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SMSF policy changes put pressure onto trust deed updates
Following a period of significant change for self-managed superannuation fund (SMSF) policy, trustees and their advisers should remember to review trust deeds, weathdigital technical manager, Rob Lavery, has warned.
“Each significant change to the superannuation rules is a trigger for trustees, and their advisers, to review the SMSF’s trust deed,” Lavery said. “The hard part is that, at the moment, change is coming in tranches, not in one big hit.”
He pointed to changes in contribution caps in 2017 and downsizer contributions this year as examples of the segmented change.
Laws had also been drafted to implement a 2018 budget proposal to allow an exemption from the work test from the beginning of next financial year, which Lavery said look to allow 56-71 year-olds with superannuation balances of less than $300,000 a financial year in which they could make voluntary contributions to super provided they met the work test the preceding year.
“Many SMSFs will be up to date with all these changes but this isn’t a universal state. All SMSF trustees and their advisers should be actively reviewing the fund’s deed to ensure it reflects current laws and won’t prevent members from executing crucial strategies,” Lavery said.
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