Last year 9,700 individuals applied for compassionate release of super for dental treatment expenses, and 82% were approved. Out of those approved, 9% were for a dependent child’s dental treatment, which could include braces. What is the pathway for access? While normally superannuation must be preserved for retirement, there are limited  exceptions. One of these...

It’s been a particularly difficult 12 months for investors. On the superannuation front, we now have two major reports assessing how super accounts fared in the  2022 calendar year. Super­Ratings issued its average balanced return recently and found it was minus 4.8%. Late last year, ChantWest undertook a similar exercise – reporting a figure of...

On 20 February 2023, Treasury released a consultation paper on legislating the purpose of superannuation. This is an idea that has been around since 2016 when the former Coalition government contemplated doing the same thing. The government says that legislating an objective of superannuation will provide stability and confidence to policy makers, regulators, industry, and...

What is a recontribution strategy? The objective of the recontribution strategy is to reduce the taxable component of an individual’s superannuation account and to increase the tax-free component, which may lead to better estate planning outcomes. To achieve this, the recontribution strategy allows individuals who have met a full condition of release (such as the retirement or reaching age...

Many SMSF trustees wonder if they can live in their SMSF property once they retire. This is a common question particularly as property is such a popular SMSF investment. However, despite superannuation being your own money, there are certain rules around accessing your superannuation which prohibit you from not only using your superannuation to purchase...

The eligibility age for downsizer contributions reduced from 60 to 55 years from 1 January 2023. This means if you are age 55 or older, you could invest the proceeds of the sale of your family home to your superannuation outside of your standard contribution caps. Downsizer contributions From 1 January 2023, if you’re aged...

Limited recourse borrowing arrangements (LRBAs) have been greenlit by a recent enquiry, and also comments from the Assistant Treasurer. The Council of Financial Regulators in November released its second report on Leverage and risk in the superannuation system. Consistent with the 2019 report, the Council found that LRBAs are “unlikely to pose a material risk to...

From 1 July 2021, the law was changed to allow for six-member SMSFs (up from five members). At the time of writing, the uptake has been slow so far with just 228 funds with six members. At the other end of the spectrum, it is permissible to have single member funds. The main advantage of...

In a recent speech, ATO assistant Commissioner Justin Micale outlined the ATO’s latest compliance issues for those who operate an SMSF. ID fraud and investment scams While ID fraud and investment scams are still quite rare in the SMSF sector, they are becoming more prevalent. In the 2022 financial year, the ATO identified increasing numbers of individuals...

Do you have your own business or are thinking of starting one? If so, you may need to pay yourself superannuation depending on your business structure. Types of business structures available If you were working for a company, your employer would be required to pay you superannuation guarantee (SG) contributions of 10.5% of your earnings...