member may desire as their cash from the Fund during the income year.

Does it apply to a TRIS?

A TRIS cannot commuted. LYD has a TRIS "Foldback" document available to move TRIS benefits back into accumulation phase.

How long does this document take to assemble?

Depending on the complexity of the data, this document should take approximately 30-50 secs to assemble. If you experience timing outside of this please contact Support via the Surge app, alternatively please read this article for troubleshooting tips https://info.lightyeardocs.com.au/supportcentre/troubleshooting-longer-assembly-times-timeouts .

Is this document a legal document?

All master documents have been signed off by LY Legal lawyers. Tony Anamourlis of LY Legal advises that “at no time, due to inbuilt legal protection and security measures can a user change or amend a document on the LYD platform that has been signed off by a practicing solicitor. To do so would result in the user drafting a document of a legal nature and engaging in the provision of legal services. In addition, it would be a breach of copyright. In our opinion when completing the form fields through the LYD platform, users and their employees are merely carrying out an administrative task which is not the provision of legal advice.”

However in some complex areas such as the insertion of a varied range of client instructions into a Will or other such documents the user must be mindful of the extent to which a document is being drafted by the user rather than merely the administrative task of completing a form where the relevant fields are inserted into the reviewed and signed legal document provided by LY Legal.

The above advice is born out of numerous cases dating back to Re Sanderson, Ex parte Law Institute of Victoria [1927] VLR 394, 397 where the Court held:

“if a person does a thing usually done by a solicitor, and does it in such a way as to lead to the reasonable inference that he is a solicitor – if he combines professing to be a solicitor with action usually taken by a solicitor – I think he then does act as a solicitor.”

Likewise in ACCC v Murray (2002) 121 FCR 428, 448 where Murray was building a franchise business that involved the legal writing and drafting of Wills from scratch based on the client’s personal circumstances. The Court held that this process was legal work.

Is the document easy to read?

All LYD products are written in plain English and assessed for readability. If at any time you come across any errors, please contact support@lyd.com.au.

What lawyers sign off on the LYD documents?

All LYD documents are prepared and signed off by LY Legal.

Are the LYD documents reviewed regularly?

All LYD documents form part of the LYD internal review process. We review all documents at least annually or when required to do so due to changes in legislation. Further details of this process and a review schedule is include on this website.

Can I get a sample of this document?

Yes, please email support@lyd.com.au to request a sample document for you to review.