SuperConcepts general manager, technical services and education, Peter Burgess says a recent trap that has emerged with the CGT relief is where a fund that was unsegregated at 9 November moves fully into pension phase at some point between 9 November and 30 June 2017.
“If the fund becomes a segregated fund, they compromise their ability to claim relief on those assets,” Mr Burgess told SMSF Adviser.
“So it’s not a good idea for people who were unsegregated at 9 November to convert to a segregated fund now.”
However, SMSF trustees may do this inadvertently.
“We came across a fund where one member was in the accumulation phase and another was in pension phase and some time between the 9th of November and the 30th of June 2017, the other member moved into the pension phase so that the fund then by default became a segregated fund,” Mr Burgess said.
“What they’ve done is lost their ability to claim the CGT relief on those assets.”
My thoughts exactly. Really makes me wonder about the qualifications of the people who write these confusing or misleading articles.
This article does not make a lot of sense and i feel key background information is missing from the scenario described. For example, moving to pension phase does not ‘by default’ result in the assets becoming segregated.
Its time, in fact its long overdue, for a new plain English Act specifically for SMSFs to be written.
In the meantime people with SMSFs and their advisers try to contend with these convoluted and confusing CGT relief and other rules that are buried somewhere in the SIS Act and Regulations + Income Tax Assessment Act. Do the authors of this legislation have any practical hands on knowledge the stress they are causing? The CGT relief rules mislead and with the non-revokable nature trap those with SMSFs whose genuine aim is to be financially independent as they age.