Accessing Super for Investing

Hi kiwi243519,

1. You can simply call the admin team of your super fund(s) and ask for an up-to-date balance.
2. Are you able to access your super, ie over 55 and retired? If not, I am not sure ow you can (legally) get your super assets into your company trust account.
3. Not too long if you have legal access to it.
4. If you have a portion of ‘unrestricted non-preserved’, you can access that portion immediately as a lump sum, subject to etp tax. The bulk of your funds will probably be ‘preserved.’
5. I believe you need to speak to a financial planner (someone who is CFP qualified) and who is also competent in Self managed super fund (SMSF) advice.

hope this post helps and good luck.
mkp

It’s quite easy to use your super for deposits and property etc..

Takes approx 2 days – 14 days to access the funds, depending on where your super is now.

You can access most of the fund, need to leave some for yearly audits/fees.

Costs $500 application fee

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Hi Kiwi

In response to your questions:

1. Find out how much I have built up?

As has been mentioned, you can contact your existing super fund and simply ask what your fund balance is as at today. Some of them get a bit funny about it and dodge the question by saying it’s hard to answer because it depends on the precise balance when they hit the rollout button, so it is easier to say “Hypothetically speaking, if rollout of my entire balance was initiated right now, what would the rollout amount be?”

2. How do I instigate the process to get funding placed into my company trust account?

A Self Managed Super Fund is different from any company you may already have set up. It’s nominated purpose at the time of setup is different, so let’s reword your question to “How do I instigate the process of getting my superannuation money into a Self Managed Super Fund?”. An appropriate organisation can set up the self managed super fund. This setup can take anything up to a day. ABN and Tax File Numbers can take a couple of weeks to be issued. From there a SMSF bank account can be opened. From there it is possible to ask your employer to start directing your superannuation contributions straight into your Self Managed Super Fund Bank Account, and it is also possible to request a rollover from your existing retail fund into your Self Managed Super Fund.

3. How long does this process normally take?

To be realistic, assume that the process described above in #2 takes about 7-8 weeks. It depends how slow the bank is at setting up your bank account, and how slow your retail fund is to let go of your money, and how quickly you can bank the rollover cheque into the SMSF bank account. If you leave the cheque sitting on your kitchen bench for 2 weeks, it would obviously slow the process down.

4. Can you access all the fund available? or a Percentage?

It depends on the rules of your retail fund, however note that inside your retail fund you likely have death & TPD (total & permanent disability) insurance. It is generally cheaper to keep this policy rather than start over with a new policy, so it is best to ask your retail fund how you can remain eligible for this insurance. Normally the response will be something like “Keep a minimum balance of at least $3000 at all times, and of course keep in mind there are admin fees and insurance premium costs each month to ensure you have covered.” So generally it is wise to do something such as leave say $5k in there, roll the rest out, and perhaps every 2 years do a rollover of a couple of thousand from your SMSF to your retail fund to top its balance up to be able to afford the admin fees and insurance premiums for the next couple of years.

5. Are there any costs? if so what are they?

There is a cost to set up the SMSF. The price of this depends on the provider, however assume about $2100 for a SMSF with a Corporate Trustee. After the SMSF is set up, ASIC will charge your SMSF approximately $45 per year for the right to keep the SMSF open. There will also be a charge of approximately $240 per year to keep the Corporate Trustee open. Assume annual costs of $1100 for the annual tax return and audit as arranged through an appropriate SMSF accountant. Bank fees will be about $8 per month. If the SMSF intends to buy a property a Bare Trust is required. Assume about $1000 for that (And since it is a PTY LTD, ASIC will hit your SMSF with a bill of $240 per year for the right to keep it open.)

6. Who specialises in this? or can you go on your own steam.

There are all manner of operators out there with different pricing and service levels. Be very sure you are going with an operator that doesn’t get to control absolutely everything you do (eg forcing you to use their accountants, their mortgage brokers etc) and be crystal clear that they’ve done loads of SMSF setups for SMSFs that intend to and successfully go on to purchase property with loans attached. If a SMSF is not set up for this purpose you can run into expensive strife. Your SMSF can also be found to be non-compliant, and worst case scenario you can be forced to sell its assets and close up shop. This is not an area to let someone have a go at something for the first time.