Superannuation Act 1916

A person who is entitled or becomes entitled to a pension under this Act may commute the whole or part of that pension (subject to this section and Part 6 of Schedule 25).

A person may not commute the whole or any part of a pension under subsection (1) before attaining the age of 55 years.

This section does not authorise the commutation of a pension payable in respect of children.

Subject to section 21D, any person desiring to commute pension pursuant to this section may elect to do so at any time after attaining the age of 54 years and 6 months.

An election under this section may be made in respect of 2 different amounts and as from 2 different dates and the election shall have effect as to the different amounts as from the respective dates from which the different amounts are commuted.

Where—

a person making an election under this section in respect of one amount dies before the election takes effect, the election shall be deemed to be revoked, and

a person making an election under this section in respect of different amounts as from different dates dies before the commutation as to one or both of those amounts takes effect, the commutation as to that or those amounts, as the case may be, shall not be effective.

Where an election under this section takes effect and the person who made the election dies before any lump sum payable pursuant to the election has been paid to the person, STC shall pay the lump sum to the person’s personal representatives.

Upon an election under this section taking effect as to an amount of pension, there shall be paid from the Fund to the person who made the election or, as the case may require, to the personal representatives of the person, a lump sum calculated by multiplying the fortnightly amount of pension commuted by the prescribed commutation factor in relation to the person, subject to sections 31A (3) and 32A (3).

In subsection (8)—

in relation to a person whose election under this section took effect as to an amount of pension before the person attained the age of 60 years, the figure (rounded to 2 decimal places) calculated in accordance with the following formula—

in relation to a person whose election under this section took effect as to an amount of pension on or after the person attained the age of 60 years—

250, where no prescribed period has elapsed in relation to the person, or

where a prescribed period has elapsed in relation to the person, a figure lower than 250 determined by STC having regard to the length of the prescribed period.

in the case of such a person who became entitled to the amount of pension to which the election relates on or before attaining the age of 65 years—the period (if any) between—

the attainment by the person of the age of 60 years or the day on which the person became entitled to that amount of pension, whichever was the later, and

the day on which the election took effect as to that amount of pension, or

in the case of such a person who became entitled to the amount of pension to which the election relates after attaining the age of 65 years—the period (if any) between—

the attainment by the person of the age of 65 years, and

the day on which the election took effect as to that amount of pension.

(Repealed)

Subject to section 21D, a person may, with the approval of STC, make more than one election under this section, but only one such election shall take effect.

Where a person makes an election under section 23BA to take up additional units, nothing in subsection (11) applies to an election made under this section in respect only of any of the pension payable in respect of those additional units, but—

a person may not, without the approval of STC, make more than one such election under this section in respect of that pension, and

only one such election made by the person under this section in respect of that pension shall take effect.

Subsections (11) and (12) apply to and in respect of an election under this section whether or not the election has been amended or revoked.

The approval of STC may only be given for the purposes of subsection (11) or (12) in special circumstances.

An election made under this section by an employee before the day on which the employee attained the age of 55 years shall be deemed to be revoked if the employee has not retired before the expiration of 12 months after attaining that age.

An election made under this section by an employee on or after the day on which the employee attained the age of 55 years shall be deemed to be revoked if the employee has not retired before the expiration of 12 months after making the election.

This Act applies to and in respect of a person who is entitled to a pension and who commutes the whole of that pension in accordance with this section in the same way as it applies to and in respect of a pensioner under this Act.

On the death of a person who has, pursuant to this section, commuted the whole or part of any pension payable to the person, the pension payable to the spouse or de facto partner of the person pursuant to the provisions of this Act shall be determined in accordance with the pension that would have been payable to the person at the time of death had the person not so commuted that pension.

Nothing in this Act shall be construed as requiring STC to make inquiries as to whether any pension is payable under this Act as a consequence of the death of a person who has commuted the whole of a pension in accordance with this section.