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Beware of super regulation changes
Changes to the superannuation regulations have potentially significant impacts particularly for self-managed superannuation funds (SMSFs), according to Cooper Grace Ward.
The law firm’s partner, Scott Hay-Bartlem, said there were significant backflips from the draft regulations released in January and pointed to two measures in the draft regulations that had been removed.
He said the regulations no longer exempted funds from the need to have actuarial certificates after 1 July 2017.
“This means actuarial certificates will still be required for superannuation funds paying pensions where they also have accumulation accounts,” Hay-Bartlem said.
The regulations also no longer allow market linked pensions to be commuted if there may be an excess transfer balance cap issue, meaning that market linked pensions will still provide an excess transfer balance cap issue if there were also account based pensions.
Hay-Bartlem also noted that measures previously announced that were now law included:
- Permitting superannuation death benefits to be rolled over in many situations;
- Removing the obligation on the trustee of the fund to refund contributions over the caps (fund-capped contribution rules), as these contributions can now be refunded under the contribution cap rules;
- Allowing defined benefit funds to give a notice to members that they will not allow members to claim personal deductible contributions after the removal of the 10 per cent test; and
- Removing the ability to elect for a lump sum to count towards your minimum pension payment.
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Jim Chalmers has defended changes to the Future Fund’s mandate, referring to himself as a “big supporter” of the sovereign wealth fund, amid fierce opposition from the Coalition, which has pledged to reverse any changes if it wins next year’s election.
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