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19 March 2026
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Transition to Retirement Income Streams are no longer tax-free, but you can still access your super before retirement if you meet certain conditions, and there are strategies to reduce the tax paid.
It is not a standard end of financial year, as there are many items SMSF trustees and super members should check immediately, especially with the changes taking effect from 1 July 2017.
In addition to the $1.6 million transfer balance cap, SMSF members should also understand the concept of ‘total superannuation balance’ to stay within the rules and make the most of contribution opportunities.
Monica answers questions on her article on the $1.6 million cap. As she will be unable to answer more questions directly for a while, consider registering for her upcoming webinar.
SMSF trustees and other people with large super balances should realise there are two applications of the $1.6 million transfer balance cap, and final opportunities to grow retirement savings in the most tax-effective way.
Payments in and out of SMSFs involve legal grey areas where contributions could be made unintentionally and benefits might not be considered paid as intended. Watch those flows.
With the upcoming budget increasingly likely to include bold proposals to alter the tax code I’ve outlined three incremental steps with fewer unintended consequences.
The impact of the Iran War is far more than expensive petrol. Higher oil prices have secondary inflationary impacts that reverberate throughout the economy which could be bad news for Australians with mortgages.
Global Listed Infrastructure dividends are forecast to grow 5-6% p.a over the next two years. After a hiatus, share buybacks are back on the agenda and will play an integral role in shareholder returns.
Past oil shocks offer lessons for investors dealing with the fallout from the Iran War and the ongoing impact on inflation.
Former Australian Prime Minister, Paul Keating, once said "When you change the government, you change the country." We're about to see whether that holds true in Japan.
Central banks now hold more gold reserves than US Treasuries, signalling a shift in safe-haven asset strategy and portfolio diversification as geopolitical risks increase.
Historically economic progress is measured by GDP growth but there is an increasing body of work that explores quantitative measures of wellbeing.