Relationship breakdowns

Separating from your spouse or partner is life changing. Your financial situation - including your superannuation - can be affected when a relationship ends. It’s important to understand your options and where to go for support and advice.

Understanding what’s next

Whether you were the one who ended the relationship, or someone ended it with you, it’s common to feel lost. A separation impacts all aspects of your life. There are other practicalities to consider such as shared parenting, finding new housing, splitting assets, adjusting to a new budget, and revisiting shared financial arrangements such as mortgages and personal debt. On top of all that, there’s also the emotional upheaval of dealing with the grief that comes when something ends.

What you can do now

Evaluate your current financial arrangements including any shared personal debt, mortgage payments and ongoing costs such as school fees. You can also review any insurance you have together such as health or life insurance and update accordingly. Importantly, you need an understanding of where your future income is to come from - whether it’s from your job, investments or other financial assets such as savings and superannuation.

You can check your super balance easily through Members Online.

How super can help

It’s important to know that super is considered financial property. When you and your partner separate, both super accounts form part of the overall assets that get split. In some cases, one partner may have less than the other. For example, one partner may have taken time off to care for children. This is a common scenario that can be taken into consideration. 

How you and your partner's super is split can be a complex process during an emotional time. To help you navigate this situation, it's advisable that you speak to a family lawyer. If you're experiencing severe financial difficulty during a separation, you may be eligible to access some of your super to help meet your immediate financial needs. Speak to us on 1300 130 780 to find out if you're eligible.

Dividing your super

You'll need to seek legal advice and reach an agreement with your partner when deciding how you'll split your super. Once this is determined you'll be provided with a copy of the agreement or court order which you can then send to your partner's super fund. There are a few ways you can divide your super.

1. You can split it by agreement or court order.
2. You can make a flagging agreement. 
3. You can account for super in your assets but keep it separate. 

Next steps

• Decide how to split your super 

• Calculate the total value of both yours and your partner’s super

• Review and update your beneficiaries