What is a beneficiary?

A beneficiary is a person you nominate to receive your superannuation benefits if you die. Nominating a beneficiary for your super is also known as making a ‘death benefit nomination’.

Superhero has three types of nominations: 

• Binding nomination: you formally nominate who you want your account balance paid to. If valid, your nomination is legally binding. You are able to make your nomination to be lapsing (expiring after 3 years of making the nomination) or non-lapsing (not expiring unless the nomination is changed or removed).
• Non-binding nomination: you nominate who you’d prefer your account to be paid to. This nomination is not legally binding.
• Reversionary (Retirement account only): you nominate the person that will receive regular pension payments from your account until the balance reaches $0.

The forms for each nomination type are available on our website.

If a deceased person did not make a nomination, or has made a non-binding nomination, the trustee of the fund may:

• use their discretion to decide which dependant or dependants to pay the death benefit to
• make a payment to the deceased’s legal personal representative (executor of their estate) for distribution according to the instructions in the deceased’s will.