Beneficiary nominations

If you’re making a binding nomination, you can nominate more than one person.

Reversionary beneficiary nominations are limited to one person.

Yes, you can only nominate beneficiaries who fall into at least one of the following categories:

• Your spouse
• Your child
• An interdependent
• A financial dependent
• Your legal personal representative

This relationship exists when you share a close personal relationship with someone, live together, and one or each of you provide the other with - financial support, domestic support and personal care. It may still apply if either or both of you have a disability preventing you both from meeting all criteria, or you are temporarily living apart (such as one of you is staying in hospital).

Generally, an interdependency relationship does not apply to your typical parent-child or sibling relationship, unless a serious illness or disability exists, or if you are living in shared accommodation but are not in a domestic relationship.

A financial dependant is someone who relies on you to help them meet their daily living expenses and any shared financial commitments on a regular and ongoing basis.

You can do this by nominating your legal personal representative.

You can do this by nominating to your legal personal representative and then directing them to make the payment to your chosen person via your Will. We recommend you  seek your own professional advice before making this nomination.

Making or updating a reversionary beneficiary nomination may affect Centrelink entitlements and may have tax implications.  We recommend you speak to a financial adviser or Centrelink before making this nomination. 

Members can access limited general financial advice about their Mercer Super account at no extra cost.

Request an advice team member to contact you by completing the callback form.

Yes, you can make a new binding nomination or cancel your existing nomination at any time.

You’ll need to download, print and complete a new Binding beneficiary nomination form. Your completed form, together with your certified proof of identity, must be posted to Mercer Super Trust, GPO BOX 4303, Melbourne, VIC 3001 – we cannot accept it via email.

Non-lapsing binding and reversionary nominations do not have an expiry date.  They remain in place until you cancel them or they become invalid.

We recommend reviewing your nominations regularly, especially after major life events (such as marriage, separation/divorce, the birth of a child, or the death of a nominated beneficiary), to ensure they still reflect your wishes and are valid.

There are several reasons a beneficiary nomination could be considered invalid.

Non-lapsing binding nomination

• Firstly, your non-lapsing binding nomination will be invalid if: Your nominated beneficiary is no longer valid and binding – such as the beneficiary is not a dependant at the date of your death or there is no legal personal representative to make the payment to
• You cancel the nomination
• You provide a new non-lapsing nomination
• Where the Trustee’s rules (including any polices or guidelines) require the non-lapsing nomination cease to be valid
• Where required by superannuation law

If your nomination becomes invalid, the trustee will make the decision about who to pay the benefit to, and in what proportions in accordance with superannuation law and the governing rules of the fund.

Lapsing binding nomination

Your Lapsing binding beneficiary nomination will be invalid if:

• Three years has passed since you submitted your nomination
• You cancel the nomination
• One or more of your named beneficiaries passes away
• Your beneficiaries no longer fall into the specified category.

If your Mercer SmartRetirement Income account holds no beneficiary nomination – or only has a non-binding beneficiary nomination – when you pass away, the Trust Deed requires that your benefit be paid to your spouse as a pension benefit, where applicable. If there is no spouse, the benefit will be paid to your legal personal representative as a lump sum. If there is no spouse or legal personal representative, we will pay the benefit to any one or more natural persons at the Trustee’s discretion.

A valid binding nomination means that your super benefit goes exactly where you specify. It will not form part of your estate, unless you have nominated a legal personal representative.

There may be tax implications if your super is paid to a non-financial dependant (i.e. someone that isn’t financially dependent on you, such as an adult child) or if a dependant plans to receive the funds as an income stream. 

If you’re unsure of the tax implications, we suggest you seek your own professional advice.

Members can access limited general financial advice about their Mercer Super account at no extra cost. Arrange for an advice team member to contact you by completing the Callback form.

For more information about the rules relating to super, beneficiaries, and tax, visit the Australian Taxation Office’s website.

Non-binding beneficiary nominations tell us who you would like to receive your super. We will consider your choice, but it is not legally binding. While we no longer offer this type of nomination, we will continue to consider existing nominations in place.

You will be able to see your nomination when you log in to your account, but you will not be able to change or update it.

If you would like to switch to a binding nomination you’ll need to download, print and complete the Binding beneficiary nomination form. 

You will need to post the completed form, together with your certified proof of identity, to Mercer Super Trust, GPO BOX 4303, Melbourne, VIC 3001 – we cannot accept it via email. You can cancel your non-binding beneficiary nominations by notifying us in writing.

If you have this type of beneficiary nomination you will be notified prior to expiry.

If you do not complete another binding nomination it will automatically be switched to a non- binding nomination when the expiry date is reached. We will continue to send you reminders to review your nomination/s.

If you have a superannuation account with us, we must determine who to pay if there is not a valid binding nomination in place when you pass away.  This would be the case if you did not make any nomination, or your binding nomination is not valid at the date you pass away.

To make that decision we must consider the following:

• The governing rules of the fund (Trust Deed) as they apply to your Mercer Super plan
• Superannuation law which determines how death benefits are to be paid
• Your written directions (including any invalid or preferred nominations), and your Will, if it is provided to us
• Submissions of all people making a claim (claimants) – dependants and people claiming to be financially dependent on you, or to have been in an Interdependency Relationship with you
  • The degree of regular financial support for everyday living expenses you were providing to each claimant at the date you passed away
  • The extent to which each claimant reasonably expected to receive continued financial support from had you not died.

If we cannot find any Dependants or Legal Personal Representative, we may pay other people close to you, like your parents or siblings.

The Trust Deed is the foundational legal document for any super fund in Australia. It sets out the rules and terms for establishing, operating and managing the fund in line with superannuation law. The Trust Deed outlines the fund’s objectives, the Trustee’s powers, discretions and responsibilities of the Trustee, and rules for who can be a member, and their rights.