Super Funds

“Superannuation is a retirement (including pensions) program in Australia. It has a compulsory element whereby employers are required by law to pay an additional amount based on a proportion of an employee’s salaries and wages (currently 9%) into a complying superannuation fund.”

Superannuation is one of JATA Consultants’ key industry specialisations. We have extensive experience in the superannuation industry, working with trustees, members and employers. Our experience covers all segments of the industry: large fund compliance, self-managed funds, administration, employer obligations, member retirement planning and estate planning.

Our depth of knowledge on both regulatory and wealth management issues enables us to provide practical advice on the most effective superannuation strategies to assist with your overall financial plan.

JATA Consultants has the skills and experience necessary to audit the financial position and operation of self managed superannuation funds.

Why Set Up Your Own Self Managed Super Fund (SMSF)?
For many people, a self managed superannuation fund provides the opportunity to make investment decisions for their retirement finances, thereby having control of their superannuation now and in retirement.

Here are just some of the reasons why people set up their own super fund:

• The poor performance of managed superannuation funds and the associated high costs
• The need to consolidate all of your different super funds from previous employers or redundancy payments into one
• To have greater choice and flexibility of investments
• The increasing need to provide for one’s own retirement.

Most SMSF typically invest in:

• Australian shares
• International shares
• Direct investment property
• Managed funds
• Leasing and mortgages
• Options
• Advertising signs
• Car parks
• Business real property

Because you have the control over the investments as trustees of the SMSF, you are more involved and pro-active with your superannuation. You can work with one of our consultants in planning strategies to reduce tax payable within the fund and have greater control over capital gains issues.

Your Obligations
As a trustee, you must follow the legislation and compliance requirements.
The fund must have an investment strategy.
The fund must complete a tax return each year.
The fund must be audited by a qualified auditor each year.

Free Strategic Analysis
If you want to find out if a self managed super fund is for you, please register today for your free report that will explore the benefits of setting up your own fund.

Our consultants have the skills to support clients with their self managed superannuation funds in each of the accumulation, retirement and estate planning phases. We can assist with the design, establishment and strategies required to run an effective fund.

Self Managed Super Fund

DEED
The Deed for each superannuation fund we source has been subjected to regular and frequent review by a specialist superannuation solicitor. It is updated to the changing laws and is very user-friendly. The last major update was completed in June 2000 – but since then, three minor amendments have been made. This illustrates both the number of changes being made to superannuation law – and our responsiveness to clients’ requests for amendments.

Our deeds provide for the most recent changes, such as:

• spouse contributions
• binding nominations
• provision of investment choice for members
• complying pensions (two types)
• prohibition on fees being paid to the Trustee
• reduced actuarial requirements
• incorporation of in-house investment rules
• use of custodian trustee.

Self-Managed Superannuation Funds
It is imperative that superannuation funds qualify as self-managed superannuation funds. If that is not the case, the fund will be required to have an independent trustee – an expensive requirement which will remove control from the principals of the fund. If––when ordering a superannuation fund from us––we cannot be sure that the fund will qualify as a self-managed superannuation fund, we will discuss the matter with you.

A self-managed superannuation fund is determined mostly by looking at the members and trustee(s) of the fund.

For funds with two to four members:

Individual trustees:
All members must be trustees and all trustees must be members. There is no need for the members to be related unless one of the members is the employer of another member.

Corporate trustee:
All members of the fund must be a director of the corporate trustee and all directors of the corporate trustee must be members of the fund. There is no need for the members to be related unless one of the members is the employer of another member.

For funds with one member:

Individual trustees:
The sole member must be one of two trustees. The other trustee can be any person but cannot be the employer of the sole member unless that second trustee is related to the sole member.

Corporate trustee:
The sole member of the fund must be the sole director of the corporate trustee – or must be one of two directors of the corporate trustee, where the second director can be any person but cannot be the employer of the sole member unless that second director is related to the sole member.

Trustee
There is no legal requirement for the trustee to be a company. Under most circumstances, there is no need to use a company for this purpose. For most superannuation funds, the most economical and convenient Trustee will comprise each of the members of the Fund.

Under normal circumstances:

• For clients in metropolitan Melbourne, delivery will normally take 24 hours from our receipt of your order.
• For clients in country Victoria or interstate, delivery will normally take 48 hours. Delivery to any location in Australia is free.

Other Questions
We are always happy to answer your questions, on any aspect pertaining to your superannuation fund. We have a team of friendly, knowledgeable staff who will help you with any query you may have.