ATO data belies health of SMSF sector
The drop in self-managed super fund (SMSF) establishments in the March 2013 quarter is no reason to question the ongoing health of this superannuation sector, according to the SMSF Professionals' Association of Australia (SPAA).
Commenting on the recently released statistics, Jordan George, senior manager, technical & policy for SPAA, said that the numbers for SMSF establishments in the March quarter had been softer historically as compared with other quarters.
"And what happened this year is no different to that," he said.
"What we have seen in the past is that after a drop-off in March establishments there is a pick-up in the final quarter of the financial year as we enter the tax planning and tax filing season."
George said that people often chose to set up their SMSF and do their salary sacrificing tax planning at that stage of the year.
"The longer-term trend is that SMSFs are still a growing, healthy, vibrant sector that allows Australians to take responsibility for their own retirement," he said.
"This was reinforced by the APRA (the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority) data showing assets in SMSFs growing by $22 billion in the March quarter, about one-third of total superannuation asset growth."
According to George, it is also possible that some people considering establishing an SMSF in the March quarter may have chosen to hold off due to the uncertain political environment that prevailed in the first three months of this year.
"It is understandable people want to be cautious with their retirement planning, and SPAA research has shown that policy changes and uncertainty reduce SMSF trustees' confidence," he said.
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