I work overseas. Can I get early access to my super?

I am currently working full-time in the USA and have $130,000 in superannuation in Australia. I am thinking of withdrawing the whole amount. I am 60, so have reached the preservation age where I can withdraw the whole amount tax-free if I am not working. What are the rules on working overseas and being able to withdraw funds?

The rules are universal – irrespective of where you live, you can’t access your super until you’ve reached your preservation age, and if you’re between 60 and 65, you must meet a condition of release, which involves signing a declaration confirming you’re permanently retired or have left a job.

For those under 65 who don’t meet the release conditions, an option may be to start a transition-to-retirement pension allowing for a withdrawal of up to 10 per cent of your balance yearly as an income stream.

Just because you’ve left Australia doesn’t mean your super gets to come with you.Credit: Simon Letch

I’m 64, with $900,000 in superannuation and two townhouses valued at approximately $635,000 each. I’m considering selling one. The units cost $375,000 each, plus $20,000 in purchase costs. Selling costs are estimated at $15,000. My annual income is $25,000. I calculate a capital gain of $140,000 and after the 50 per cent capital gains discount, would end up with a taxable sum of $70,000. I worked out the CGT I have to pay as $19,600.

Can I contribute $27,000 into super to reduce my CGT liability? Alternatively, do you recommend any other strategies that might offer better outcomes?

If your income is $25,000 from investments and property it’s unlikely you would have any employer contributions. This means you would have a full $30,000 available to make a tax-deductible concessional contribution.

Making this contribution would reduce your taxable income to around $65,000 on which total tax would be around $10,300 plus Medicare Levy of $1300. The cost to do this would be $4500 being 15 per cent contribution tax on $30,000. It’s certainly worth doing.

We have a self-managed super fund (SMSF) worth approximately $1 million, primarily invested in shares. My wife is concerned that when our children inherit the shares, they will face a substantial CGT liability. To address this, I am considering selling the shares within the SMSF (assuming no capital gains tax would apply) and holding the proceeds in cash within the fund. This way, when our children inherit, they would avoid any capital gains tax on the shares. Is this strategy viable?

Death does not trigger CGT – it passes the CGT liability to the people who inherit the asset. They will then pay CGT if and when they sell the assets.

Probably, some of your children would be happy to receive the shares but others might prefer cash to use for such things as reducing their mortgage. This is the perfect opportunity to discuss your full financial situation with your children, get to understand what their wishes would be, and then organise your affairs accordingly.

It may well be best to sell some shares tax-free in the super fund and leave that money to them – others may prefer to receive the shares in-specie direct from the super fund.

My workmates and I are arguing about what constitutes a concessional contribution to super. I’ve read that these types of contributions are also known as “before-tax contributions” and that they are taxed upon entering the super fund at the concessional rate of 15 per cent.

Others say I’ve got it wrong and that a concessional contribution can come from your after-tax pay. One of the fellows reckons he put a fair whack of his savings into his super account, after which he informed his super fund he intended to claim a tax deduction for the entire amount! Not only did his super fund let him do this, but they advised him his contribution would be taxed at the 15 per cent concessional rate. If this is true, then it appears a concessional contribution can be made from a person’s after-tax pay. Who is correct?

A concessional contribution is tax-deductible contribution and get its name from the fact that somebody gets a tax concession. The other contribution is a non-concessional contribution, which is made from after-tax dollars, and from which no tax deduction is claimed.

Employer contributions are tax-deductible to the employer and are concessional contributions. Personal concessional contributions must come from after-tax dollars – you would be double-dipping if you made them from pre-tax dollars as a tax deduction and then claimed a further tax deduction for the contribution.

Noel Whittaker is the author of Retirement Made Simple and other books on personal finance. Questions to: [e-mail]

• Advice given in this article is general in nature and is not intended to influence readers’ decisions about investing or financial products. They should always seek their own professional advice that takes into account their own personal circumstances before making any financial decisions.

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