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17 September 2026
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Thinking about an SMSF? Before you sign anything, learn how to spot the difference between genuine advice and a sales pitch, understand the real costs, and avoid the compliance mistakes that attract ATO attention.
After four decades advising investors, there are a few common mistakes I've seen SMSF investors make. From holding too much cash and chasing yield to overtrading and trusting tips. Are these errors costing you?
It’s common for people as they age to seek more help in running their SMSF if their capacity declines. An alternate director may be a great solution for someone just planning for short-term help in the meantime.
New data shows the number of advised SMSFs is increasing at the expense of self-directed SMSFs. It also suggests more SMSFs are turning to international markets and ETFs to diversify their investment portfolios.
In many ways, super pensions in an SMSF and a large public fund are the same, but flexibility differences give the SMSF features such as drawing money out as needed, managing as a couple and no need to move assets.
The 'transfer balance cap' will increase to $1.9 million from 1st July, but only those who don't start pensions until then will get the full increase. Many retirees are wondering if they should wait to start pensions in their SMSFs.
Next year's Federal Budget might that be the time when we see something designed to break up very large SMSFs gain some traction. We run through whether such changes make sense and look for potential alternatives.
Most people will face the decision whether to close their SMSF due to downsides of multiple generations in the same SMSF, tax reasons to move money from super and after the death of a more active member.
In response to a previous article on delaying establishing an SMSF, Meg explains why she started early, long before she began in the SMSF industry. Anyone who expects to build a decent super balance should think ahead.
A super fund stops paying tax when it is in the pension phase, which can mean a tax exemption on capital gains built up over many years. Does that mean a pension should be started before an asset is sold? Not always.
Meg gives her top five tips before 30 June 2022 for SMSF trustees and anyone actively managing their super. It's easy to overlook these steps, and one in particular could handsomely increase your super balance.
Granting an enduring power of attorney is an important decision for the trustees of an SMSF. There are alternatives and protections to consider including who should perform this vital role and when.
Fear of running out has become a defining retirement anxiety. Why do some retirees die with substantial wealth while others deplete their nest egg? Evidence suggests the answer is more complicated than we think.
Conventional wisdom encourages retirees to preserve superannuation. But if those likely to qualify for the Age Pension later in life spend a little more today, it may deliver higher lifetime income and a more stable retirement.
Tax rules have changed, but many investors are still using yesterday’s strategies. Insurance bonds may offer advantages for those seeking greater control, tax efficiency and certainty about their wealth.
Treasury’s latest CGT reform draft delivers a win for testamentary trusts and deceased estates, exempting estate-derived gains from the 30% floor. However, questions on death and divorce rollovers remain unresolved.
Reversionary pensions have long been a staple of SMSF estate planning, but are they still the best option? Meg Heffron revisits a once-clear favourite and asks whether changing super rules have shifted the balance.
What begins as appetite, grows into excess and ultimately ends in spectacle. Millions of investors just discovered this the hard way.