With no news in this month’s Federal Budget, we had assumed the temporary halving of the minimum pension draw down rates would cease on 30 June 2021 (as currently legislated). However, the Government has now announced an extension for one more year.

The announcement of a two year amnesty, possibly starting as soon as 1 July 2022, was music to the ears of anyone dealing with market linked, complying lifetime or complying life expectancy pensions.

I’ve heard SMSF trustees now need to use SuperStream when rolling monies in or out their fund. Is that right? And what does it mean for me as a practitioner?

The 2021 Federal Budget did not include many superannuation measures but those that did make the cut were good news for SMSFs.

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.

The Treasurer announced 4 significant changes for superannuation contributions in the Federal Budget, all of which are expected to start from 1 July 2022 (subject to the relevant legislation receiving Royal Assent before that date).

It feels like this has taken a lifetime but finally the Government has announced it will do something meaningful about allowing members with so called “legacy pensions” to restructure their affairs.

Every year when Budget time rolls around we hope and pray that the Government will finally relax the residency requirements for SMSFs. This year our wishes were granted but only in part.

While there were a few sweeteners in the budget which will potentially allow clients to get more of their hard-earned money inside super, for most clients it will be business as usual. Here is what you need to know as you head into year-end.

Previous measures to address inequality in superannuation have proved largely ineffective. Has this budget addressed the failures of the previous measures or is it just more of the same?

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.

When SMSFs have finished their useful life and are being wound up, doing so before the next 30 June rolls around is a common objective. What are the top issues to consider this year?