Is a SMSF for you?

Self managed superannuation funds (SMSFs) are the buzz-word of the Australian Financial landscape in 2013. Suddenly, everyone wants one or wants to work out if SMSF’s are applicable to their specific situation. SMSFs hold 31.2% of all superannuation assets and are growing in number at the rate of 7%pa.  Research indicates that 1.4 million people are considering establishing their own SMSF in the next three years.  Are you also one in that million?

Finsec Partners have been specialising in providing high-level strategic professional SMSF services for over 10 years. SMSFs account for over 30% of all superannuation assets in Australia and continue to be the fastest growing sector within the industry.

This growth has been driven by individuals wanting control over their retirement savings. SMSFs provide members with control over the range of investments, the fees being charged, the amount of tax being paid or simply being able to include other family members in the one fund.

A summary of the key benefits include:

Your personal retirement platform – An SMSF is your personal retirement planning platform. It stays with you wherever you go and you will never find yourself in a position where you have to realise investments and pay tax just because you want to change superannuation providers.

Absolute investment flexibility – An SMSF provides you with absolute investment flexibility (subject to the constraints imposed by superannuation law). You can invest in whatever you and your adviser believe will ultimately provide you with the best retirement income result.

Take advantage of tax and superannuation legislation changes – An SMSF provides you with the opportunity to take advantage of changes in tax and superannuation legislation with immediate effect. You and your adviser won’t have to worry about when (or if) your superannuation provider will allow you access to new strategies that become available.

Access to valuable tax concessions – An SMSF provides you with access to valuable tax concessions such as account segregation and imputation credit sharing. This enables you to optimise your superannuation tax position in ways that are generally unavailable through large superannuation funds.

True “family funds” – This allows death benefits to be passed on to future generations in a flexible and tax effective manner.

Cost effective – For larger superannuation account balances an SMSF is generally a cheaper option than a larger commercial superannuation fund because the administration fees are fixed and do not increase as the amount within your superannuation account grows.

Whilst advocates for the obvious advantages of Self Managed Superannuation, they are not without risk and we regularly stress, SMSFs are not for everyone. The amount an individual has in super is by no means the only qualifying factor that should be in play. Thorough suitability scrutiny should always be conducted before making a decision to set up an SMSF.

These risks can be efficiently minimised by ensuring you establishing and maintain an SMSF with the professional advice of an experienced team consisting of an (adviser, accountant and auditor).