Tuesday 20 February 2018

Ato smsf trustee responsibilities

What is the role of a SMSF trustee? What are the responsibilities of a trustee? Deciding to become a trustee of an SMSF is a positive step towards retirement planning, but it’s not a decision to be made lightly. Being an SMSF trustee carries specific and wide-ranging responsibilities and obligations that must be met on an ongoing basis.


Trustee Responsibilities. A key responsibility of SMSF trustees is tending to the administrative duties for the fund.

The duties are quite broad – extending from managing the investments to liaising with your fund’s auditor. Refer to the diagram below for a summary of the different kinds of administration. As a trustee , you willingly take on the responsibility of running your fund. These responsibilities are outlined in an SMSF trustee declaration that each trustee of an SMSF must sign and return to the ATO within days of their appointment to indicate that they understand all their legal compliance obligations. In this article we will look at the major trustee responsibilities.


Corporate trustees should be aware that. As an SMSF trustee you take on the responsibility for the fund’s performance and have certain obligations to comply with self-managed super fund rules. Managing your own retirement funds can be very rewarding, but here are some of the key responsibilities that you need to be aware of.


It’s important to know and understand the duties, responsibilities and obligations of an SMSF trustee.

The people best suited to an SMSF are looking for greater control and visibility of their super and are prepared to take an interest in their retirement savings. A self-managed superannuation fund ( SMSF ) is a small super fund run by its members and regulated by the Australian Taxation Office ( ATO ). But in order to run one successfully, you have to understand what your obligations and responsibilities are as a trustee. The first event is one that has received quite a bit of coverage in the SMSF industry.


If you want to read the details of the case click here. We have an SMSF client where the trustee company has appointed two non-directors using a General (Company) Power of Attorney to assist with the operation of an SMSF. A register for disqualified SMSF trustees was flagged in February, in a speech by ATO Assistant Commissioner for Superannuation Dana Fleming. Professional bodies, on behalf of their members, have expressed their frustration to us about the difficultly in ascertaining if a new client has been previously disqualified by the ATO ,” Fleming said at the time. Let’s take a look at key duties and responsibilities that trustees must understand.


Every trustee or corporate trustee director must understand these duties and responsibilities. An SMSF trustee has a long list of responsibilities. And these responsibilities can’t be delegated. In the end it is always the trustee who is held accountable.


Not a job to be taken lightly. So we asked Rani Gandha of Turnbull Hill Lawyers in Newcastle to tell you more. At the start having your own SMSF sounds wonderful. You will be the one running the show.


But an SMSF also comes with a ton of responsibilities … and tough ATO actions when you don’t meet these. In order for your SMSF to receive tax concessions as a super fund you will need to comply with certain duties and obligations.

It will be your own. All members of a self-managed super fund ( SMSF ) must also be a trustee of the fund (or a director of the company if the fund is set up with a corporate trustee structure). SMSF trustees are responsible for ensuring the fund’s compliance with superannuation legislation.


The Australian Taxation Office ( ATO ) can impose a range of penalties on SMSF trustees for non-compliance.

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