"Self" Managed Super Funds

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  mrjames on 10/07/2014 - 15:12

  +1

  Superannuation is a joke. The job i'm in currently is on an enterprise agreement. For some reason these agreements mean there is an exemption from the choice of super fund laws. As a result I'm forced to use some union run fund which spends all profits on commercials which proclaim that profits are returned to members rather than TV station execs.

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    Jam0864 on 10/07/2014 - 16:09

    I have a similar issue with UniSuper. Stupidly high fees, forced to use it.

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  donbot on 10/07/2014 - 15:36

  Where exactly in the SIS Act does the 'Gubermint' say no to the first two, other than you can't use it personally?

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    dannyhc on 10/07/2014 - 15:45

    formatting screwed will post again

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      donbot on 10/07/2014 - 15:53

      +1

      Hint: ESUPERFUND is not the SIS Act. Just because a low-cost cookie cutter SMSF provider doesnt allow it, doesnt mean it cannot be done.

      Holiday home: Provided you dont use the holiday home and its for a legitimate investment purpose, then you can. Hardest part is proving you dont use it though - the only time I've seen it done (and this stood up to direct ATO scrutiny in an audit) is where the member of the SMSF actually had a personally held property in the same area which was used by the family, and the SMSF's property was rented out to short term tenants via an agent.

      Overseas property: Never seen it done, but in principal it could work, again - provided you dont use it. The justification of overseas countries not recognising the SMSF as the purchaser of the property is a wank - do a title search on any property held in a family trust or SMSF and see where it mentions the trust or name of the SMSF - it wont, it will just show the trustee in its own right.

      edit: as always, seek proper legal advice before doing something like this… dont rely on a forum post.

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  dannyhc on 10/07/2014 - 15:48

  Taken from eSuper.com.au site.

  Can my SMSF invest in Overseas Property?
  No. Clients of ESUPERFUND are not allowed to invest in overseas property. The rationale for disallowing overseas property investments is that overseas countries in most instances will not recognise the SMSF as the purchaser of the property. This means that the property is invariably purchased by clients in their personal names with SMSF monies. This is tantamount to a super withdrawal and using the monies to acquire the asset in the Trustees personal name. The ATO would not accept that the owner of the asset is the SMSF in this case and where the monies accessed were preserved, the SMSF would be severely penalised for illegal access of super benefits. Other reasons for disallowing overseas property is the difficulty in ascertaining who is tenanting the property as well as the additional complexity in converting rent and expenses from the overseas currency to Australian currency. This added level of complexity is outside the scope of our low cost model offering.

  Can my SMSF buy or invest in a Holiday Home?
  No. It is expressly forbidden for a SMSF to invest in a Holiday Home used periodically by a Member (or an associate of a Member including family members by blood or marriage or entities controlled by the Member) irrespective of whether commercial rental is paid.

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  [Deactivated] on 10/07/2014 - 15:56

  Got a letter from sun super that my life insurance ($250k upon death) premium was going up from $2.80 to $4.40/week. That's $230/year. ridiculous.

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  MercSal on 10/07/2014 - 22:08

  ITT: people who don't understand superannuation tax concessions and why they exist

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    polol on 16/07/2014 - 12:08

    so you thought you'd be useless by telling people they don't know anything rather than explaining something?

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  zambuck on 11/07/2014 - 10:17

  The rules around self-use of SMSF assets are pretty clear. You, and pretty much anyone you're related to, are not allowed to use the asset, or to own it directly. The asset is purchased by the SMSF itself. Like it or not, that's what the rules say.

  As for the overseas property, as I understand it esuperfund are just providing advice about how that restriction will likely cause you issues if you try to buy overseas, and that the other ATO compliance requirements are complicated to such a degree by overseas property that they don't offer overseas property as an option within their product.

  You can choose their product or not, and you might find another company offers a product to suit you better. The main reason for using these products is that we mere mortals have no chance of correctly interpreting the minute detail of tax law ourselves, so we end up relying upon people/organisations that hopefully advise us well and keep us safe from the dreaded tax audit.