As reported last week, several revisions were announced to the superannuation proposals, the most significant being:
With a more concrete view of what the superannuation system will look like in the future, Rice Warner said it is clear who will benefit or be disadvantaged from the proposals.
“Younger superannuants or those with smaller balances wishing to accumulate significant tax-concessional retirement savings will find it easier now to reach the $1.6 million cap for pension accounts. Given the reduced cap on concessional contributions [of] $25,000 a year, there will be an increased importance of non-concessional contributions in augmenting balances,” Rice Warner said in a statement.
“Members who have already made more than $500,000 in non-concessional contributions since 2007 but have less than $1.6 million in their superannuation account will also be better off. They can continue to make post-tax contributions to their superannuation account.”
With changes affecting those with large balances tightened, the losers will be wealthier Australians.
Members with balances exceeding $1.6 million will be unable to make non-concessional contributions, while those who have retired and are older than 65 will not be able to make concessional contributions out of investment earnings.
“The government was going to allow those over 65 to make non-concessional contributions as long as they remained below the lifetime limit of $500,000. This has now been restricted to those who are still working between 65 and 74, [although] the definition of ‘working’ has a low bar – you only need 40 hours within a 30-day period once a year,” Rice Warner said.
However, despite these revisions, Rice Warner said only a minority of Australians will be affected.
“Overall, these groups represent only a small fraction of the superannuation population. For the majority of members, interaction with super will be business as usual and they will wonder what the fuss is all about.”
JACK DERWIN
Monday, 19 September 2016
www.smsfadviser.com
Do you have a question about something you've read in this article? Need more information? Want to book an appointment? Simply let us know below and we'll get back to you ASAP.