I am intrigued by the mandatory withdrawals from super increasing as I get older. As a part pensioner this means that the regulation is simply pushing me more quickly to when I will be receiving a full pension and thus being more reliant on government support. Could you explain the rationale?

The purpose of super is to provide you with a retirement income, so you won’t be reliant on welfare. Once your fund starts to pay you a pension, it becomes a tax-free fund while you are drawing a tax-free pension.

While it might seem counterintuitive for the government to force you to draw down more of your super, there is method to the madness.Credit: Simon Letch

No government wants to see retirees hold money in a tax-free environment indefinitely which is why mandatory drawings are required and which is why they increase with age.

All financial investments, including superannuation are assessed once you reach pensionable age.

I ask about reversionary pensions. If the deceased is over the age of 60 and the beneficiary is under the age of 60, I believe the income stream will flow to the beneficiary as per the age of the deceased. One of the advantages of a reversionary pension is that the benefits should flow quickly. But I recently approached my super fund (an industry fund), and was told that once the correct paperwork has been submitted and forms filled out, it would still take two months for my partner to receive money. Is this a normal time period?

Superannuation expert Meg Heffron says the age of the deceased and beneficiary is relevant for tax but shouldn’t affect the speed with which the pension continues. If either the beneficiary or deceased are over 60, the pension is tax-free. If they’re both under 60, it won’t become tax-free until the beneficiary is 60.

A reversionary pension should make the process quicker but exactly how quick will depend on the processes of the paying fund.

A death certificate and proof of identity of the beneficiary is needed because they need to confirm a few things: that the original pensioner has definitely died; that the person now asking for the money is definitely the person named on the reversionary pension application; and finally, that they are eligible to receive the money (not everyone is allowed to have a deceased person’s super as a pension).