Self-Managed Superannuation is one of the fastest growing sectors of the superannuation market. More and more people are seeking to take absolute control over their superannuation and have complete transparency over what they are invested in.
Whilst SMSFs do give you more control it does come with its own set of costs and responsibilities that need to be carefully considered.
Advantages
The primary advantages of SMSFs are largely centred around investment control and investment choice, however some other reasons people are attracted to Self Managed Superannuation are:
- Owning direct assets – such as property
- Gearing – Borrowing to invest
- Insurance – being able to structure personalised insurance policies
- Estate planning – having greater control over how your assets are dealt with after death
Costs
The costs of establishing and running a Self Managed Superannuation fund vary depending on the number and type of assets as well as the number of transactions. All SMSFs are required to be audited by a registered independent auditor each year. This cost should be considered in addition to the regular administration cost.
As rule of thumb, it is widely considered appropriate once you have combined superannuation balances in excess of $200,000. Although this does ignore considerations such as future contributions and withdrawals.
Generally, the larger the balance of your SMSF the greater economies of scale, which can be advantageous when you consider that you can have up to 4 members in an SMSF.
Responsibilities
It is important that those considering an SMSF are clear that the ultimate responsibility for the performance and administration of the fund lies with them: as trustees. This does not mean that you cannot rely on the services of professionals like us. It simply means that as trustees you have a certain level of responsibility to be actively engaged in what is happening with your fund, and your obligations as trustees.
A good place to start to understand these obligations is with this ATO publication.
