Setting up a self managed superannuation fund is perhaps one of the greatest investment decisions that one can make especially before they go for retiring. As much as it can be quite easy to administer and manage your fund using some SMSF Online applications, having a trustee to manage your fund can also be quite an important decision to make. However, making such a decision will require some thought, especially when weighing your options between appointing a corporate body, or an individual to be your fund trustee. Here are some important considerations in addition to using SMSFsoftware, which will probably lead you the right way in settling to the option that will work best for you.
1. The Aspect Of Cost
The main reason for setting up the fund is to be able to have something aside for future investments, or perhaps have something aside for a rainy day if you can. It is therefore important to weigh your options carefully, even when you tend to have been carried away by certain SMSFsoftware. Analyzing in detail the total costs you will incur on hiring a certain trustee for your fund, be it an individual or a corporate body would be crucial, as the costs may directly or indirectly have an impact on your benefits; both short term and long term.
2. The Aspect Of Benefits
Tools such as DYI super are some of the most effective software that you can use to manage your SMSF software. However, when it comes to choosing a trustee, it would be important as well to determine which option will work for you, based on how the benefits will be paid to you. Will it be done in lump sum or will it be done in partial payments through a pension strategy. The main factor to consider here would be the flexibility of your benefits, which in most cases is better with corporate bodies as trustees and with online software and management tools. However, be sure to weigh your options well, based on your benefits versus the fees charged.
3. The Issue Of Succession
One common problem that occurs when you get an individual as your funds trustee is the issue of death, in case one of the members passes away. It would be essential to consider what happens in such a case, and how succession matters would be resolved. With online SMSF management and with a corporate body as trustee, such issues are in most cases easily resolved. Divorce and separation issues are also important to consider.
4. Fund Administration
The good thing about SMSF is that you can easily add a new member to the fund at will in most cases depending on the structure of trusteeship and the type of fund. When your trustee is corporate, you will not necessarily have to change ownerships is such a case of addition of new members top the trust. The same case applies in instances where a member happens to travel outside the country as the fund’s administration would remain within the country. However, it can get a bit different if the trusteeship would be under an individual or if the trust is through SMSFtools.
