This is information to support super funds regulated by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) which are winding up. It lists the important tax and super obligations which must be dealt with from the ATO perspective.
All types of APRA regulated funds should use this information when winding up, including small APRA funds, public offer funds, corporate funds, industry funds and retirement saving accounts.
Self-managed superannuation funds (SMSFs) are regulated by the ATO, not APRA, and so do not use this information. Refer instead to Winding up a self managed superannuation fund.
Trustees of an APRA regulated fund must give notice in writing to APRA as soon as practicable after making the decision or resolution to wind up. This must be before winding up is commenced.
The trustees must also ensure all outstanding obligations are met before they can wind up. The following outlines some of those obligations.
General and regulatory obligations
You may have obligations to:
- notify all members
- pay outstanding liabilities
- distribute all fund assets
- fulfil APRA reporting requirements.
Income tax obligations
Check all your obligations under income tax legislation have been met. These include:
- lodging outstanding income tax returns, including the final return for the financial year in which the fund is wound up
- ensuring all requirements associated with paying superannuation lump sums to members have been met
- lodging any outstanding business activity statements
- finalising any pay as you go withholding obligations before cancelling your registration.
Check you have complied with other administrative obligations imposed by law. These include:
- lodging outstanding member contribution statements (MCS) for contributing members who do not roll over to the successor fund, an MCS is required for the financial year in which the fund was wound up
- completing rollover benefit statements in respect of all rollover superannuation benefits paid to other funds, including those benefits paid to successor funds
- ensuring all co-contributions and other ATO remittances have been either credited to member accounts prior to wind up or returned to the ATO using the Superannuation payment variation advice (NAT 8451)
- ensuring any release authorities for excess contributions tax are actioned and a release authority statement confirming the amount of contributions released has been lodged with the ATO (and a copy provided to the member)
- ensuring debts to the Commonwealth recognised by the ATO, such as overpaid co-contributions, surcharge assessments or remittances which cannot be credited to members, have been paid or otherwise resolved
- checking you are up to date with reporting new lost members and you report lost members transferred to successor funds
- ensuring a successor fund receives information sufficient to enable it to fully comply with any administrative obligations which may be transferred to them.
Last Modified: Thursday, 14 January 2010