Secure your financial legacy: the importance of updating your super beneficiaries

Understanding and regularly updating your super beneficiaries is crucial to ensuring the wealth accumulated in your super is passed on to your loved ones the way you intended.

4 min read

Did you know that nearly half of Australian super members¹ haven’t nominated a beneficiary, risking their super savings being distributed against their wishes?

Beneficiaries mean your money goes to who you nominate

Your super isn't just another asset – it’s a significant part of your financial legacy. Super is not automatically included in your will, so it’s important to make sure you’ve made a nomination. Without a valid beneficiary nomination, the Trustee of your super fund might decide who receives your super when you die. Regularly updating your super beneficiaries guarantees peace of mind and keeps you in the driver’s seat of what you leave behind.

Claims are faster when you nominate a beneficiary

When you die, the amount of super left in your account can be paid out as a ‘death benefit’. But this money doesn’t just automatically get passed on to your loved ones – it must be nominated to a beneficiary. The deceased member’s beneficiaries lodge a claim to the member’s superannuation fund to access these benefits. A 2025 ASIC report on death benefits¹ revealed that, generally, claims that had a valid beneficiary nomination were processed faster than those that did not.

Life changes can make your nominations invalid

Life changes – marriages, births, or changes in financial dependency – can impact your beneficiary choices. For instance, getting divorced or remarried can make an existing beneficiary invalid. Regular reviews ensure your super beneficiary nominations are up to date with your current life circumstances, providing assurance that your wishes will be honoured.

Check to see if you have a non-lapsing nomination

AMP currently only offers non-lapsing beneficiary nominations – meaning your beneficiary nomination doesn’t expire unless you change it. In the past, AMP offered different nomination types. It’s worth checking what type of nomination you have in your super fund, as most lapsing nominations were only valid for three years, which could mean you have an invalid or expired nomination on your account without realising!

Who can be a super beneficiary?

What often surprises people is that you can't name just anyone as a beneficiary in your super. Who you nominate has to be valid; meaning it has to comply with superannuation law. Valid beneficiaries (also referred to as dependants) can be:

Your spouse: Including de facto and same-sex partners.

Your children: Including an adopted child, a stepchild, or ex-nuptial child

Financial dependants: Individuals reliant on you for financial support.

Interdependant: Those you have a close personal relationship, that’s not necessarily family; those you live with; one or both of you give financial support; one or both give the other domestic support and personal care.

Your estate can also be nominated as your superannuation beneficiary, allowing your super to be distributed according to your will. If you do this, keeping your will up to date is crucial to ensure it reflects your current wishes.

Please note, we will not check if your nominated beneficiaries are your dependents or legal personal representative at the time receiving your nominations. However, we do validate this as at the time of the person’s death.

What happens if you don't nominate a beneficiary?

If you don’t make a nomination or you cancel your existing nomination and don’t make a new one, your super fund must pay your death benefit to your estate or legal personal representative. However, if your estate is insolvent or if a legal personal representative hasn’t been appointed within a reasonable period of time, then we’ll look to pay your dependents, or if you don’t have any, other people in proportions which the Trustee determines.

Regularly reviewing and updating your nomination ensures it reflects your current situation. Remember, without a non-lapsing beneficiary, processing a death claim can generally take up to twice as long, provided we have all the necessary information.

Nomination checklist:

Make sure you nominate someone who is eligible.

If you nominate your estate (i.e. your legal personal representative), make sure your will is up to date.

Nominate your beneficiary online via My AMP. Or you can contact us for a Beneficiary Nomination form.

Frequently asked questions about beneficiaries

We’re committed to providing culturally appropriate support to our First Nations People. Please contact us and we will help you.

To have certainty around who'll get your super when you die, you can make a non-lapsing nomination for your AMP super account online via My AMP.

A non-lapsing nomination doesn’t expire and continues to apply until you choose to update or cancel it. However, your nomination becomes invalid if certain life events happen, like you get married, divorced or the nominated beneficiary dies or is no longer a dependant. It's important to review your non-lapsing nomination regularly to make sure it reflects your current circumstances.

You can make your non-lapsing nomination of beneficiary/s for your AMP super account online via My AMP. Making your non-lapsing nomination online is easy, secure and you don't need a witness.

You can nominate a beneficiary any time online via My AMP. You can also download and complete the beneficiary nomination form. If you use the paper form, you’ll need to get it witnessed by two people who are not beneficiaries and then post or email the form back to us. You can also contact us too.

Yes, you can make changes at any time online via My AMP or you can contact us.

No. This means you don’t need to renew your nomination as it doesn’t expire. However they may become invalid if certain events happen or if a beneficiary is no longer a dependant at the date of your death.

No. You can only make a non-lapsing beneficiary nomination on your AMP super account. However, you may still have an existing non-binding nomination on your account and you may want to change it to a non-lapsing nomination.

If you choose to close or rollover your account (such as by doing a full withdrawal), the nomination on your account will be cancelled.

A will is a legal document that details your wishes around how you'd like your estate distributed after you die. Having a will and nominating your legal representative may give you the opportunity to leave your super to someone who is not a dependant. It’s a good idea to get legal advice around your will as they can be helpful in making things easier for the people you leave behind.

Most people update their will at various times throughout their life. And it's a good idea to get professional legal and financial advice about what you'd like your will to say.

If you have a valid, non-lapsing nomination that nominates your dependants to get some or all your super benefit, this will be paid to those people directly and won't form part of your estate.

Losing a loved one is a challenging time. If you need to make a death claim, we’ll make sure the process is as easy as possible.

You can lodge your claim online using the Online Claims Form. You can also:

Call: 1300 373 654 Mon-Fri 8.30am-5pm (AEST time).

Write: AMP Claims, PO Box 6346, Wetherill Park NSW 1851 Dharug Country

Email: amp_claims_admin@amp.com.au

There are many factors that determine how a death benefit is taxed. These include:

Whether it’s paid to a dependant (e.g. a child, spouse) - under tax law
If it’s withdrawn as a lump sum or income stream
The tax-free and taxable parts of the benefit
The age of the beneficiary
The age of the person when they died (for income streams).

Generally, there are no taxes on lump sum death benefits paid to a dependant, as defined under tax law. Generally, a child who is 18 years or older is not a dependant under tax law unless they are a financial dependant.

To understand the taxable components of lump sum death benefits paid to a non financial dependant or other persons who are not dependant/s, visit the ATO or speak with your financial adviser.

Everyone’s circumstances are unique

While we’ve covered the basics of beneficiaries and your super, it’s really important to get independent advice from your legal representative or financial adviser about your individual circumstances.