What to Consider if Your Manage Your own Super
Posted: Tuesday, November 24, 2009
by Michael Atma
http://www.onlinespecialists.com.au
The amount of people venturing into D.I.Y Super over the past 18 months has risen dramatically.While for some it makes a lot of sense and in some cases a lot of dollars, for others it can be a catastrophe.
If you think you would be a good home-based superannuation fund manager then there's certain qualities you need to have.
it pays to be well organized and proficient at getting tasks done in a timely fashion. By being self-motivated to improve your financial education and taking steps to make sure your knowledge base increases, you can only gain from it. Y
The DIY superannuation self-managed fund is really called a self-managed superannuation fund or SMSF and it can only have four members. Each member is called a trustee, which means they are required to know what their taxation and legal obligations are.
An important consideration is that there are requirements for how SMSF's must be structured, what assets can be bought or funds spent, the recording mechanisms required and how all this is reported.
Your SMSF fund is required to have a documented investment strategy, which should be linked to the retirement goals of all the members. The importance of this is that it details how funds in a self managed super fund are allocated between assets.
Some of the concerns that the tax office have with SMSF include things like trustees putting personal assets into the fund such as houses, collectible items, antiques, artwork or other such things of value which can only be included to 5% of the fund.
When you think about it a superannuation funds real purpose is to make sure you are able to afford a decent lifestyle once you retire. You're not supposed to get any benefit from your SMSF pre-retirement such as if you put a property in it that you receive rent from. Keep this in mind and the tax department will love you.
If you're considering starting up your own SMSF and you not sure where to start then perhaps it's time to call your accountant and find out if they can help you.
There's a lot to be said for getting professional advice from a qualified accountant for your SMSF. They'll be able to steer in you in the right direction or even help you set it up right so that your structure is perfect for your retirement goals.
Copyright (c) 2009 Michael Atma
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Charter Partners specialise in superannuation, accounting, taxation, retirement planning and business development. We can make your business more profitable, run more smoothly and help you gain better financial control.
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Top-level comments on this article: (1 total)Hi Michael. What is D.I.Y.? There is a lot of information in this article. Thanks for sharing this to us. Best of luck to you. ~Nenita~Hi Nenita, DIY is 'do it yourself'... thanks for the feedback...Michael
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