Superannuation

Superannuation and Estate Planning

Superannuation is an often-forgotten area of estate planning. This article discusses the best ways to make sure your super goes where you want it to go when you don’t need it any more.

There’s no need to salary sacrifice any more…

Until now, salary sacrifice has been one of the only ways that an employee can make an extra tax-advantaged contribution into their super fund. But that changed on 1 July 2017. Now, almost everyone can make additional contributions without their employer even knowing – which might come in handy next time you ask for a pay rise!

Hitting your Superannuation Sweetspot

Recent changes to the assets test have increased the rate at which the aged pension is reduced when assets exceed a certain level. This has led to what some people describe as a superannuation sweetspot. Hitting this sweet spot can make a big difference to your retirement, so read on and contact us if you would like to discuss how you can hit your own sweetspot.

All about Super in 2017/2018

2017 Budget – Winners and Losers

Compared to previous years, the 2017 Budget was a bit of an anti-climax. In previous years, there have been a number of big-ticket changes - such as the big changes to superannuation that we have been discussing in recent articles. But this year there have simply been a whole lot of small changes, some of which will be of benefit and others will represent a small loss.

Superannuation changes from 1 July 2017 – Part 2

The 2016 Federal budget introduced a number of changes to superannuation. Many of these changes take effect on 1 July 2017. This week’s article follows on from our article of a fortnight ago. We continue to explore the coming changes and how you can ensure you are prepared for them. We hope you enjoy it!

Superannuation changes from 1 July 2017

The 2016 Federal budget introduced a number of changes to superannuation. Many of these changes take effect on 1 July 2017. This is just a few weeks away, so this is a good time to review the changes and decide if you need to make any adjustments to your super to minimise any negative effects of the changes.

Who gets your super when you no longer need it?

Most people do not own their super benefits. The benefits are owned by the trustee/s of the fund. You can organize things to make sure that these trustees do what you want with your super when you die. You can also organize things so that the people who end up with your benefits pay as little tax as possible. Read on to find out how.

Borrowing to pay super contributions

Super contributions are a legitimate expense of a business. As long as the business uses a company structure, it can even borrow to make contributions on behalf of all of the staff – including the company directors. This can create a nice little tax saving that might not otherwise be possible.

Market summary – October 2016

A bad month for sellers is a good month for buyers. But you would never know from the headlines.