Superannuation

Meg Heffron discusses the changes to deductibility of TPD insurance that has been released in an ATO Dreft Ruling 2010/D9 that effects fund trustees. Action needs to be taken before 30 June 2011.
TPD Insurance Deductions

Cashing your superannuation benefits.
Cashing Your Super

The Federal Government introduced a scheme on 1 July 2003 to help low income earners save for their retirement. This scheme, called the co-contribution, is a payment made by the government to your complying superannuation fund. For every $1 of personal, after-tax contributions you make to your super fund the government may contribute up to $1.00 (in prior years it was up to $1.50). In order to receive this valuable benefit the following eligibility criteria apply.
Federal Government Super Co-contributions

The Federal Government offers an incentive in the form of a tax rebate to people who have either a non-working spouse or a low income earning spouse. The benefit is payable once you lodge your income tax return. A tax offset reduces the amount of tax you pay on your taxable income. The incentive is called the spouse rebate is set at a fixed rate of 18% of the contribution made on behalf of the spouse up to a maximum contribution of $3,000. The contributions are reduced once your spouse earns over a certain threshold.
Spouse Super Contributions

Many people have a transition to retirement income stream in place once they turn 55 as a tax effective means of receiving income or a way to enhance their income and begin to reduce their work hours. This strategy can be further enhanced by ‘refreshing’ the strategy either every year or at a particular age. This strategy involves a method of combing both the transitional pension balance with the accumulation balance. The accumulation balance is from superannuation contributions made after the transitional pension began. Once combined a new transition to retirement income stream is started.
Enhancing the TRIS Swap Strategy

Self Managed Superannuation Funds: is there any restriction in the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) legislation on a self managed superannuation fund trustee accepting from a member a binding nomination of the recipients of any benefits payable in the event of the member’s death?
Binding Death Benefit Nomination

Self Managed Superannuation Funds: business real property for the purposes of the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act 1993.
Business real property

Exploitation of 1999 superannuation transitional provisions to obtain taxation and regulatory benefits.
Exploitation of Pre-1999 unit trusts

Self Managed Superannuation Funds: giving financial assistance using the resources of a self managed superannuation fund to a member or a relative of a member that is prohibited for the purpose of papa 65(1)(b) of the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act 1993.
What is the meaning of giving financial assistance to a member

Self Managed Superannuation Funds: when calculating the market value ratio of in-house assets for the purposes of section 75 of the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act 1993 is it permissible for the self managed superannuation fund to value its assets at historical cost?
In-house asset valuation base

The history of self managed superannuation fund borrowing and the introduction of changes to the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act 1993 to accommodate borrowing arrangement.
SMSF and Instalment Warrants

Post 30 June 2009 an investment in a related unit trust comes under the definition of an in-house asset.
SMSF’s and Related Unit Trusts

Self Managed Superannuation Funds: the meaning of ‘borrow money’ or ‘maintain an existing borrowing of money’ for the purposes of section 67 of the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act 1993.
The meaning of borrow money in an SMSF