Changes to the superannuation regulations have potentially significant impacts particularly for self-managed superannuation funds (SMSFs), according to Cooper Grace Ward.
The law firm’s partner, Scott Hay-Bartlem, said there were significant backflips from the draft regulations released in January and pointed to two measures in the draft regulations that had been removed.
He said the regulations no longer exempted funds from the need to have actuarial certificates after 1 July 2017.
“This means actuarial certificates will still be required for superannuation funds paying pensions where they also have accumulation accounts,” Hay-Bartlem said.
The regulations also no longer allow market linked pensions to be commuted if there may be an excess transfer balance cap issue, meaning that market linked pensions will still provide an excess transfer balance cap issue if there were also account based pensions.
Hay-Bartlem also noted that measures previously announced that were now law included:
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