Investing on arm’s length

Running a self-managed super fund requires trustees to adhere to complex laws and follow a number of onerous rules.

One of the most fundamental investment rules for SMSFs is that the trustees must transact on an arm’s length basis to ensure no conflict of interest arises. An arm’s length transaction requires trustees to conduct on a commercial basis as if there was no relationship between the parties.

This means the purchase and sale price of fund assets should always reflect the true market value of the asset, and the income from the assets held by the fund should always reflect the true market rate of return.

SMSF trustees must obtain independent valuations for assets which are not listed on a public market. Furthermore, if a SMSF sells an asset to a related party or member of the fund, the sale price must be at market value.

Any non-arm’s length income is taxed at the highest marginal tax rate. The ATO considers non-arm’s length income as income which is derived from a scheme in which the parties were not dealing with each other at arm’s length and if it is more than the SMSF might have been expected to derive (if the parties had been dealing on a arm’s length basis).

Transitional CGT relief for SMSFs

Self-managed super funds can access Capital Gains Tax (CGT) relief to provide temporary relief from certain capital gains that might arise as a result of individuals complying with the transfer balance cap, and Transition to Retirement Income Stream (TRIS) reforms, commencing on 1 July 2017.

Understanding death benefits under the new transfer balance cap

The introduction of a $1.6 million transfer balance cap for superannuation will take effect from 1 July 2017 which is likely to impact fund members who collectively with their spouse exceed $1.6 million in super.

When an individual with a super account dies, the trustee of the super fund will generally pay the deceased’s remaining super interests (accumulation and retirement phase) as a death benefit lump sum to a beneficiary.

Superannuation death benefits can be cashed:
– to a beneficiary or beneficiaries as superannuation lump sums that are paid out of the super system, or
– to a dependant beneficiary or beneficiaries as superannuation income streams that are retained in the super system, or
– to a dependant beneficiary or beneficiaries using a combination of the two.

A dependant is a person who is either a spouse of the deceased, a child of the deceased (less than 18 years old, financially dependent under 25 years old or has a disability) or a person who was in an interdependency relationship with the deceased.

When a death benefit income stream is paid to a dependant beneficiary, a credit arises in the beneficiaries transfer balance account. This may result in the dependant exceeding their transfer balance cap.

In this case, the beneficiary can choose to reduce their transfer balance account by commuting the death benefit income stream fully or partially. When this occurs, the commuted amount will need to be cashed out as a lump sum and paid to the individual – rather than being kept in an accumulation account, as this contravenes the regulatory requirement to cash the benefit out of the super system as soon as practicable.

Reversionary super income streams
A death benefit can be either reversionary or non-reversionary.

Reversionary death benefit income streams are super income streams that revert to a reversionary beneficiary automatically upon the member’s death. A non-reversionary death benefit income stream is a super income stream created and paid to the dependant beneficiary or beneficiaries.

If an individual receives a reversionary super income stream, the value of the entire supporting super interest at the time it becomes payable to the beneficiary counts towards their transfer balance cap.

If you are the recipient of a reversionary pension, the income stream will not count as a credit in your transfer balance account until 12 months after the death of the member, giving you time to adjust your affairs and reduce any amount that may cause you to exceed your transfer balance cap.

Insurance through super: is it right for you?

Taking out insurance through a super fund can be a great option for some members, but it does also come with some pitfalls.

Most super funds provide their members with insurance options and an option to increase, decrease or cancel your default insurance cover. There are many benefits of taking out insurance through super, which include:
– the ability to purchase policies in bulk
– not having to pay for premiums with your take-home income
– the convenience of having your policy managed for you
– most policies in super tend to be pre-approved, meaning there is no need for interviews or medical check-ups
– life insurance inside super is deductible to the fund at 15 per cent annually; whereas life insurance premiums held outside of super are not tax deductible.

However, there are some pitfalls of holding insurance through your super, including:
– there is generally a limit on the payout that can be received from an insurance policy purchased by a super fund. In public funds, it is usually between $100,000 and $200,000. For some people, this amount may be more than enough. However, if you have dependents and a mortgage, it may be insufficient to look after your loved ones should something happen to you.
– the types of insurance and levels of cover are limited
– typically insurance cover rises after reaching 50 years – taking a large chunk of contributions
– life insurance coverage ends when you reach a certain age (usually 65 or 70); policies outside of super may cover you for longer

Anyone using a super fund to provide insurance should ensure that they have an appropriate death benefit nomination in place that specifies who their super will go to in the event of their death. If you nominate a non-tax dependent as the beneficiary then they might end up with a hefty tax bill in the event of a lump sum payout (whereas, life insurance payouts outside of super tend to be tax-free).

Boost your retirement savings

Pre-retirees can take advantage of a range of strategies to boost their nest egg.

Here are three popular ways to top up your retirement savings:

Maximise contributions
Take advantage of the concessional (pre-tax) and non-concessional (after-tax) contributions by contributing as much as you can afford before reaching the caps. From 1 July 2017, the annual concessional contributions cap will be $25,000 for all age groups.

Consider spouse contributions
Spouse contributions are super contributions made on behalf of your spouse. Generally, you can claim a tax offset of up to $540 per year if your spouse is a low-income earner or is not working. From 1 July 2017, the spouse’s income threshold will be increased to $40,000 to assist more couples to support each other in saving for retirement.

Keep on working
The longer you work means more time to leave your savings untouched and additional time to contribute to super. Delaying retirement leads to a shorter retirement and hence more savings. You may also consider working part-time to enjoy income while waiting until Age pension age.

Overview of the upcoming super reforms

The reforms to superannuation made in the 2016 Federal Budget are on their way with most of the changes commencing from 1 July 2017.

Some of the changes to take place from 1 July 2017 onwards will include:

Lowering the concessional and non-concessional contribution caps
The cap on concessional (before-tax) contributions will be decreased from $30,000 (for those under the age of 50) or $35,000 (for those aged 50 years old and over) to the flat rate of $25,000 per year for all age groups.

The new annual cap for non-concessional (after-tax) contributions will be reduced from $180,000 to $100,000. This will remain available to individuals between 65 and 74 years old if they meet the work test. Individuals under the age of 65 will be able to bring-forward three years of contributions, i.e. $300,000.

Transfer balance cap
The introduction of a $1.6 million cap on the total amount that can be transferred into the tax-free retirement phase for account-based pensions. These pensions are commonly provided to defined benefit funds but may be provided to other funds, including some self-managed super funds.

Reduction of Division 293 threshold
The Division 293 threshold will be lowered from $300,000 to $250,000. Individuals with income and concessional super contributions exceeding the $250,000 threshold will have an additional 15 per cent tax imposed on the amount over the threshold, up to the total amount of concessional contributions not exceeding their concessional contributions cap.

Changes to transition to retirement income streams (TRIS)
Currently, where a member receives a TRIS, the fund receives tax free earnings on the super assets that support it. The Government will remove the tax-exempt status of earnings from assets that support a TRIS. Earnings from assets supporting a TRIS will be taxed at 15 per cent regardless of the date the TRIS commenced. Members will also no longer be able to treat super income stream payments as lump sums for taxation purposes.

Spouse tax offset
Currently an individual can claim a tax offset up to a maximum of $540 for contributions they make to their spouse’s eligible super fund if, among other things, the total of the spouse’s assessable income, total reportable fringe benefits and reportable employer super contributions is under $13,800.

The spouse’s income threshold will be increased to $40,000 from 1 July 2017. The current 18 per cent tax offset of up to $540 will remain as is and will be available for any individual, whether married or de facto, contributing to a recipient spouse whose income is up to $37,000. As is currently the case, the offset is gradually reduced for income above this level and completely phases out at income above $40,000.

Preparing for the super changes

Tighter superannuation rules will apply from 1 July 2017 as part of the super reforms announced in last year’s Federal Budget.

Unpaid super costing workers tens of thousands of dollars

Workers on the cusp of retirement who are short changed on their superannuation entitlements have nest eggs that are tens of thousands of dollars less than those who are paid correctly.

Using the latest ATO data from 2013-14, the research from Industry Super Australia found that people aged 60 to 64 on salaries ranging from $50,000 to $75,000 who weren’t correctly paid their SG that year, had overall super balances that were $35,089 or almost 40 per cent less than those who were.

Across all ages and all salaries, those Australians who were underpaid their super had balances that were $19,709 or 47 per cent lower than those who had received it.

Australian law requires employers to contribute 9.5 per cent in superannuation towards every worker over the age of 18 earning more than $450 (gross) a month. This is the Superannuation Guarantee.

However, a report released late last year found that 2.4 million or one-third of entitled workers were denied their SG in 2013-14. For the average worker, this represented $1,489 or four months’ worth of savings.

This new work draws from an ATO 2 per cent sample file of matched personal tax and superannuation records for 2013-14 and analyses the difference in balances for people who are underpaid employer super by nine categories of age and by six categories of wage and salary. In the matrix of 54 combinations, underpaid super was associated with a markedly lower balance in all combinations.

SuperStream checklist

All businesses should now be SuperStream compliant. SuperStream is a standard for processing superannuation data and payments electronically.

Employers must pay employee super contributions electronically (EFT or BPAY) and send the associated data electronically under SuperStream.

SuperStream ensures the data is in a standard format so it can be transmitted consistently across the super system – between employers, funds, service providers and the Tax Office.

For those businesses who have not made the switch, here is a guide to be SuperStream ready:

1. Choose an option

SuperStream requires you to pay super and send employee information electronically. If you already do this, you may only need to refine your system to send the contribution data in the standard format. You can use:

• a payroll system that meets the SuperStream standard

• your super fund’s online system

• a super clearing house

• a messaging portal

If you are unsure of which option to choose, contact one of our accountants to help you select the most suitable option for your business.

2. Collect information and update your records

You may need to collect additional information from your employees, including:

• employee tax file number

• fund ABN

• fund unique superannuation identifier (USI)

For employees with a self-managed super fund, you will need:

• employee tax file number

• fund ABN

• fund bank account details

• fund electronic service address

3. Use SuperStream

Once you have all the employee information, you can start using SuperStream as soon as possible. It is still the employer’s responsibility to meet the super guarantee obligations by the due dates. Those using a clearing house must check how long it will take to send the money and information the super fund. Generally, an employee’s super contribution is counted as being paid on the date the fund receives it, not the date a clearing house receives it from you.

Overview of the transfer balance cap

The transfer balance cap was introduced as part of the reforms to superannuation in the 2016 Federal Budget and will commence on 1 July 2017.

The cap applies to the total amount of super that has been transferred into the retirement phase. The cap will start at $1.6 million, and will be indexed periodically in $100,000 increments in line with CPI. If, at any time, you meet or exceed your cap, you will not be entitled to indexation.

Each individual with super interests in the retirement phase has a personal transfer balance cap that cannot be shared with anyone else. Individuals will have a transfer balance account which tracks the net amounts transferred to the retirement phase.

Individuals who currently receive a pension or annuity income stream that is close to or in excess of the cap, or start a retirement phase income stream after 1 July 2017 will be affected by the transfer balance cap. Those affected should seek advice as to how to reduce the value of their income stream before 1 July 2017 to ensure there is not an excess.

For those who will commence a retirement phase income stream after 1 July 2017, you must ensure:
– your account based pensions and annuities do not exceed the $1.6 million transfer balance cap
– you include income from certain lifetime pensions (usually paid from a defined benefit fund) in your income tax return if you are over 60, and may need to pay more tax
– if you have a mix of pension types, with a total value exceeding $1.6 million, you reduce any account based pensions to reduce the total value of all your pensions below the transfer balance cap.