{"id":4144,"date":"2007-09-30T00:00:01","date_gmt":"2007-09-30T00:00:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dbalawyers.evergreenprofit.com\/?p=4144"},"modified":"2022-07-14T09:42:52","modified_gmt":"2022-07-13T23:42:52","slug":"smsf-documentation-impact-recent-reforms","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dbalawyers.com.au\/dba-news\/smsf-documentation-impact-recent-reforms\/","title":{"rendered":"SMSF Documentation \u2013 The Impact of Recent Reforms"},"content":{"rendered":"

Recent reforms to the superannuation rules have been far-reaching, impacting in particular on the ability of members to make super contributions, abolishing the compulsory cashing rules, changing the kinds of income streams that can be paid and significantly altering terminology used.<\/p>\n

SMSF Trust Deeds<\/h3>\n

Key provisions you should find in an up-to-date deed include the following. After all, strategies developed in response to new legislation may be of little use to members of a fund with inflexible old governing rules!<\/p>\n

Contributions<\/strong> \u2013 Deeds should give trustees discretion to accept all contributions permitted at law, including contributions for members aged up to 75 years.<\/p>\n

Compulsory Cashing<\/strong> \u2013 Deeds should not incorrectly reflect repealed compulsory cashing rules, which require benefits to be paid on reaching 65 years or ceasing employment.<\/p>\n

Benefits<\/strong> \u2013 Deeds should empower trustees to pay all of the kinds of benefits permitted at law, including lump sums and the new Account-Based Pensions and Transition to Retirement Income Streams. Deeds should also permit existing pensions (eg Allocated Pensions) to be continued or commuted by way of internal roll-over and converted to one of the new types of income streams and, critically, should also preserve whatever powers a trustee already has to pay Defined Benefit Pensions, but should not amend them or introduce new ones.<\/p>\n

Estate Planning<\/strong> \u2013 Deeds should empower members to make binding and non-binding death benefit nominations, should compel the trustee to comply with a valid BDBN and should empower members to nominate the full range of dependants who can now receive a death benefit (including a person with whom a member has an interdependency relationship).<\/p>\n

General Deeming Clause<\/strong> \u2013 Superannuation law is constantly changing, so deeds should also include a general deeming clause which is flexible enough to empower the trustee to do anything that is permitted to be done as well as compelling it to do anything that is required to be done.<\/p>\n

Deed Upgrades<\/h3>\n

To assist in determining which deeds need to be upgraded, we offer the following general guidance.<\/p>\n