Government delivers surplus election friendly 2019-20 Federal Budget – Leaves superannuation largely untouched A surplus election budget is the news coming out of the 2019-20 Federal Budget. With superannuation left largely untouched, the Government focused on further personal income tax cuts. However, three key announcements include providing more flexibility for individuals to contribute at ages…
March 29, 2019
Get retirement red tape right or you’ll pay the price
Written by John Maroney, CEO, SMSF Association First published in The Australian Financial Review on 29 March 2019. Licensed by Copyright Agency. The definition of retirement has always been important for superannuation fund members wanting to access their super once they reach preservation age and retire. But after big changes to super on July 1,…
March 27, 2019
The 2019-20 Federal Budget forecast and an update on last year’s Budget measures
With the Federal Budget imminent, speculation as to what may be in the budget increases. Given the Labor party has announced a number of super proposals already, including the banning of excess refundable franking credits, the Coalition might look to use this election budget to attract voters who could be negatively impacted by Labor’s proposals.…
February 26, 2019
SMSF tips: What to consider before closing your self-managed superannuation fund
Opinion piece written by John Maroney, CEO, SMSF Association First published in The Financial Review on 26 February 2019. Licensed by Copyright Agency. Self-managed superannuation fund (SMSF) members need to think long and hard before winding up their fund. Although there are often compelling reasons for doing so, there are many factors to consider before making…
February 15, 2019
The SMSF Association’s 2019-20 pre-Federal Budget submission
February 2019 As leaders of the SMSF sector, we believe we are able to offer insights on some key issues from the perspective of an industry that has grown to represent approximately $755 billion in assets and over 1.1 million SMSF members, becoming an integral part of Australia’s superannuation system and economy. This year our…
February 11, 2019
Changes in the wings for SMSFs
SMSF Association CEO, John Maroney interviewed by Tony Kaye, InvestSMART First published in The Constant Investor on 11 February 2019. SMSF Association CEO John Maroney discusses the Royal Commission, the Productivity Commission, FASEA and franking credits. Representing over 1.1 million Australians self-managing more than $720 billion in super assets, the SMSF Association is a powerful voice…
February 2, 2019
What will the ALP proposed franking credits policy mean for my SMSF?
If the Australian Labor Party are elected in 2019 they intend to ban the refund of excess franking credits. This means, if your SMSF received a tax refund at the end of the financial year because your franking credits exceeded any tax payable, you will no longer receive that money. SMSFs are significantly affected because…
January 31, 2019
What your financial planner should look like by 2024 as new standards kick in
Written by John Maroney, CEO, SMSF Association First published in The Australian Financial Review on 31 January 2019. Licensed by Copyright Agency. In the final moments of 2018 and early into 2019, the new standard setter for financial advisers – the Financial Adviser Standards and Ethics Authority (FASEA) – issued new educational and ethical standards…
January 10, 2019
Productivity Commission Inquiry Report into Superannuation
The SMSF Association has welcomed the Productivity Commission’s decision to follow our recommendations to improve SMSF advice standards and reject introducing minimum establishment balances as a way of ensuring the integrity of the SMSF sector. The Productivity Commission’s report into Superannuation was handed to the Australian Government on 21 December 2018 and publicly released yesterday. The report…
January 7, 2019
Podcast: A frank discussion about the ALP dividend proposals
First published by nabtrade and can be found here. Licensed by Copyright Agency. Some investors have sold off parts of their portfolio and changed their asset allocation under the assumption that the Opposition’s policy proposals have been implemented. However, this is not the case and frankly, any announcements could take a while to reach implementation. With ongoing…