Well things are really heating up in our preparation for the next Super Intensive Day on 14 October. We’re putting the finishing touches on some of our sessions but still just at the planning stages for others.

As I wondered what to write for this month’s Meg’s Musings, I looked back over what I said around this time last year. I can’t decide whether it’s frightening or just uncanny that some of the issues that were top of mind back then remain a focus now.

Well one financial year ends and another begins. At Heffron we were fortunate to kick off the new year with a (positive) bang – we heard we’d won the 2021 SMSF Administration Provider award from SMSF Adviser magazine.

The end of the financial year always seems to bring on two things without fail – a flurry of last minute tax planning and a trigger for reflection on the previous 12 months.

My 2020 Budget wishlist had three items: deal with residency, legacy pensions and the unnecessary complexity in the indexation of transfer balance caps. I’m giving this Budget a tentative 2 out of 3 – which ain’t bad at all.

Last year’s Budget was delayed (like so many things) thanks to Covid-19 and was released in October 2020. This year, we have reverted to the normal “2nd Tuesday in May” arrangement and so the budget will be brought down on Tuesday 11 May 2021.

It seems adviser-bashing remains a popular pastime for politicians, regulators, other professions and sometimes even advisers themselves. There are also accountants who should not be doing SMSF work.

Like most actuaries, I’m a maths nerd. That’s why I always enjoy reading the latest ATO statistical report on SMSFs shows how our sector is changing over time and helps us spot trends that are important for the future retirees of Australia.

Are you like me and tired of the rhetoric from the big end of the superannuation town that always portrays SMSFs as slightly dodgy, overpriced fashion accessories that people with too much time and money like to have?

Independence is certainly a hot topic these days – right now, the conversation is specifically for auditors. But it’s also been a big area of discussion for advisers in the past.

Today is a pretty important day in the Heffron world – it marks 20 years since one of our most influential staff members joined us, Leigh Mansell.

Meg explains how our passion to make our knowledge more accessible drove the creation of the Toolkit and Companion.