Almost all pension members will occasionally draw more than the minimum pension amount in a given year. If so, it is critical to think carefully about how those extra payments should be treated and documented before taking the payment.

We often hear that clients who take more than the minimum required from their pension accounts each year should treat the extra amount as a commutation rather than a pension payment. But when does this really make sense?

It’s great to see the ATO putting out its own commentary and explaining its compliance approach for the auditors regarding the new APESB Independence Guide. But there is a clear omission.

In last night’s 2020-21 Federal Budget, the Government proposed a number of changes designed to remove some of the structural flaws in our current superannuation system.

Like Meg Heffron, I was torn when thinking about this year’s Federal Budget. Was I hoping for no changes to super to provide some stability for our clients or was I hoping for a few changes to get my teeth into. And the result was ….

Once upon a time, there lived many retirees that rolled over their superannuation savings to commence what was known as a “complying income stream”.

TRIS's have been excluded from the actuarial % calculation since 1 July 2017. While they are included once the member turns 65 or retires, the process is not automatic. Without care, the TRIS will accidentally continue to be ignored.

In our article “Why isn’t my actuarial % as high as I thought it would be?” we highlighted a number of scenarios where an actuarial certificate may appear to give an odd result.

This has become a common question since pensions and exempt current pension income (ECPI) got more complicated from 1 July 2017. In theory, we should also be asked why the actuarial % looks too high. Funnily enough we don’t get many of those!

The ATO has released a draft legislative instrument (SPR 2020/D2). It makes it explicit that some important situations created when SMSF landlords provide rent relief to tenants (as a result of Covid-19) will not result in an in-house asset.

The Government has extended the ability to withdraw $10,000 from super for those financially affected by the COVID-19 situation to 31 December 2020, and the ATO release integrity and compliance warnings.

All approved SMSF auditors are required to comply with the independence requirements set out in the APES 110 Code of Ethics. Recent changes to the Code and the associated Independence Guide will have major repercussions for the SMSF industry.