Superannuation FundInsurance ProtectionNewsRetirement Planning superannuation statements in Australia

Superannuation Statements – What to Check

Last financial year’s superannuation statements are hitting your mail boxes over the last week.

It is important that you check your details are correct. The type of information you should be checking:

  • What is your balance.
  • Is the balance trending upwards over time – remember the Centrelink aged pension will probably not provide enough for the niceties in life. Chances are you will be relying on your superannuation for a better quality of life in your retirement.
  • Are all this year’s superannuation payments showing on your statement?
    Only recently we had a client whose superannuation guarantee payments from his employer were going into a different fund to the one he thought. And in rare cases, unscrupulous employers have been known not to make their payments at all even though they have a legal requirement to do so.
  • Do you have insurance within your superannuation (life, income protection or total permenant disability)?  Is it still sufficient for your needs?
    Remember that insurance premiums within your super fund are paid from your superannuation returns rather than billed to your directly. This makes them a convenient form of extra financial security, but one which it is easy to overlook.
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NewsSuperannuation Fund Self Managed Superannuation Fund Suite with Core Infrastructure Fund

AMP Capital Expands SMSF Suite with Core Infrastructure Fund

If you are one of our self managed superannuation fund (SMSF) clients in the Perth area, you may be interested in this news. Our parent company, AMP Capital, has just added its Core Infrastructure Fund to their SMSF suite due to a growing number of SMSF trustees expressing interest in the class of infrastructure assets.*

Entitled the “AMP Capital Core Infrastructure Fund,” this fund provides retail investors with access to an asset class that is usually available only to large institutional investors: direct infrastructure assets. The AMP Capital Core Infrastructure Fund invests in what AMP Capital calls a “targeted 50-50 mix” of listed infrastructure securities and direct infrastructure. The listed infrastructure securities provide investors with a degree of liquidity.*

According to the AMP Capital website, the AMP Capital Core Infrastructure Fund provides SMSF trustees with the opportunity to own “high quality direct assets” such as Angel Trains in the UK or Melbourne Airport in Australia. The minimum investment for the AMP Capital Core Infrastructure Fund is $10,000.*

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NewsSuperannuation Fund Understanding Superannuation in Australia

Understanding Superannuation

One of the many financial services we offer at Approved Financial Planners is help with your superannuation fund. Whether you choose self managed superannuation or any of the super funds available to you, we can provide sound financial advice.

How Superannuation Works

Money is placed into your superannuation account, also known as a “super account” or “super,” by you, your employer or both. The money in your super fund is then invested with the intent of it growing in time, even though it will occasionally return a negative result for the year. *

As a super grows, the money that was earned is reinvested and also earns a return; this helps your balance grow even more. On member contributions for which you claimed a tax deduction or on contributions from your employer, your tax is only 15% of any contribution up to $30,000 per year. The $30,000 limit is known as “concessional contributions cap.” *

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NewsSuperannuation Fund Lost Superannuation Account

Do You Have a Lost Superannuation Account?

According to the Australian Taxation Office (ATO), approximately six million superannuation accounts or “supers” were “lost” in 2014. The accounts were valued at more than $16 billion. (1)

These accounts, however, can be “found.” The proper account holder merely needs to claim the account. There is a chance that you have a lost super that you don’t know about. (2)

There are a lot of Australians who own more than one superannuation account. Each of these funds has its own charges and fees. According to our parent company, AMP Capital, you may have money scattered across multiple supers, both active and lost. This could cost you thousands of dollars over the part of your lifetime you spend working. The good news: you can save thousands of dollars by finding a lost super or supers and consolidating them into one account. (

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Estate PlanningNewsSuperannuation Fund Estate Planning For SMSF

Where Does Your SMSF Go When You Die?

Estate planning is not one of the more pleasant things to think about, but it can be comforting to know where your Self-Managed Superannuation Fund (SMSF) is going to go when you die. It can also be comforting to know that taxes won’t consume a large portion of their inheritance. Here are some of the fundamentals of where an SMSF goes when you die and how taxes are paid.

According to the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), it is recommended to fill out the form which determines where your money is supposed to be distributed in case of your death. This can keep your family’s money from being “tied up” in their time of grief. (1)

If You Die, Who Gets Your Super?

In the case of your death, the trustee of your super pays the money, known as your “death benefit,” to your dependent, dependents or estate. Your dependents include your spouse or same sex de facto partner and your children. It can also include anyone with whom you were financially interdependent or anyone who was dependent upon you financially. (1)

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Financial PlannersSuperannuation Fund Pitfalls For Setting up an SMSF

Setting up an SMSF? Watch Out for These Pitfalls.

A lot of Australians are opting out of their employer’s superannuation funds and setting up self managed superannuation funds (SMSF’s). At Approved Financial Planners, we have helped numerous people in the Perth area with their SMSF’s.

According to the Financial Planning Association (FPA), though, some costly mistakes are common among those establishing SMSF’s. Here are a few of them.

Letting Your Money Sit

Some Australians who opt for SMSF’s put their money into them but just let it sit as cash. The FPA stresses the importance of those who establish an SMSF having a plan and a strategy for how their funds are going to be invested.*

Inaccurate Assessment of Costs

It can cost a lot of money initially to set up an SMSF. Then there are ongoing costs, such as investment fees, legal advice and ongoing accounting. If there is a corporate trustee, it will cost money to maintain the trustee structure.*

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Financial PlannersNewsSuperannuation Fund Right Choices As SMSF Trustee

Making the Right Choices as an SMSF Trustee

With over 40 years combined experience in the financial services industry, we have been providing advice on self managed superannuation funds (SMSF’s) to Perth area investors since self management of superannuation funds became an option in late 1999.

Recently, our parent company, AMP Capital, conducted research on what SMSF trustees considered to be the most difficult part of managing an SMSF. The research was conducted by Investment Trends.*

Poll Results:*

Most Difficult Task:*

27%: Investment selection.
24%: Keeping track of SMSF rule and regulation changes.
23%: Administration and paperwork.
19%: Finding enough time to conduct investment research.

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Financial PlannersNewsSuperannuation Fund Splitting Super With Your Spouse

Splitting Super Contributions with Your Spouse

Superannuation splitting is a concept that we have shared with a growing number of our Perth area clients. Known as “super splitting,” it is a way you can split your before tax or concessional super contributions with your spouse. The two most common types of concessional super contributions are your arranged salary sacrifice contributions and your employer’s mandatory contributions under the superannuation guarantee.*

If your super fund allows you to do it, you can split contributions to a different fund or within the same fund. While contributions can be split, your super fund’s account balance cannot. If you wish to split your contributions, you must be in a de facto relationship or married to the person with whom you are splitting your super contributions.*

To receive split contributions, your spouse must be under 55 years of age or between 55 and 64 but not retired (other conditions may apply). If your spouse is 65 or more years of age, you cannot split any superannuation contributions.*

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NewsSuperannuation Fund Defined Benefit Super Scheme

Defined Benefit Super Scheme? Why a Super Checkup May Be Beneficial.

Many Government or public sector employees have PSS defined benefit superannuation funds. We would like to explain the difference between an accumulation-style superannuation fund, a defined benefit superannuation fund and a self managed superannuation fund.

When you retire, especially if you plan to stick around the Perth area, you don’t know how much money you will need to live the lifestyle you want. We feel it is helpful for those with defined benefit supers to understand their options.

What is a PSS Defined Benefit Super Fund?

A PSS defined benefit super is so named because the benefits you receive upon retirement will be “defined” or based upon final average salary (FAS), your contribution rate and the amount of time you were a PSS member. The Australian Government and other participating employers offer this kind of super fund.*

Why is it Different

Other super funds are invested for you. You can either gain money or lose money. The amount of money you eventually collect is dependent upon how much money is in your super fund. When you retire, you can collect your super as a monthly payment (retirement income stream), a lump sum or a combination of both.**

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NewsSuperannuation Fund Super Working Hard Enough for You

Is Your Super Working Hard Enough for You?

Have you checked your superannuation fund lately? Is it working hard enough for you? Ideally, everyone in Perth would answer those questions “yes.” However, the reality is that some people pay a lot of attention to their supers and some just stick with the fund their employer uses and hope it increases on “auto-pilot.”

If you are someone who keeps track and is happy with how your employer’s retail or corporate fund is performing, great.

Superfund Basics

Currently, your employer is required to pay 9.5% of your income, not including overtime, to your superannuation fund. You are allowed to make contributions to the fund as well. Depending on the conditions of your employment, the money may go into a corporate fund chosen by your employer or a fund that you choose between a retail fund and an industry fund or a self managed super fund.

The super fund invests your money for you. All increases are reinvested for you and you make money off of the money the fund has already made. This is similar to “compounding interest.”

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