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Tag: concessional/non-concessional contributions

Pension hazard ahead: Act now

                SUMMARY: It’s not too late for transition-to-retirement pensions to be updated to tax-free account-based pensionss. Here’s how. For a year, it has felt like we’ve been madly running a race that finishes on 30 June at midnight. For many, that was the case. A year-long marathon, with a sprint finish. […]

SMSFs cop it on some new angles

      SUMMARY: Limited-recourse borrowing arrangements (LRBAs) are under fire on two fronts, as government continues to struggle with post-July super legislation. If you can believe it, with just 9 days to go, we were still seeing the rules being written for superannuation post 1 July. I’m not kidding. In the last week of parliament […]

Getting ready for super catch-ups

      SUMMARY: Time to have a proper look at the five-year catch-up provisions – and how to make the most of them. It’s been a long-time coming for super members to get some sort of averaging provisions for tax-deductible contributions. The self-employed often struggle with annual “use them or lose them” concessional contribution […]

Timing is everything for June 30 contributions

      SUMMARY: Make sure you get your salary sacrifice sorted properly in the 30 June final countdown for contributions. Timing is everything. Normally top of mind when I’m swinging a golf club or a tennis racquet. But every June, you should have superannuation timing on the brain. This June in particular. We’ve not got […]

Don’t always listen to the ATO

    SUMMARY: Put insurance at the top of your considerations when moving super from anywhere to anywhere. Sometimes the “advice” you get from the Tax Office is the worst advice you will ever receive. So bad, in fact, that it should be banned. Yes, correct. I repeat, the ATO should be banned from providing […]

The ATO’s last minute pensions reprieve

                  SUMMARY: ATO clarifies rules on $1.6m pension rollbacks, and gives a pardon for death benefit errors in the past. The Tax Office has handed out pardons for some past sins as it tries to smooth the deck of some compliance issues ahead of 1 July. The […]

The new rules on salary sacrificing

                        SUMMARY: Salary sacrifice changes forever on 1 July. Are you ready? One big question that will not be answered until after 1 July is … how many employers will even continue to offer super salary sacrifice for their staff? From 1 July, 2017, […]

Federal Budget 2017: The super pros and cons

SUMMARY: Super bonus for downsizing retirees the upside,  property tax deductions the main downside from Federal Budget 2017. If you are a self-managed super fund trustee, it’s safe to take a breath. Take in a deep one. The Federal Budget was one that largely left SMSFs alone. It absolutely needed to be – with all […]

Super strategies for death

                                  SUMMARY: How the death of a spouse will impact on the $1.6m pension limit. And what to do about it. In days gone by, a good old reversionary pension would generally do the trick. It’d cover most situations. […]

Super gearing may be on borrowed time

                  SUMMARY: Gearing-in-super issues continue to be touched up in the lead up to 30 June. Things are getting interesting in the super fund loans space and the 30 June light coming down the super-changes tunnel. “Interesting” in an “uncertain” sense. The light could be a train. […]