Book Review > Keep Your SMSF Simple

The authors are well known in the financial literary world for their ability to explain what are often dense and difficult concepts to the lay person. This book is no exception. To say that its publication is timely would be an understatement. Governments of either political persuasion have seen superannuation funds as a convenient milking cow, and we have just witnessed another visit to the honey pot.

The book serves two main purposes. It brings everyone up-to-date with the new rules relating to superannuation (what you must and shouldn’t do), many of which came into effect on 1 July 2017, and it serves as a step-by-step guide for those embarking on the adventure of setting up their own self-managed superannuation fund (SMSF). Although sections of the book draw on a previous publication by the authors entitled Keep it Super Simple, the have been extensively rewritten and updated.

In recent years superannuation rules and regulations have changed many times. It is the responsibility of fund trustees the keep up with these changes and to implement them. The book is a great help in this regard, although the authors warn that further changes are possible (likely?) and therefore we must be eternally vigilant. Where rules are referred to, they are described in some detail, and there is usually  a reference in the text to either a Taxation Department ruling of a relevant Law Companion Guideline.

Whilst the title of the book contains the word Simple, and the authors point to this principle throughout, there are certain issues that are anything but. These are drawn to the reader’s attention, and we are advised to seek expert input before making decisions that could otherwise prove costly.

The set-out of the material is helpful. At the beginning of each chapter the authors enumerate, in point form, what the reader will learn. If one wishes to follow a particular theme, e.g. the tax treatment of SMSF earnings, one can cherry pick and read the relevant paragraphs without having to plough through the whole text.

I close with a quote from the book. "We are sad to say this, but the extensive law changes to superannuation and heavy penalties imposed if you unintentionally get it wrong are distressing people whose long-term planning is being turned on its head to the extent that some are looking for alternatives ".  If you follow the guidelines set out, you should be on safe ground.