Retirement Savings - How Much Control Do You Have?
The retirement industry in Australia is second to none in the world. It forces us to save money in a very comfortable way, a way that doesn't impact our disposable income, so we all have a big pool of money to live off in retirement.
One of the things I don't like though is the way you lose control of you money in the Australian Superannuation Industry. It is getting better, but for me there is still a very big issue here. You generally do not have a big say in how your money is invested. This is why I set up my own DIY Super fund.
All a DIY Super fund is, is a legal structure you can use to manage your own superannuation money. There are a number of responsibilities you must take care of, ensuring the fund meets its obligations in as much as superannuation laws go. Once set up though, you can be as involved as you want and outsource the parts you are not interested in managing. The things that need to be taken care of include:
Firstly, someone needs to be the trustee. The trustee takes legal ownership of and responsibility for the fund, and all the assets there within. Time wise, it is not onerous, its more of a legal responsibility.
b) All the housekeeping. Someone needs to do all the book keeping and accounting work. This includes preparing all the annual tax statements, balancing the books and lodging tax returns.
Thirdly the fund needs to be audited. Each year, it needs to be checked by an independent auditor to ensure you are keeping within the superannuation regulations. This is what will ensure you get to keep receiving your superannuation tax concessions.
Finally, you need to invest the money in a way that responsibly improves the pool of funds for your retirement. The investment decisions have to be within the superannuation regulations as well as the investment strategy as outlined in the SMSF trust deed.
Personally, I was just interested in managing my investments. All the rest was outsourced. I just wanted to be able to ensure the investment decisions I made were mine so I could feel responsible for any losses or gains that I made. There is nothing worse than when your retirement investments decrease over a year and you have no control whatsoever in the decisions made. I wanted to avoid this. Also, getting control of this meant that I could make investment decisions giving my whole portfolio consideration and not treat my retirement investment as if it were an island, completely separate of other investments I have. It is all part of my estate after all.
All other responsibilities I outsourced. To me, they were time consuming tasks which were better undertaken by experts in the relative fields. This left me with more time to research and make investment decisions. - 23212
One of the things I don't like though is the way you lose control of you money in the Australian Superannuation Industry. It is getting better, but for me there is still a very big issue here. You generally do not have a big say in how your money is invested. This is why I set up my own DIY Super fund.
All a DIY Super fund is, is a legal structure you can use to manage your own superannuation money. There are a number of responsibilities you must take care of, ensuring the fund meets its obligations in as much as superannuation laws go. Once set up though, you can be as involved as you want and outsource the parts you are not interested in managing. The things that need to be taken care of include:
Firstly, someone needs to be the trustee. The trustee takes legal ownership of and responsibility for the fund, and all the assets there within. Time wise, it is not onerous, its more of a legal responsibility.
b) All the housekeeping. Someone needs to do all the book keeping and accounting work. This includes preparing all the annual tax statements, balancing the books and lodging tax returns.
Thirdly the fund needs to be audited. Each year, it needs to be checked by an independent auditor to ensure you are keeping within the superannuation regulations. This is what will ensure you get to keep receiving your superannuation tax concessions.
Finally, you need to invest the money in a way that responsibly improves the pool of funds for your retirement. The investment decisions have to be within the superannuation regulations as well as the investment strategy as outlined in the SMSF trust deed.
Personally, I was just interested in managing my investments. All the rest was outsourced. I just wanted to be able to ensure the investment decisions I made were mine so I could feel responsible for any losses or gains that I made. There is nothing worse than when your retirement investments decrease over a year and you have no control whatsoever in the decisions made. I wanted to avoid this. Also, getting control of this meant that I could make investment decisions giving my whole portfolio consideration and not treat my retirement investment as if it were an island, completely separate of other investments I have. It is all part of my estate after all.
All other responsibilities I outsourced. To me, they were time consuming tasks which were better undertaken by experts in the relative fields. This left me with more time to research and make investment decisions. - 23212
About the Author:
Gnifrus Urquart appreciates controlling his retirement savings, as well as the leisure time outsourcing his DIY Superannuation Administration affords him.
posted by X - Men @ 5:37 AM
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