Our Services

Planning & Structuring

Any accountant or financial planner can establish and operate an SMSF however generally their knowledge will only extend so far. The advice that you do not receive will potentially have the biggest impact. IPS Superannuation specialises in providing tailored solutions to increase your wealth and protect your family's long term financial security.

The key areas we focus on are retirement income streams and retirement planning to ensure that your living expenses are catered for in the most tax effective way. We can liaise with a financial planner to ensure your investment strategy fits into your overall SMSF structure rather than simply being a stand alone portfolio.

With the Simpler Super Reforms announced in the May 2006 budget many opportunities have been created to utilise superannuation. SMSF's have never been more attractive than under these new laws for asset protection and tax elimination.

Ask yourself these questions

Do you know what will happen to your superannuation benefits when you die?
Do you know what tax your beneficiaries will incur on the receipt on your superannuation benefits?
Do you know who would take over your role of trustee of your SMSF if you were unable to perform it for medical reasons?
Does your SMSF have a trustee that easily caters for membership changes at minimal and with few administration headaches.
Do you know how to prevent excess superannuation income building up in your personal name and paying tax on the income derived from the excess monies?
Do you know how to reduce your minimum income stream drawdown while retaining a tax free environment in your SMSF?
Do you know how to split your superannuation into separate "interests" to maximise tax free superannuation benefits that can be paid to your dependants once you pass?

Services that IPS Superannuation offers in planning and structuring include:

SMSF Estate plans
Death benefit rules and payment advice
Commercial property transfers into SMSF
Salary Sacrifice Agreements
Asset protection advice
Retirement income stream (pension) establishment
Centrelink pension eligibility advice
Allocated Pension reviews
Complying Pension reviews
Advice regarding the utilization of separate superannuation interests
CGT and small business rollovers
SMSF Joint Venture advice
Preparation of SMSF investment strategy documentation
Change of trustee documentation
Advice on Reserves including Self Insurance Reserves
Advice on payment of temporary and permanent incapacity benefits

Administration and Compliance

IPS Superannuation provides full administrative and compliance service for SMSF. Including full financial year reporting with the provision of financial statements member benefit statement, member contribution statements and income and regulatory returns and preparation of Business and Instalment Activity Statements we also facilitate an independent audit to be undertaken on the fund. We also provide full administrative documentation supporting lump sum benefit payments, income stream commencement, temporary and permanent disability payments and death benefit payments.

Annual accounts and tax return for your SMSF
Business Activity Statement / Instalment statement
Annual compliance minutes
Pension Actuarial Certificate
Benefit Payment documentation
Member balance calculations on a quarterly or annual basis
Advice and recommendations regarding potential compliance issues

Establishments & Upgrades

IPS Superannuation can provide you with the most up to date specialised trust deed available in the market place. Along with all supporting compliance documentation required to establish your fund. IPS Superannuation will also complete all relevant registration for TFN and ABN and lodge notice of election to become a regulated fund.

We believe that a specialist company should be utilised as a trustee of a SMSF rather than an individual (please see our free report "Why you should have a company as trustee rather than an individual"). We provide a specialist SMSF constitution that's only purpose is to act as trustee to the SMSF and associated rules link with the rules of the SMSF Trust Deed.

If you currently have an outdated trust deed (before 2007) you maybe at risk of not complying with the current superannuation legislation. In order to determine if an upgrade is possible the amendment clauses of your current deed must be reviewed. If an amendment clause states the deed can not be upgraded, depending on the amendment this may require full replacement and may trigger a full resettlement of the fund therefore incurring stamp duty and capital gains tax. If however the amendment clause of your current deed allows for upgrades IPS Superannuation can make these amendments as necessary to ensure you remain compliant.

Establishment of new Self Managed Superannuation Funds - This includes tax file Number and ABN registration, establishment minutes, membership applications, bank account /Cash management account establishment.
Trust Deed upgrades and amendments
Trust Deed reviews
Establishment of special purpose superannuation trustee companies
Rollover of existing superannuation benefits to SMSF's
Advice and recommendation on suitability of an SMSF

What is a Self-Managed Superannuation Fund (SMSF)?

A SMSF basically works in the same way as a retail or industry fund. A member has contributions go into their account from an employer or personally, the contributions are invested and the member account grows, and benefits are paid out when the member retires.

The main difference with an SMSF is that the members become trustees of the fund and are responsible for the all operations of the fund including management of investments.

Having an in depth knowledge of the rules of your SMSF, tax laws, constantly changing superannuation laws and ATO requirements is an onerous requirement. This is where IPS Superannuation can help by providing the right advice when you need it.

Why Self-Managed Super?

1. Looks after your family
An SMSF allows you to put in place a secure foundation to provide flexible and comfortable retirement income streams for yourself and your dependents.

2. Choice of Investments
The choice of investments a SMSF can offer is significantly wider than the choices offered by any retail or industry fund. As trustees of your SMSF you are responsible for drafting and implementing an investment strategy and ensuring you do not breach the rules around giving loans or financial assistance to members. Some examples of investments that can be utilised within a SMSF include: Australian Shares, International Shares, Managed Funds, Direct Property, Options, Warrants, Fixed Interest and even Artwork.

3. Provides secure income in retirement
When you stop earning income from employment or business, a SMSF gives you a range of tax free income options that can be tailored to the specific lifestyle needs of you and your family.

4. Low tax
Although Australia is one of the highest taxing countries in the developed world, the Government provides huge tax incentives for people to save and provide for their own retirement. Concessional contributions and investment earnings are taxed at 15% while the member is in the accumulation phase while non-concessional (undeducted) contributions are tax free. When a member commences a pension, the earnings and capital gains on the investments supporting the pension are tax free. In addition, any pension or lump sum benefits taken by a member over the age of 60 are also tax free.

5. Financial assistance if your health deteriorates
A SMSF allows members to access temporary and permanent disability benefits if they suffer from ill-health or are involved in a serious accident and unable to earn employment or business income.

In addition a SMSF can hold life, trauma, TPD and income protection policies for members, and pay the necessary premiums. If a member cannot obtain such policies due to previous illness or occupation, a SMSF can 'self-insure' and even obtain a tax deduction equivalent to the premium that would have been paid.

6. Looking after your family when you die
A SMSF offers the most flexible and tax-effective strategies to provide lump sum and income stream benefits to your family when you die. As death benefits paid to non-financial dependents (such as adult children) are now taxed at 15% + Medicare, a SMSF can be used to eliminate and reduce this tax, potentially saving your family tens of thousands of dollars.

7. Asset protection
Hopefully this particular benefit of a SMSF will never have to be utilised. When someone gets into severe financial difficulty and declares bankruptcy, any assets (up to a certain level) are protected from creditors. Assets within an SMSF are also protected, if a member is sued.

8. Access to Age Pension
Although SMSF's can no longer offer pensions that are partially or fully exempt from the Centrelink asset test, there are still opportunities to increase your eligibility for the Age Pension while ensuring you meet all Centrelink reporting obligations.