Superannuation Trust Deed:

There are a number of Superannuation Trust Deed structural and compliance obligations that need to be addressed. If you have or intend to enter a retail, industry or employer superannuation fund then it may be good business acumen to have that superannuation trust deed reviewed. There may be amendments or omissions that are advisable to be made to ensure that your needs are catered for i.e. early release conditions, contributions, taxation offsets and concessions or insurance policies/annuities to be included. Professional legal advice in drafting, execution or review of a superannuation trust deed by a Superannuation and Taxation Lawyer may be beneficial to ensure that your rights and needs are considered and addressed.

Firstly, a superannuation trust deed must be set up correctly so that it can qualify for tax concessions as well as comply with relevant superannuation and taxation goals. This process may require appointing suitably qualified professionals to assist in setting up the fund, deciding on the fund structure, ensuring that the members are eligible to be a trustee (or director of the corporate trustee), checking the residency of the members and of the fund. It is then necessary to create the fund trust and trust deed, appoint trustees in accordance with the trust deed and relevant tax and superannuation law; obtain and record all member information; ensure that the fund has assets (contributions made for the members) and open a bank account for the fund; register with the ATO, and consult with service providers to prepare an investment strategy for the fund. This process may be complex, lengthy and laborious from conception of finish. Having professional legal and financial advice from a network of skilled tax and finance professionals may be immensely useful in this regard.

Furthermore, once a superannuation trust deed is established there are regular review and compliance issues. Firstly, the trust deed must contain (or is deemed to contain) Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act 1993 (Cth) (SIS) covenants. The fund must have individual trustees or a corporate trustee in accordance with the membership and structure of the fund. The remuneration for trustee duties and services should be reviewed to ensure it against abuses. There is also a range of reporting and disclosure obligations governed by a very detailed and complex regulatory environment. Professioanl legal advice by a Superannuation and Taxation Lawyer may be advantageous to ensure that you fulfill your review and compliance requirements.

There are a number of operating standards which the trust deed must abide by. These include the trustee must provide members with prescribed information about the fund within the prescribed time, the trustee must provide members with information about significant events, the trustee must provide members with prescribed information on request, the trustee must provide leaving members with prescribed information about their entitlements, the trustee must notify the ATO of certain fund changes (e.g. its contact details or winding-up) or of a change to its SMSF status, the trustee must comply with the acceptance of contribution rules, and the trustee must ensure that a member’s minimum benefits are maintained in the fund and are cashed, rolled over or transferred only as allowed by superannuation law.

If you would like further information or wish to discuss your SMSF matter with us please do not hesitate to contact us by telephone on (02) 9233 4048 or by email to info@navado.com.au.

This webpage (and any material or wording appearing on this webpage) is provided for general information purposes only and does not constitute any Legal Advice. It does not take into account your objectives, your instructions or all of the relevant facts and/or circumstances. Navado accepts no responsibility to any person who relies on the information provided on this website. We further refer you to our Disclaimer.