Pension interest at divorce : a guide to the treatment of pension interest at divorce with reference to the history, the changes made to legislation, and the expected future outcome as based upon the current outstanding issues to be addressed by the legislature and the Minister of Finance

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Due to a number of legislative changes, the tax treatment of pension interest at divorce has become a complicated issue, as it is not only affected by the Income Tax Act, but also by the Pension Funds Act as well as the Divorce Act. Because these changes are still fairly new to the industry, there are still a couple of technical issues on which the industry is not clear. In practice there are many articles and writers trying to give some form of guidance regarding the technical issues of pension interest at divorce. The study will refer to case law that affected the changes made to the Pension Funds Act, which led to the institution of the 'clean-break principle. Some of the technical issues with regard to a payment of an award made to a non-member spouse by a divorce order will be included along with a discussion on difficulties and uncertainties arising from the 'clean-break principle. The focus of the study will then be directed towards changes made to the Income Tax Act. Specific reference will be made to the tax on an award made to a non-member spouse by a divorce order. In some cases the tax on such an award will be recovered from the member spouse. The Income Tax Act does however provide for a right of recovery, which will be discussed. The payment of the tax from the member's individual reserve however constitutes an additional accrual according to the Income Tax Act, which leads to a tax-on-tax issue. A discussion on GN33 will be included, as GN33 addresses the tax-on-tax issue. A chapter on preservation funds is included, as it is important to understand the working of these funds on when a non-member spouse has the option to transfer his/her pension interest to such a fund. The study will then look at an inequitable position in which the member finds him/herself when party to a divorce order made before 13 September 2007. Due to the changes made to the Income Tax Act, a situation arose where the member spouse looses out on all or part of his/her R300 000 tax free benefit as allowed by the Income Tax Act for withdrawals from his/her retirement funds. The study will include considerations for financial planning. The industry is placing more and more emphasis on sound financial planning, and it is therefore important to understand the key considerations, which an advisor or a party to a divorce should consider. The study will include a discussion on some of the outstanding issues, which the industry expects the legislature to address in the near future. As the changes to the Income Tax Act are ever changing and the discussion on pension interest at divorce is still a new topic under discussion, the industry is keeping an eye on the expected changes from the finance ministry and the legislature.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University