SMSF Administration - 10 Tips - Self Managed Super Fund Administration

There are currently close to 600,000 SMSFs in Australia and unfortunately only a very small proportion are actually operated and managed as efficiently as they should be. This article looks at my top 10 SMSF administration tips SMSF trustees should abide by to ensure their SMSFs not only comply with the plethora of regulations, but also provide the best possible outcomes for SMSF members throughout their lives.

1. Always use a corporate trustee for your SMSF

There are five key reasons while all SMSFs should have a company acting as trustee:

1. Administrative efficiency

2. Ability to have a single member SMSF

3. Enables payment of pensions rather than just lump sums

4. Access to the 15% pension rebate

5. Liability protection

I have covered these reasons in detail in the following articles:

2. Have an up to date SMSF trust deed

A good quality updated trust deed is essential to ensuring smooth SMSF administration.

The following is a quote directly from the ATO in regard having an up to date trust deed:

Your SMSF trust deed is probably the most important document in your arsenal when you are trying to build wealth, save tax and protect your assets.

Many SMSF trustees and their advisers (especially your trusty local accountant) are guilty about approaching what you can and can’t do with your SMSF the wrong way. It is simply not a case of checking whether it is OK under the relevant superannuation and taxation laws. You need to ensure that your trust deed allows it – if it is not contained in the rules of the fund then you can’t do it.

Even more importantly, if you do something that is contrary to a rule contained in your SMSF trust deed, then you have also breached the superannuation laws.

Ensure you have a high quality and well drafted SMSF trust deed: What is the best self managed super fund SMSF trust deed?

3. Understand your obligations as trustee of an SMSF

The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) has made a great attempt over the course of the last few years to help educate trustees on what their roles and responsibilities are in the management of a SMSF through the ATO publication “Roles and Responsibilities of Trustees”, and have also attempted to explain their position as regulator and the responsibilities of associated parties such as auditors, tax agents, actuaries, and administrators in the ATO publication “It’s your money…but not yet!”

SMSF administration is more than just completing the annual SMSF accounts, tax return and independent audit. A good SMSF specialist provide provides ongoing guidance around changes to rules that may impact you and your SMSF and should be on call for any question you have. An SMSF is NOT a D-I-Y solution – you need to use specialists to support you with your SMSF administration.

4. Ensure you have an appropriate investment strategy and review it at least annually

Aside from the fact that it is a legislative requirement to have a documented and well considered investment strategy, if the trustees cannot produce the investment strategy document, the auditor of the SMSF has to report the SMSF to the ATO

Any sound business prepares budgets, cash flows projections and sales targets etc. As with investments, this is about planning to achieve a return on investments that satisfies the fund risk profile, liquidity, and determining if the investment yields the trustees seek matches to the investments held by the fund.

In other words how will SMSF trustees be able to assess their performance at year end, if they did not know what they were planning to achieve to begin with?

As part of a good SMSF administration service, your SMSF investment strategy should be checked each year or when significant changes occur.

Remember, buying property with super is a TRANSACTION – not an investment strategy! SMSF borrowing is still a bit like the “Wild West” when it comes to unscrupulous spruikers trying to sell you a poor quality investment property!

5. Seek out quality advice and specialist SMSF administration support

SMSFs are all about control. However, just because SMSF trustees seek control over their retirement investments, doesn’t mean they cannot utilise professional advice.

An accountant is typically the main person SMSF trustees will seek advice from – however most accountants have a broad range of knowledge and have to keep up to date with a variety of taxation laws, so in many instances they might not have specialist SMSF administration knowledge which trustees will need to get the most out of their SMSF.

Similarly, an experienced financial planner can assist SMSF trustees achieve their investment related goals. In my experience working with a large number of SMSFs, I would say that in general those SMSFs that utilise financial planners achieve higher and more consistent investment returns compared to those who do everything themselves.

SMSF trustees need to realise that control of investment and utilising specialist professional investment advice are not mutually exclusive activities.

So how do SMSF trustees find a knowledgeable accountant or financial planner who has expert knowledge in SMSFs? I would suggest searching on the SMSF Association SMSF Connect ‘Find a Specialist’ here

6. Put in place an estate plan for the SMSF

Estate planning is probably the most overlooked piece of the SMSF puzzle but it’s an important part of SMSF administration. What most SMSF trustees (and some advisers) probably don’t realise is that assets contained in a SMSF are not covered by the members Will in the event of their death.

Some powerful estate planning strategies that can be used are:

Utilising a company as trustee of the SMSF to reduce administrative hassles in relation to the ownership of the assets (covered in commandment #7)
If a pension is commenced, ensure that it is revisionary to the members spouse
Put in place non-lapsing binding death benefit nomination which directs where the members balance will go in the event of their death
Add customised rules into the SMSF to effectively ‘hard-wire’ an estate plan into the trust deed of the SMSF
Re-contribution and pension ‘stop-start’ strategies that reduce or eliminate the tax payable when benefits are paid to non-dependent beneficiary such as an adult child (i.e. reduce the ‘death tax’ payable)
Ensure that the estate plan for the SMSF works together with the members Will to ensure consistency, flexibility and reduce the chances of the members Will being challenged
Utilise reserves to either create massive tax deductions within the SMSF that can be utilised by future generations or simply to keep certain assets within the SMSF without the need for them to be transferred and incur stamp duty and legal costs

Estate planning with SMSFs is a complex area where SMSF trustees and administrators definitely need to seek competent specialist advice to ensure they are protected and their family is looked after. Also take the time to read the following article on this topic: Wills and SMSF estate planning

7. Ensure all member components are tracked via SMSF accounting software

Tracking the member components within a SMSF is probably just as important, if not more important as tracking the financial and taxation reporting an a key aspect of SMSF administration.

So what are the member components? Member components are made up of the preservation benefits which determine what amount (%) of a members account can be accessed / withdrawn from the SMSF, while the taxable and tax free components how they benefits are taxed when they are withdrawn from the SMSF.

Correctly accounting for these components is essential – especially when it comes to the following:

Commencement of a pension
Payment of lump sums
Payment of death benefits

The components basically determine when the benefits within the SMSF can be accessed, and how much tax (if any) will be payable by the SMSF member or their beneficiary.

8. Ensure all investments and assets are in the name of the trustee

Investments and assets not being legally held in the name of the trustee(s) of the SMSF is one of the most common breaches reported to the ATO by SMSF auditors.

Aside from the fact that this is a reportable breach under the legislative provisions, when assets are not held in the name of trustees they are put at risk in the event of bankruptcy, divorce or any number of other circumstances.

The trustee then has the major issue of having to fight through the courts to have them separated away from their personal assets and back into the name of the SMSF. This is an expensive exercise, when a bit of care could avoid the issue altogether.

This is yet another reason why a special purpose SMSF trustee company should be used as trustee of all SMSFs as it completely avoids the above issues.

9. Make SMSF administration easy through technology

When it comes to SMSF administration and accounting both trustees and advisers need to maximise the use of technology to ensure that the SMSF is operated in the most cost effective method possible. The days of bringing a file (or shoebox!) to the accountant at the end of each financial year are gone.

Leveraging technology which allows SMSF transactions to be uploaded directly into a web-based accounting package provides the following advantages:

Both SMSF trustees and their advisers can see up to date information at any time – they don’t have to rely upon SMSF accounts that can be months out of date
Accountants and advisers can spend less time doing the compliance work and more time providing valuable strategic advice – and they can do so with up to date information!
Compliance issues can be monitored easily – for example ensuring that contribution caps are not exceeded and minimum pension drawings are made
Reduction in costs

10. Always deal with related parties at arm’s length

Last but not least is the key commandment that requires SMSF trustees to deal with any related parties at ‘arm’s length’ – which basically means to ensure any transactions that involve related parties are conducted in a transparent way at market value.

Examples of transactions that deal with related parties include:

Transfer of listed shares or business real property from a member into the SMSF – must be transferred at market value
Lease of a commercial property owned by the SMSF to a business operated by the member – lease amount and conditions much be that same for the related party as for an unrelated party
Member-financed limited recourse borrowing made to a SMSF – a market interest rate needs to be charged

All transactions with related parties are always high on the list of the ATO when they conduct audits – so SMSF trustees and their advisers need to ensure that everything is conducted on an arm’s length basis and appropriately documented.

Footnote: I originally wrote this article in November 2010 – a decade ago. Interestingly, #10 – arms-length dealings has become more and more prominent and is a major focus for SMSF auditors, SMSF administration providers as well as the ATO.

This is especially important when you are doing an SMSF limited recourse borrowing from related parties!

Need help with your SMSF administration?

I’ve been operating specialist SMSF administration businesses for more than 10 years and helped thousands of SMSF trustees and hundreds of advisers and other accountants. Although technology has improved, the laws around SMSFs have also gotten more complex and in many ways convoluted and inefficient.

You can learn more about me and how Grow SMSF came about here, or get in touch with me here if you have any questions.

Learn more about Grow’s SMSF administration services.