LRBA changes spurring industry confusion
The complexity of the LRBA measures is still causing uncertainty among SMSF professionals, with BT reporting this as the top adviser enquiry during the June quarter.
BT technical consultant Tim Howard said LRBAs were the most topical enquiry for the June quarter.
“The changes can be explained in two parts. The first part relates to combining the outstanding LRBA debt to calculate a client’s total super balance,” said Mr Howard.
“It’s important to note that this measure is proposed at this stage only.”
The second part, he said, relates to the interaction between LRBAs and the transfer balance cap.
“Under this measure, SMSF clients will be required to record a credit against their transfer balance account where an LRBA held in retirement phase is repaid from funds held in accumulation phase,” he said.
This measure has broadly been introduced, he said, to prevent people transferring funds from accumulation to retirement phase via a loan repayment in an attempt to circumvent the transfer balance cap.
“This measure will likely only affect a minority of clients and it’s important to note that existing LRBAs in place, prior to 1 July 2017, will not be impacted,” he said.
“Due to the level of complexity in these measures, it’s timely to seek expert counsel so clients are aware of the changes. However, for now no immediate change is required to client strategies and it’s business as usual while we await any further consultation.”
