The great news today is that the rules are changing in relation to superannuation. The days are gone where you work for the same company for your entire life and receive a pension for your loyal commitment to the firm for over 45 years. Today people are enhancing their career through additional training and experiencing new positions with different companies in the corporate world. Superannuation is also changing with the times. Most people today understand that superannuation is not the be all and end all and the need to ensure that their money is working for them as best as it can over their work life to give them the best advantage by the time they retire.

Rather than letting a company look after your superannuation on your behalf and have no idea where your funds are actually being held nor the names of the people who are investing your money on your behalf, a lot of people want to take charge of their own money and make their own decisions as to where it is invested. With one of the latest rule changes in SMSF’s allowing a SMSF to borrow, you can now possibly fund an investment property in your own SMSF. This requires advice from a licensed professional and all care should be taken to ensure that this is set up correctly and in line with the rules and regulations of the act.

Equity Gain has a team of Financial Planners and Accountants that specialize in the setting up and ongoing management and future planning of your SMSF. We can arrange an obligation free appointment to explain to you how a SMSF works and assess your suitability to whether a SMSF will be the best fit for you. During this appointment, our team of Financial Planners and Accountants will also outline all the costs involved in establishing and maintaining a SMSF ongoing. As a general point of reference, you need to have (between husband and wife) a starting balance around the $200,000 mark and be currently employed.

According to the latest statistics released by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) and the Australian Taxation Office (ATO), close to 600,000 self-managed super funds (SMSFs) are now in operation, managing $653.8 billion in assets (from data as at December 2016). Many people have taken advantage of the added control of your retirement savings a SMSF offers plus the ability to create diversification away from volatility shares markets. However, for the true investors, the tax-free status a super has when you reach retirement age (60 years plus) is the icing on the cake. In retirement assets inside a super fund are not subject to income tax or capital gains tax should you sell the asset.