Knowing what an SMSF is and the on-going SMSF Trustee obligations and responsibilities help us to understand the costs involved. What are you actually paying for your SMSF set up?
When you set up an SMSF you are actually setting up a trust, as an SMSF is a trust that is set up for the sole and primary purpose of providing retirement benefits to the SMSF’s members. A trust is set up through a trust deed that needs to be prepared by a qualified lawyer to ensure it is compliant with all governing legislation. Along with a trust deed other establishment documentation is also required such as; consent to act as trustee or director of the corporate trustee, member application(s)and trustee appointment minutes. The trust deed and other set-up documentation must be appropriately executed/signed and retained by the SMSF trustee. Therefore, the set-up cost of an SMSF includes legal and professional fees.
Within the Create SMSF App all trust deeds and establishment documentation have been prepared by an Australian law firm, all documents are signed through Docusign and permanently stored for you in the App under SMSF Documents.
Additionally, running an SMSF costs money and these need to be considered prior to establishment. Typical annual running costs of an SMSF may include the following:
· Appointment of an SMSF administrator/tax agent to enable preparation of financial statements and annual return
· Appointment of an independent auditor to undertake the annual audit
· Supervisory levy
· Financial advice fees
· Legal fees
· Insurance
· Actuarial certificates, if applicable
To preserve and maximise your superannuation balances for retirement it is important for you to understand how much you are paying in legal and professional fees for an SMSF set-up and on-going administration of an SMSF. Often in cases where SMSF set-up and on-going administration is offered for a very low cost or even nil cost there may be a fixed on-going payment arrangement or there may be a requirement to invest in a certain asset type. Therefore, it is important for you to understand how much you are actually going to pay and how you are going to pay for an SMSF set-up and/or on-going administration.
Within the Create SMSF App you will pay an one-off amount for the set-up/establishment of an SMSF, there are no recurring fees, there are no requirements for your SMSF to invest in any affiliated investment company(s) or use any affiliated professionals or financial advisors and at no time will you be requested to transfer any of your superannuation balance to Create SMSF.
The Create SMSF App provides you control, choice and true independence.
