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Account Based Market Linked Income Streams

Another type of account based income stream is a Market linked pension or annuity. They are sometimes referred to as 'term allocated pensions' or (TAPs).

When you are considering a market linked income stream you should be aware that you can only use 'superannuation money' to invest in them.

Selecting the term for your income

With a market linked income stream the income payments are paid for a fixed term. The duration of the term depends on when the income stream commences and your age at that time.

For a market linked income stream that commences before 20 September 2007, the term may be determined broadly by reference to your life expectancy at the commencement of the income stream. A table of current average life expectancies is shown earlier. You can choose a term anywhere between the following minimum and maximum terms:

Minimum Term - the income stream must be payable for a minimum fixed term equal to your life expectancy (rounded up). For a male of 65 the life expectancy is 17.7 years and hence an 18 year term would be relevant.

Maximum Term - the income stream must be payable for a term equal to the period from the commencement day of the income stream until the primary beneficiary reaches age 100. For a male of 65 that is 35 years.

As you can see there is a wide range between the minimum and maximum terms in this case.

In some less common circumstances it might be possible to use a different method of working out the term. This only applies where the income stream is set up so that on death the income payments must revert automatically to a spouse and the spouse has a longer life expectancy. This is referred to as a 'reversionary' income stream.

The term can be between the following ranges:

This option can only be used to provide access to a longer term.

Term Example - Selecting your term

James is age 65 and his wife Helen is aged 60. If James wants to acquire a Term Allocated Pension that reverts to Helen on his death, he can select a term for his pension of between:

If James does not want to nominate Helen as a reversionary pensioner he can only choose a term between 18 and 35 years.

Access to your money

Unlike other Account Based income streams, market linked income streams are a lot less flexible when it comes to accessing your capital investment.

Generally, most market linked income streams are 'non-commutable'. This simply means that, except in very limited circumstances, the capital you invest in them is not accessible at any time. Because of this restriction on accessing your money you should not, as a general rule, invest all of your money in them. You should keep part of your money in other investments where you have access or you could use some part of your money to purchase an allocated income stream. By doing so you will have the ability to meet unexpected lump sum expenses.

If you select a term based on your spouse's life expectancy, in the event of your death the market linked income stream must be paid to your spouse for the remaining term. Your spouse cannot convert the pension into a cash lump sum at your death.

Market Linked Income Streams commencing on or after 20 September 2007

In some cases, after 20 September 2007 you can purchase a market linked income stream still provided the fixed term is chosen such that the minimum annual payment (as determined by applying the relevant percentage factor) is met each year. The factors are the same as those listed for other account based income streams.

A market linked income stream can only be purchased under these rules with the rollover of a superannuation benefit from an existing complying lifetime, fixed term or market linked income stream.

Income Payment Rules

So once you have chosen your term between the minimum and maximum, the income level for a market linked product can be determined for the first year. To work this out you take the purchase price of the income stream and divide it by a factor. The pension factors used are as follows:

Term
Payment Factors
Term
Payment Factors
50 23.46 25 16.48
49 23.28 24 16.06
48 23.09 23 15.62
47 22.90 22 15.17
46 22.70 21 14.70
45 22.50 20 14.21
44 22.28 19 13.71
43 22.06 18 13.19
42 21.83 17 12.65
41 21.60 16 12.09
40 21.36 15 11.52
39 21.10 14 10.92
38 20.84 13 10.30
37 20.57 12 9.66
36 20.29 11 9.00
35 20.00 10 8.32
34 19.70 9 7.61
33 19.39 8 6.87
32 19.07 7 6.11
31 18.74 6 5.33
30 18.39 5 4.52
29 18.04 4 3.67
28 17.67 3 2.80
27 17.29 2 1.90
26 16.89 1 1.00

So for the male of 65 who had a maximum term of 35 years and who chose to use the maximum term, you would take the purchase price of say $100,000 and divide it by 20.00. The income stream payment in the first year would be $5,000.

To allow some flexibility in the payments from a market linked pension you can select an actual annual income payment which is within 10% either side of the calculated figure. In this case it would be: $4,500 (90% of $5,000) or $5,500 (110% of $5,000).

What happens each year?

Each year, the account balance is divided by the factor applicable to the remaining term. So if the account had remained at the same value in 12 months, the new income stream would be calculated by dividing $100,000 by 19.70, giving an income for the next year of $5,076

And to find the limits:

Minimum Income Limit
Maximum Income Limit
(0.9 x $100,000) ÷ 19.70 (1.1 x $100,000) ÷ 19.7
=$5,076 x 0.9 =$5,076 x 1.1
= $4,570 = $5,580

(Minimum income figures are rounded to the nearest $10)

How does my investment account value change?

Your market linked investment account value will vary regularly. It will go down in value when you draw an income payment and increase when investment earnings are added to your account. The following example will provide an insight into what happens over time.

Let's take Louise and Jon. Louise is age 71 and Jon is 65. They are both enjoying good health. Louise has $250,000 of superannuation money and invests this in a market linked pension on 1 July. They have other investments which can be cashed for any lump sum needs they may have.

Jon has a life expectancy of 17.7 years and Louise 16.29 years. Louise could therefore choose a term of between 17 and 29 years based on her life expectancy only. As Jon has the longer life expectancy, the pension may be set up on a reversionary basis (i.e. the income payments are automatically directed to Jon upon Louise's death). As Jon is 65 the maximum term could be extended to 35 years.

We'll assume that Louise selected a 30 year term. The factor for a 30 year term is 18.39. The income is $250,000 divided by 18.39, or $13,594. The income range for year 1 is as follows:

Minimum Income Limit
Maximum Income Limit
(0.9 x $250,000) ÷ 18.39 (1.1 x $250,000) ÷ 18.39
=$13,594 x 0.9 =$13,594 x 1.1
= $12,230 = $14,950

Louise selects $13,594 as the starting point and each year expects to use the calculated income amount without adjustment. We'll assume that Louise is able to earn 6.5% on her money after fees.

 

The following table shows Louise's annual income, her income range and the movement of her investment account over time.
Age
Louise's account balance at start of year
Investment earnings at 6.5% per annum
Minimum income each year
Louise's income each year
Maximum income each year
Louise's account balance at end of year
71 250,000 16,250 12,235 13,594 14,954 252,656
72 252,656 16,423 12,605 14,005 15,406 255,073
73 255,073 16,580 12,992 14,435 15,879 257,217
74 257,217 16,719 13,389 14,877 16,364 259,060
75 259,060 16,839 13,804 15,338 16,872 260,561
76 260,561 16,936 14,230 15,811 17,392 261,686
77 261,686 17,010 14,665 16,294 17,924 262,402
78 262,402 17,056 15,119 16,799 18,479 262,659
79 262,659 17,073 15,583 17,314 19,046 262,417
80 262,417 17,057 16,066 17,852 19,637 261,623
81 261,623 17,005 16,570 18,411 20,252 260,217
82 260,217 16,914 17,082 18,980 20,878 258,151
83 258,151 16,780 17,615 19,572 21,529 255,359
84 255,359 16,598 18,168 20,186 22,205 251,771
85 251,771 16,365 18,742 20,825 22,907 247,311
86 247,311 16,075 19,321 21,486 23,615 241,919
87 241,919 15,725 19,938 22,154 24,369 235,490
88 235,490 15,307 20,577 22,863 25,149 227,933
89 227,933 14,816 21,236 23,596 25,955 219,153
90 219,153 14,245 21,915 24,350 26,785 209,048
91 209,048 13,588 22,613 25,126 27,639 197,510
92 197,510 12,838 23,359 25,954 28,549 184,394
93 184,394 11,986 24,156 26,841 29,525 169,539
94 169,539 11,020 24,973 27,748 30,523 152,812
95 152,812 9,933 25,803 28,670 31,537 134,074
96 134,074 8,715 26,696 29,662 32,629 113,127
97 113,127 7,353 27,742 30,825 33,907 89,655
98 89,655 5,828 28,818 32,020 35,222 63,463
99 63,463 4,125 30,061 33,402 36,742 34,187
100 34,187 2,222 30,768 36,409 37,605 0

From the table you will note that Louise's account balance increases each year until age 79, when the pension then being drawn is greater than the investment earnings. After age 79 the income is increasing and the account balance is decreasing. In the last year, the balance of Louise's account balance is drawn out.

Louise could have elected to take a slightly lower income each year (using the 90% rule) however this generally has the effect of increasing the income in later years.

If Louise was able to generate better than a 6.5% per annum return, then this would have the effect of producing higher income for her over the 30 year term. Another option for Louise would be to examine all of the investment options her market linked pension offered to see whether she was using the most suitable option to boost her investment earnings.

Are there fees and charges?

There are charges that usually apply to account based income stream investments. These may include initial fees which apply to your investment and ongoing fees. Ongoing fees are usually a percentage of your investment account balance each year.

The best way to evaluate the ongoing fees that apply to your investment account is to refer to the providers Product Disclosure Statement (PDS). In the PDS the provider must show worked examples of the total costs that apply in certain circumstances. The PDS will also detail all fees, commissions and brokerage payable to a financial adviser.

What happens when you die with an account based income stream?

A key part of retirement planning is estate planning. When you deal with account based income streams, there are several estate planning options which you need to consider before you invest.

If your affairs are complicated you may also need some legal advice.

There are generally three estate planning options available but not all providers or super funds provide all of the options.

Reversionary Income

It is possible to set up an account based income stream so that, on death of the purchaser, an income will continue automatically to a spouse or child (in certain cases). This does not generally prevent a spouse or child from converting the income into a lump sum (by using the cash out option) at a later date.

If you purchase a reversionary market linked pension, then upon your death the pension will continue to be paid to your spouse for the remaining term. Your spouse cannot convert the pension into a cash lump sum when you die.

Lump Sum

The account based income stream can be set up so that, on death of the purchaser, a spouse or child would receive the balance of the investment account as a lump sum.

Flexible Option

With this option, on death of the purchaser, a spouse or child has the choice of whether to continue to receive an income stream or take a lump sum.

The choice of option depends on your personal circumstances and how you want your estate to be dealt with. There can be different taxation outcomes for each option, depending on your circumstances.

Advantages and disadvantages

As with any investment there are advantages and disadvantages. Some of the major ones for account based income streams are shown in the following table.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Account Based Income Streams
Advantages
Disadvantages
    1. You have significant flexibility in the income you draw from year to year.
    1. You do not have a guarantee that the regular income payments will continue for your lifetime or any fixed term.
    1. You generally have access to your money at all times.
    1. You may be subject to unfavourable fluctuations in investment markets.
    1. You receive a regular income payment.
    1. You need to continue to be involved in the decision making process each year.
    1. You usually have a range of investment options to choose from.
    1. You can only use 'superannuation money' as the purchase price.
    1. Your family, beneficiaries, or estate will receive the investment account balance on your death.

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Types of Income Streams - Non Account Based

Types of Income Streams - Account Based