More Australians may be drawn to SMSFs if changes to superannuation rules mooted by the federal government become law, according to head of wealth management at HLB Mann Judd Sydney, Michael Hutton.
Mr Hutton said the federal government's plan to remove the spouse rebate and apply a surcharge tax on contributions for high income earners would only affect a limited number of Australians, but the control that comes with having an SMSF might make it a more attractive option to more people.
"The discussion about superannuation changes is likely to encourage more people to consider SMSFs because of the flexibility they offer and the ability they give to members and trustees to react quickly to any changes that may be introduced," Mr Hutton said.
He acknowledged though that the proposed changes, which have generated robust debate between the government and Opposition six months out from the September 14 election, were unlikely to impact a vast majority of Australians.
"While many of the changes discussed were big ticket items in terms of revenue collected, the impact on most super fund members was relatively small - it is the total impact of revenue collection that the Treasury is after and small amounts multiplied by the total number of super fund members soon add up," he said.
"The present government has also made it clear that their approach is aimed at the very wealthy and is not going to affect the majority of fund members.
"Furthermore, both sides of government and the Treasury are very aware that the incentives in the current superannuation system help reduce reliance on social security, saving them a major cost.
"The recent debate has also made it clear that to change the current superannuation system radically would dent confidence in the system and impact retirement plans of both aspirational and current self-funded retirees."
He said it's difficult to see any government making major changes to the superannuation system as it now stands.
"We can expect to see changes around the edges, such as removing the little-used spouse rebate, and applying the already announced surcharge tax on contributions for high income earners, which only affects a minority of people," he continued.
"At some time we can also expect more of a push towards people being encouraged to take pensions rather than lump sums from their super and we would support this as we generally recommend this approach to clients anyway."
