A Guide to Superannuation for Australian Expats

One of the most common questions we hear from clients moving overseas is: "what happens to my super now?" The short answer is — your superannuation stays exactly where it is, in your Australian super fund, and continues to be invested and managed in the same way. But your residency status can affect what you can (and can't) do with it from here, which is why managing super while living overseas is worth a bit of planning before you go.

Your super doesn't disappear when you move

Your balance remains invested according to your chosen investment option, fees continue to apply as normal, and you can still log in and view your account from overseas. The main things that change relate to contributions, insurance and, eventually, access.

Can you keep contributing to super from overseas?

Whether you can keep making contributions depends on the type of contribution and your employment situation:

• Employer (super guarantee) contributions generally stop once you're no longer employed by an Australian employer — though some Australian employers continue paying super for staff posted overseas.
• Voluntary concessional and non-concessional contributions can often still be made by non-residents, subject to the usual annual contribution caps and your total super balance.
• If you're self-employed overseas, you generally won't have an equivalent compulsory super system, so voluntary contributions become more important for retirement savings.

Insurance held inside your super

Many Australians don't realise their super fund also provides life, total and permanent disability (TPD) and income protection insurance — and that this cover can be affected by a move overseas. Some policies include automatic cancellation clauses if you become a non-resident or if your account becomes "inactive" (no contributions for 16 months) under the Putting Members Interests First (PMIF) rules. It's worth checking your fund's Product Disclosure Statement, or having an adviser review it, before you leave.

SMSFs and residency rules

If you run a self-managed super fund (SMSF), moving overseas is one of the riskiest times for SMSF compliance. To remain a complying fund, an SMSF generally needs to meet the "central management and control" residency test — broadly, the fund must continue to be managed and controlled in Australia, even if a trustee is temporarily overseas (usually for no more than two years). Getting this wrong can result in the fund losing its complying status, with significant tax consequences. If you have an SMSF and are planning a move overseas, this is something to address well before you go — see our Superannuation & SMSF page for more.

Accessing your super while living overseas

Living overseas doesn't change the fundamentals of when you can access your super — you still generally need to meet a "condition of release", most commonly reaching your preservation age and retiring, or reaching age 65. Understanding the Australian super withdrawal rules while living overseas matters most when you're approaching retirement age and weighing up whether (and how) to draw an income stream while based offshore, including the tax implications in your country of residence.

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