Category: Investment

Keep SMSF property investment in perspective, says SPAA

The role that self managed super funds (SMSFs) are playing in the current surge in residential property prices needs to be kept in perspective, says Graeme Colley, Director Technical and Professional Standards, of the SMSF Professionals’ Association of Australia (SPAA).

Colley says despite all the market talk of SMSFs flooding into residential property, the actual numbers reveal it’s still a small percentage of the sector’s $500 billion in assets under management.

“At June 30, property in SMSFs consisted mainly of non-residential property such as commercial property ($58 billion) compared with residential property ($17 billion) out of total of $495 billion. At $17 billion, that’s 3.4% of all SMSF assets.

“In addition, gearing is not the issue its critics allege. According to ATO statistics, geared property in SMSFs makes up less than one half of one per cent (0.4848%) of their total investments.

“It would take a huge shift in investments to influence the real estate market compared with individual investors who use negative gearing to purchase property.”

Colley says SPAA welcomes the current debate because it highlights what SPAA has consistently said – that SMSF trustees need to get professional advice before using gearing to invest in property.

“Property is not an inappropriate investment per se, but it must be appropriate to the fund and consider the member’s circumstances, just like all investments whether they are via an SMSF or personal investment decisions outside superannuation.

“In a low interest environment people are looking for better opportunities for investing, a natural reaction to move out of a low earnings investment. Property is an alternative to interest rates on cash, fixed interest type investments and term deposits, and there are still fears about just how robust the sharemarket is.”

Colley adds that ASIC has said that all investments made by an SMSF, including property, requires advice from a licensed financial adviser. “This requires an examination of whether the investment is appropriate to the circumstances of the fund and its members.

“However, individuals do not require advice from a professional adviser to consider their particular personal circumstances before they invest in geared property. This means a higher risk is associated with the investment and the lenders experience a higher rate of default than the strict lending policies that are imposed on an SMSF.”

 

From SPAA

Tax certainty for deceased estates of SMSF pensioners

The government will amend the law to allow the tax exemption for earnings on assets supporting superannuation pensions to continue following the death of a fund member in the pension phase until the deceased member’s benefits have been paid out of the fund. This change will have effect from 1 July 2012.

The super law requires the benefits of a deceased member to be paid out of the fund as soon as practicable following the member’s death. The continuation of the earnings tax exemption beyond the death of a member will be subject to this existing requirement.

This change will benefit the beneficiaries of deceased estates by allowing super fund trustees to dispose of pension assets on a tax-free basis to fund the payment of death benefits.

This was an anomaly brought to the superannuation indusry’s attention by the ATO a year ago. It is a sensible amendment that just restores the law to the way most people thought it had always worked.

Govt fixes SMSF death benefit slug

When a superannuation fund is in pension mode it does not pay tax on income or capital gains derived from those assets used to provide the pension. The ATO earlier this year caused much angst when it determined that upon the death of a member, the fund is no longer providing a pension to that member and there for any capital gains that occur in disposing of assets to pay out death benefits to the pensioner’s beneficiaries are not exempt from tax.

 

The treasurer today announced that from 1 July 2012, the Government will amend the law to allow the tax exemption for earnings on assets supporting superannuation income streams to continue following the death of a fund member in the pension phase until the deceased member’s benefits have been paid out of the fund. This proposed continuation of the exempt current pension income (ECPI) provisions beyond the death of a member will be subject to the existing requirement for the benefits of a deceased member to be paid out of the fund as soon as practicable following the member’s death.