With the release of draft legislation by Treasury on 21 May 2021 for the previous Budget proposal to provide choice to superannuation trustees when determining the fund’s claim for exempt current pension income (ECPI) and to remove a redundant requirement to obtain an actuarial certificate when claiming ECPI for certain funds, it’s time to take a closer look at the implications of the proposed measures, both from a technical and practical application perspective.

Changes to how exempt current pension income (ECPI) is determined announced in the 2019-20 Federal Budget are due to come into force from 1 July 2021. While draft legislation is yet to be released, the proposals suggest SMSF trustees will be given a choice over whether to use the proportionate method or segregated method when claiming ECPI for funds that are solely in retirement phase for a period in an income year.

The Federal Government has proposed changes to the approach to claiming exempt current pension income (ECPI). Whilst these proposed changes are to commence from 1 July 2021, we are yet to see any draft legislation.