Trustees of SMSFs are governed by the rules and regulations set out in the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act 1993 (SIS Act) and the fund’s trust deed. Trustees need to regularly review the trust deed, as a transaction that is permittable through the SIS Act, may be prohibited according to the trust deed.
Superannuation laws are constantly changing and the trust deed must adequately reflect these laws. To ensure the SMSF is allowed to access strategies permitted by the SIS Act, the trust deed should be reviewed and updated regularly.
If a trustee wishes to use the SMSF for activities such as an investment strategy or pension income stream, the activity will need to be included in the trust deed.
For example, the SIS Act allows a transition to retirement strategy for members over 55, however, the trust deed may only permit a payment when the member reaches the retirement age resulting in the member not being able to access to transition to retirement strategy.
A regular review and update of the SMSF trust deed will ensure the SMSF trustees have access to a range of strategies and activities, whilst also remaining a compliant fund.
