Are you thinking of Winding Up your SMSF?

• Is it because you are of an age that you want to liquidate your assets? E.g. retiring.
• Has there been a relationship breakdown between one or more members? E.g. Divorce.
• Your health as a member/trustee is deteriorating and you are the driver of the fund.
• Are you getting tired of the paperwork, responsibility of managing your SMSF?
• Your fund’s assets have reduced to a level that it is no longer cost effective to keeping it running.
• A member of the fund no longer resides in Australia and has become a non-resident for Australian taxation purposes.

Basically, if for what ever the reason you are unable to run your SMSF, you must either leave the SMSF or wind it up.

What options could you consider?

• Transferring to another superannuation fund.  Replace with “Rollover your benefits to another superannuation fund.”
• Liquidating the assets left in the fund, and pay the members after costs; prepare all final accounts for the ATO’s reporting and administrative requirements and advise the ATO of your decision.  Replace with “Dispose of the assets held within the SMSF, and payout the final member balances as pensions or lump sums (provided you have met the conditions of release)

Case Study

Simon and Lisa are aged 70.  They receive a small pension from their SMSF each year.  Their SMSF has total assets of $100,000 (consisting of cash in one bank account, and three ASX listed shares).  The annual cost to attend to the administration and audit of the SMSF is $2,500 per year. The trustees decide to sell all shares owned by the fund and payout the final member balances as pension payments.  The fund can then be wound up.

Winding up your SMSF will require careful management.
If you are thinking about winding up your SMSF, don’t hesitate to give myself or Susan Stainwald (Client Manager) on: 1300 366 316