The SMSF Association is the peak professional body representing the SMSF sector throughout Australia, established to continually improve the quality of advisors, the knowledge of trustees and the credibility and health of the self-managed super fund (SMSF) sector.
The SMSF Association is actively involved in discussions with key members of Government and Opposition, sector stakeholders, regulators and policy makers.
Our Key Policy Positions
The SMSF Association strongly supports the Financial System Inquiry’s recommendation to set the core objectives of the superannuation system with the primary goal of the system but believes it is essential that the objective includes a notion of adequate retirement incomes. We believe the primary goal of the system should be:
“To provide income in retirement to substitute or supplement the age pension, delivering a financially secure and dignified retirement for Australians.”
Setting the goals of the system will help promote stability in superannuation which is critical to savers having confidence in the superannuation system and making long term savings decisions.
The SMSF Association strongly believes that the taxation of superannuation should be considered with regards to superannuation’s long-term goals of providing income in retirement and reducing reliance on the age pension. Accordingly, we believe appropriate tax concessions are needed to encourage contributions to superannuation and to compensate people for locking away their money in superannuation for long periods of time.
In addition to achieving these important goals, we believe that an equitable and sustainable superannuation system is needed so that it is accepted by both policy makers and the public in order to bring long-term stability.
We are constantly working with Government to reduce red-tape and complexity in the superannuation system. We currently believe:
- Total superannuation balance thresholds should be aligned
- Transfer balance cap indexation should be simplified
- The superannuation residency rules are outdated for SMSFs
- Legacy pensions should be flushed from the system through an amnesty that allows them to be converted to modern pension products
The SMSF Association supports Government policy to improve the quality of financial advice by raising the minimum education standards for financial advisers, ensuring advisers are engaged in continuous professional development and adhering to a professional code of conduct amongst other requirements.
We believe the desired policy outcomes from introducing limited licensing have not been achieved. Individuals have unmet needs, advisers face high regulatory costs and burden and accountants are strangled by regulation.
The SMSF Association is working on a new consumer-centric advice framework which aims to improve how SMSF advice can be provided.
We also believe financial advisers should be provided with access to the ATO tax portal for their clients, so they can provide timely, efficient and accurate superannuation advice.
The SMSF Association disagreed with the Financial System Inquiry’s recommendation to ban superannuation funds from using limited recourse borrowing arrangements (LRBAs) and welcomed the Government’s decision to not abolish LRBAs. We believe there is little evidence that borrowing in superannuation is causing a build up of excessive risk in superannuation.
We believe that SMSF trustees seeking to use LRBAs should seek professional advice as to whether they are right for their circumstances.
Recent Treasury analysis stated that while future superannuation balances at retirement will continue to increase for both genders, women’s balances will continue to lag behind men’s balances until post 2060. The main problem with the current limited spousal measures is convincing young couples to take advantage of these strategies, when young people tend to concentrate on other issues such as paying off mortgages and educating children. Couples are more likely to consider these strategies when they are approaching retirement and it may be too late to implement effectively.
The SMSF Association proposes that a spousal rollover measure be introduced for superannuation fund members. In essence, the measure would allow an individual with a higher superannuation balance to rollover a portion of their superannuation balance to their spouse in order to help equalise balances. This measure would provide an effective and efficient way to significantly reduce the superannuation retirement gap between partners and improve equalisation between couples, particularly for women.
The SMSF Association believes that the current contribution caps are inadequate, particularly for Australians approaching retirement age. The current concessional contribution cap of $27,500 (previously $25,000) per year for older individuals has negatively affected their ability to save an adequate amount of superannuation to be self-sufficient in retirement.
We believe superannuation policy should incentivise and encourage Australians to take ownership of their retirement planning and contribute to their superannuation accordingly. For those individuals over 50 the policy settings should be improved.
We recommend that individuals over the age of 50 be able to access a higher concessional contribution cap. We suggest that the cap for individuals over 50 should be set at $37,500. This provides an extra $10,000 per year which can be used by those who are planning for retirement and result in a significant positive impact on their lives.
We believe that SMSF auditors are the “gatekeepers” of the SMSF sector, making sure that funds are meeting their legal obligations. Accordingly, we believe it is essential to the integrity of the SMSF sector that SMSF auditors are appropriately skilled and qualified including holding the SMSF Specialist Auditor (SSAud®) designation.
Open Consultations
We encourage our members to play an active role in shaping the SMSF sector.
Feedback from our members plays an important role in shaping and informing our submissions, and our broader policy and advocacy agenda.
We want to hear from you. Please contact us at [email protected]
The following public consultations are currently open.
Recent advocacy efforts
As an Association we have been instrumental in advocating for the SMSF sector and have been directly involved in:
- Introduction of the legacy pension amnesty. After several years of advocacy, Regulations were registered on 7 December 2024. This is an important measure that provides SMSF members holding legacy pensions the choice to exit these products, allowing:
- Pension proceeds to be cashed, held in accumulation, rolled over, or used to commence another type of retirement product
- The allocation of pension reserves tax and cap free with other reserve amounts now counted to an individual’s non-concessional contribution cap
- The wind up of SMSFs that are no longer suitable
- Ongoing advocacy challenging the Better Targeted Superannuation Concessions Bill (Division 296) which proposes to additionally tax earnings calculated on balances above $3 million. This will result in the taxation of unrealised capital gains as shifts in market valuations will be captured.
- Improving ethical and professional standards for tax agents in response to the new Code Determination, its amendments and resulting TPB guidance
- Ensuring limited resource borrowing arrangements remain as an investment option for SMSFs by challenging the myths that persist in relation to SMSF investment in property using LRBAs.
- Advocating for legislative certainty on the application of the wholesale and sophisticated investor rules for SMSFs.
- Actively involved in ongoing consultations on the Delivering Better Financial Outcomes package of reforms to support members and trustees, for the delivery of quality and affordable financial advice.
- Technical fixes and superannuation reform for measures such as:
- Corrective measures legislated to address the treatment of general fund expenses under the expanded non-arm’s length expenditure tax rules.
Latest submissions
Joint Submission – Senate Inquiry – Treasury Laws Amendment (Tax Incentives and Integrity) Bill 2024
SMSF Association Submission Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand (CA ANZ), the Institute of Public Accountants, National Tax and Accountants Association and the SMSSF Association appreciate the opportunity to provide
SMSF Association Submission – TPB Information Sheet Upholding and promoting the ethical standards of the tax profession
SMSF Association Submission The SMSF Association welcomes the opportunity to provide this submission in response to exposure draft TPB Information sheet TPB(I) D56/2024 Upholding and promoting the ethical standards of
SMSF Association Submission – TPB Information Sheet Supervision, competency and quality management under the Tax Agent Services Act 2009
SMSF Association Submission The SMSF Association welcomes the opportunity to provide this submission in response to exposure draft TPB Information sheet TPB(I) D60/2024 Supervision, competency and quality management under the
SMSF Association Submission – TPB Information Sheet Keeping your clients informed
SMSF Association Submission The SMSF Association welcomes the opportunity to provide this submission in response to exposure draft TPB Information sheet TPB(I) D61/2024 Keeping your clients informed (D61/2024 ED). The
Governance
As a Professional Association, we
are formally governed through our Constitution, elected Board and Executive Team.
About Us
The SMSF Association is the independent, professional body representing Australia’s self-managed super fund sector.