Check up on savings

Older individuals often forget to perform checks on their retirement savings. It is essential that individuals check that their retirement savings are on track to finance their planned standard of living in retirement. Otherwise, they could be left short when they are ready to retire. A common time to perform these checks is in the…

Division 7a in detail

Business owners sometimes borrow money from their own company for a variety of personal and financial reasons. However, there can be an issue with tax law compliance if the proper steps are not carried out in treating the transaction correctly. Division 7a is an integrity measure of tax legislation that comes into effect when there…

Tax certainty after death for super funds

Recent government amendments have provided tax certainty for superannuation funds upon the death of members in receipt of a superannuation income stream. This amendment effectively allows a superannuation fund trustee to dispose of pension assets on a tax-free basis to fund the payment of death benefits. Also, the meaning of ‘superannuation income stream benefit’ now…

Power of attorney and guardianship

As people get older they need to make arrangements on how to handle their estate, and their personal interests in the event of sickness or death. These include: Enduring guardianship A guardian is essentially a legally appointed substitute decision-maker. A guardian is granted powers only as is necessary to accomplish what an individual cannot do…