Setting up my SMSF, Q&A

Its nice to see that both the accountant and the investment adviser that have posted on this thread also recommend that you have a Corporate Trustee. The vast majority of SMSF's that are set up by accountants rather than solicitors do not do this and it is a BIG mistake.

If you live in Melbourne and surrounds there is a great SMSF interest group called SMSF Trustees Australia (Melb. East) Group They are simply amazing. They are a genuine non profit group that get together the first Tuesday of each month. The cost is $3 for the hire of the Hall. Typically they get 100 ++ people turn out so you should get there early. Their focus is investing in the share market but every month they have quality speakers about all sorts of issues and things to look out for if you really want to self manage your fund.

Kind Regards
non recourse
 
Elemental said:
Go here and put in the fund ABN.

It will show the fund is a 'complying fund'. Print it and send it with the other information.

http://superfundlookup.gov.au

It annoys me greatly that the fund you are trying to transfer out of can't go to a website and do this themselves.
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Cheers, I have print out the result of the search....and will hand it to Payroll. I suspect she hasn't done this before or just plain ignorant. :D
 
House said:
^^^ Anything like that in Sydney that you're aware of?
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Google is your friend...http://www.smsfoa.org.au/?view=featured

(I have always wanted to pull this on you...hahahaha :P
 
bloomst said:
House said:
^^^ Anything like that in Sydney that you're aware of?
Click to expand...

Google is your friend...http://www.smsfoa.org.au/?view=featured

(I have always wanted to pull this on you...hahahaha :P
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:lol: I saw Melb East and didn't think they would be up here too. Plus I was on 2% battery so that's my other excuse:)

Something to refer friends to because they're either too scared or lazy to even bother looking into it :rolleyes: Shame there's such a ubiquitous disinterest in controlling ones financial future
 
Elemental said:
Go here and put in the fund ABN.

It will show the fund is a 'complying fund'. Print it and send it with the other information.

http://superfundlookup.gov.au

It annoys me greatly that the fund you are trying to transfer out of can't go to a website and do this themselves.
Click to expand...

Went to see the lady and payroll...said she's busy so she just send someone to tell me that if I don't have the compliance letter, she won't start sending the super contribution to my smsf. Don't even have the courtesy to see me...and that's after saying come to the office and bring your paper work, maybe we can sort it out.

Oh well...i guess I just have to contact the Financial Ombudsman (as per eSuper comment).

I just hate it when people who wear Suit to work think that they are far more superior than those who wear uniform...:mad:
 
bloomst said:
Elemental said:
Go here and put in the fund ABN.

It will show the fund is a 'complying fund'. Print it and send it with the other information.

http://superfundlookup.gov.au

It annoys me greatly that the fund you are trying to transfer out of can't go to a website and do this themselves.
Click to expand...

Went to see the lady and payroll...said she's busy so she just send someone to tell me that if I don't have the compliance letter, she won't start sending the super contribution to my smsf. Don't even have the courtesy to see me...and that's after saying come to the office and bring your paper work, maybe we can sort it out.

Oh well...i guess I just have to contact the Financial Ombudsman (as per eSuper comment).

I just hate it when people who wear Suit to work think that they are far more superior than those who wear uniform...:mad:
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Thats rubbish....don't bother contacting the ombudsman how long will that take. Had 2 clients go through this crap today and made both HR call me....all sorted. They bloody read checklists and have no idea. Try to give them your ATO/ABR correspondence on account opening plus a print out of the super fund 'not yet regulated' status and explain we don't lodge an annual return yet you clowns....

Cheers, Ivan
 
I went through this with bringing a family member into our SMSF. His payroll were unfamiliar with SMSF and unsure with their responsibilities, they were so afraid of doing something wrong they made him tick more boxes than necessary. They got things frankly wrong too - they denied he could drop his insurance in his company-supported super fund. I was "this close" with threatening them with the Ombudsman before the mass of paperwork we presented them with finally was sufficient for them and the rollovers happened.
 
After 2 months, my employer finally give in! !
But due to Industrial Agreement at my previous job where whole super balance sitting at, I can't close it (since I am still in their book as casual worker).

Woohoo....ready to sort my own Super!
 
Im just about ready to do my first purchase, do I just print the receipt for filing? Do I need to print the spot price/chart too? If yes, form where?

TIA
 
^ Depends on the auditor but yes just file the receipt and get a spot price screenshot on 30th June.

Kitco and Perth Mint are popular for the screenshots.

On the spreadsheet accounts for our fund I put the spot price for days of purchase so I can track the value of the metal, but those daily spot prices weren't queried at the last audit. Reminds me...need to get cracking on the 2013-2014 one!

Congrats for getting as far as you have. It's worth it.

* Edited out where I repeated myself.
 
This has been a great thread but it would be nice to have a simple doc or web site with step by step overview of setting up. Ie what steps, choices and actions need to be taken to get from 0 to hero. I have tried reading the ATO site and a few of the sites where businesses offer to do the setup for you but at a premium price. It is hard to know if the deals they offer are fair or not without seeing the steps that they would take for you.

Is there anything out there for people new to the idea to really understand what needs to be done?
 
It depends on how much time and effort you want to put into it.

If you read up and do all the work yourself you will get it for the bare minimum.
If you don't mind filling in forms and submitting them it will cost about $700+ a year with someone like eSuperfund.
If you want someone to do all the reading for you and take care of all the paperwork it can cost you $4k.

I went with eSuperfund, there was a bit of form filling and they didn't give you any advice on what to spend it on or even if it was a good idea. But they do stay current with all the recent changes which means I don't have to keep abreast of all the new laws that I might fall foul of if I wasn't paying attention. They have a defined product range of what you can do with your SMSF but I don't find that restrictive as I have property and precious metals in the fund at the moment.

Their website has a lot of info on it, not all the bells and whistles but enough to give you an overview.
 
Miksture said:
This has been a great thread but it would be nice to have a simple doc or web site with step by step overview of setting up. Ie what steps, choices and actions need to be taken to get from 0 to hero. I have tried reading the ATO site and a few of the sites where businesses offer to do the setup for you but at a premium price. It is hard to know if the deals they offer are fair or not without seeing the steps that they would take for you.

Is there anything out there for people new to the idea to really understand what needs to be done?
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I spent two months reading about SMSF before I set my families' fund up. There is a lot to read out there, most of it still up to date. If you look at some of the older threads on SMSF here on the forum you'll see more of what you need to do. I highly recommend going to a large bookshop like Dymocks in their CBD store and finding the books on SMSF in the investing section. I bought flipped through them and bought one that looked understandable. Ignore the chapters on the transitions to retirement (if you're a young man) and the books should all list what steps you need to take. I bought: "Securing your superannuation future, How to start and run a self managed super fund" by Daryl Dixon, 2012 edition. There may be more recent books or editions of this book.

eSuperfund sounds good for many people, they have the deed the fund needs already written and they start the bank account and brokerage fund you need.

I found a website called Cleardocs that is a legal document service ( http://www.cleardocs.com/ ) , they have a package setting up the SMSF and Corporate Trustee for about $730. Cleardocs has a set of steps of what you need to do after you set up the deed including the government websites to set up the TFN and ABN of the fund and ACN of the trustee. I just did the basic individual trustee deed for a couple of hundred dollars, and then took the deed to a bank and Commsec to start the accounts. Have a look, but this is more a hands-on way to start.

I'm not associated with either this book or website but after having used them are happy to promote them.
 
I am in the final stages of establishing a SMSF and now want to make personal contributions to the fund. The bank account is in the name of ABC PTY LTD ATF ABC SUPERFUND. Am I sending contributions to the trustee (ABC PTY LTD) or to the trust (ABC SUPERFUND) or doesn't it matter?
 
As long as the account is in the correct name and the bank account is actually a trust account (that is an account for the superfund) it doesn't really matter. If you are doing an EFT I think it will go through regardless of what name you put on it.

The real question is are you getting the best outcome (tax wise) for the contributions? Are you a supported employee? Are contributions to the fund tax deductible? Hopefully you have done all that research.
 
Veritas said:
I am in the final stages of establishing a SMSF and now want to make personal contributions to the fund. The bank account is in the name of ABC PTY LTD ATF ABC SUPERFUND. Am I sending contributions to the trustee (ABC PTY LTD) or to the trust (ABC SUPERFUND) or doesn't it matter?
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Doesn't matter. You'll only have the one entity that the funds can actually go to. In your case it'll be the named bank account.
Be prepared for a constant stream of updates that will require amendments and signatures to your trust documents. It's just the Govt. trying to make life difficult for SMSF managers.
 
Thank-you for your replies gents. The account name is too long to put in the field when doing a EFT which then got me thinking. Either way it will end up in the bank account, that's true, but just trying to get my head around the concept of trusts and trustees. I have established a company as the trustee, and so wondering am I making contributions to the company to then look after the funds, or do I make contributions directly to the trust (the SMSF) which the trustee is managing? Or am I just splitting hairs?
 
Veritas said:
Thank-you for your replies gents. The account name is too long to put in the field when doing a EFT which then got me thinking. Either way it will end up in the bank account, that's true, but just trying to get my head around the concept of trusts and trustees. I have established a company as the trustee, and so wondering am I making contributions to the company to then look after the funds, or do I make contributions directly to the trust (the SMSF) which the trustee is managing? Or am I just splitting hairs?
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http://esuperfund.com.au/smsf-trustees.html
There are two types of Trustees, a company trustee or individual trustees.
Unless you have some unique requirement (like being the only person) you should set up as an individual trustee. Having a Pty Ltd company control a SMSF is just extra complexity and cost you don't need.
In either case the SMSF will have it's own bank account and this is what you pay into. The SMSF will also have it's own ABN and TFN, but it is not a Pty Ltd business.
If you are a company trustee then you can pay the money into the Pty Ltd business but that's pointless, as it's ultimately got to end up in the SMSF bank account, you'd be just double handling.

Have you actually set this up yet, or just investigating?
If not, just go to esuperfund, sign up, and they will handle everything for you, it's super simple.
 
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