SMSFs are rapidly growing in popularity so it is important to know a lot about them before you fully commit and hire accountants in North Sydney. With almost a third of the Australian population opting to use a SMSF this rapidly growing field has a lot of professionals that are eager to help.
So before you transfer all of your savings into an account that you have no experience with we’re here to help. We’ve broken down everything you need to know before you hire accountants in North Sydney such as SMSF.
What is a SMSF?
Before you go off and hire a self managed super fund accountant you should probably know what a SMSF involves and what it actually is. These structures are in place to provide funds to individuals who have retired and to also share the funds to the beneficiaries once they pass. They also have their own Tax File Number and Australian Business Number. They are essentially a mini business that is able to make investments and pay out sums for pensions.
The main difference between the different structures is that with a SMSF is that the member is also a trustee. There are two different types of trustee options when you are constructing your own.
Individual trustee
Each member of the fund is appointed as a trustee to manage the account. You are required to have a minimum of two trustees and hence where your self managed super fund accountant can step in to help.
Corporate trustee
This structure option appoints a company to act as a trustee while the members are the director. This method can be a lot easier and allows for all transactional data to be easily recorded.
Benefits of a SMSF
People tend to swap their retirement plans to this structure because of the three following reasons:
- This structure allows the members to have more control and flexibility with their funds in the manner where they can invest it and borrow against it
- The plan is fully transparent and you have the ability to manage all transactional costs
- You have the opportunity to monitor the growth of your plan rather than paying fees to a corporation
While young entrepreneurs are using SMSFs more than ever, individuals aged over 50 make up for the largest percentage of users. Since there is no maximum and minimum amount to set up these plans, more and more people who wish to reap the benefits are starting to make the transition.
Why do you need a self managed super fund accountant?
We mentioned before the basics of SMSFs so you now may be wondering why you need a self managed super fund accountant. These professionals are experts in setting up and making the transition for new individuals who wish to reap the rewards that these plans have to offer.
Set-up services are a great starting point that a lot of people tend to take advantage of when the opt to use a self managed super fund accountant. These services include:
- Trustee assignment
- Collecting all or part of your previous supers into one account
- Investment opportunities
- Nominations for death beneficiaries
These professionals also comes with years of experience that you have the opportunity of using to your full advantage. More than likely they have seen a lot of investment ideas and can tell you which ones have worked well in the past and what would be best suited for your situation. If you were to go in alone you miss out on different perspectives leaving you with tunnel vision unaware of the dangers that you may face.