Blog

Is the Age Pension relevant for SMSF retirees?

15 Nov 2022

As at the end of June 2022 ATO statistics show over 41% of all SMSF members were aged 65 or older and may be considering their eligibility for Age Pension. Age Pension age has been steadily increasing over the past five years from 65 as we head towards an Age Pension age of 67 from 1 July 2023.

All quiet on the super front, but there’s still unresolved issues…

26 Oct 2022

The new Labor Federal Government handed down its first budget last night. As expected, there was a focus on measures to deal with inflation and the cost of living. The upcoming 1 July 2024 legislated personal income tax cuts have been left alone (for now) and there was an array of savings announced. Whilst there was speculation on changes to superannuation, including a potential $5m cap on the amount a person can have inside superannuation, there were no new superannuation measures announced.

Non-lapsing BDBNs … there is no debate

Death benefits & Estate planning

17 Oct 2022

Non-lapsing BDBNs ... there is no debate. Our Head of Education Mark Ellem was joined by Matthew Burgess who presented a technical webinar to help attendees assess how their SMSF death benefit nomination stacks up.

September updates ease cost of living pressures for retirees

Age Pension & Aged Care

4 Oct 2022

On 20 September 2022 the maximum Age Pension entitlement increased to $1026.50 a fortnight for singles and $1547.60 per couple ($773.80 for each member). The rates are indexed on 20 March and 20 September each year to maintain their value against increases in the cost of living.

Ethical choices are not always clear

27 Sep 2022

New rules permit certain SMSF legacy pension to be commuted

Death benefits & Estate planning

21 Sep 2022

From an SMSF perspective, the new SIS regulations will allow a member to commute their market linked income stream (MLIS) (also known as a ‘term allocated pension’) to the extent of an excess transfer balance account amount included in a commutation authority. However, this new measure will only apply to an MLIS commenced on or after 1 July 2017.

Accurium claims two awards in the SMSF Adviser 2022 SMSF awards

8 Sep 2022

Implementing ECPI choice rules through SMSF administration platforms

ECPI, segregation and actuarial certificates

26 Aug 2022

To assist practitioners with understanding the new rules and the practical implementation of the ECPI choice for SMSF clients Accurium recently collaborated on three webinars with leading SMSF administration platforms: BGL, Class and SuperMate.

Transitioning to the new streamlined TBAR regime for SMSFs

Income streams/pensions

25 Aug 2022

Following the announcement by the ATO of a new streamlined transfer balance account reporting regime that will apply to all SMSFs from 1 July 2023, they have now clarified how the transition to the new reporting regime will apply to those SMSFs that are annual TBA reporters.

Understanding the CGT main residence exemption – an important part of Downsizer

Accumulation & contributions

8 Jul 2022

Given only a partial CGT exemption is required, there will be scenarios where an individual will qualify for making a contribution under the downsizer measure even though the property they have sold is not the home that they were actually living in at the time.

Changes to the ECPI calculation method

ECPI, segregation and actuarial certificates

5 Jul 2022

Opportunity to showcase value of personalised financial advice

Retirement strategies

7 Jun 2022

"Whilst the retirement income covenant does not apply to SMSF trustees, it does provide an opportunity for advisers to showcase the value of their advice to the large group of superannuants. Financial advice offers something that the strategies offered by super funds will not…….personalisation."