Source: ATO
What is the transfer balance cap?
The Transfer Balance Cap (TBC) limits the total amount that a member can transfer from your accumulation super account(s) to tax-free ‘retirement phase’ accounts to receive your pension income.
The transfer balance cap will start at $1.6m, and will be indexed in line with the consumer price index (CPI), rounded down to the nearest $100,000. The amount of indexation that you are entitled is calculated proportionally based on your available cap space and only the amount of remaining cap space is indexed.
Any retirement phase income streams commenced before 1 July 2017 will be counted towards the transfer balance cap on 1 July 2017. Any new pension accounts (commenced from 1 July 2017) are counted towards the transfer balance cap when they commence.
If the total amount in your pension account(s) grows over time through investment earnings to more than $1.6m, you will not exceed your cap. If the amount in your pension account(s) goes down over time, you cannot ‘top it up’ if you have already used your cap. If you exceed your transfer balance cap, you may have to remove the excess from one or more retirement phase income streams, and pay tax on the notional earnings related to that excess.
Credits to a Transfer Balance Account (TBA):
If in receipt of a pension at 30 June 2017, or start a new pension after 30 June 2017
If in receipt of a reversionary pension at 30 June 2017, or start to receive a reversionary pension after 30 June 2017
Notional earnings that accrue on amounts above the TBC
Debits to a TBA:
If you commute a pension to a lump sum – value of the lump sum is debited from the TBA
If you make a contribution under structured settlement or orders for personal injury rules
If a loss to pension capital occurs that is a result of fraud or dishonestly and an individual has been convicted
If there is a payment split that reduced pension capital
Clawback of certain contributions under bankruptcy
The following are not debits:
Pension payments
Investment losses