Articles by

Garth McNally

Garth has worked in the Australian Superannuation industry for over 20 years with a specific focus on self-managed super funds. He provides ongoing support and training to individuals as well as to professionals working in the superannuation area, including advisers, accountants and lawyers. He is a regular contributor to industry publications and to the leading professional bodies including Chartered Accountants Australia & New Zealand (CA ANZ).

Q&A: Is a lump sum super payment taxed if I’m under 60?

Q: Assuming a member turns 59 on the 9th of May 2023, and sets up a full pension fund to commence from 1 July this year (2023) shortly, when that member withdraws the lump sum before the 9th of May 2024 (next year), aged then 60, is the lump sum subject to tax or not?
Q&A: Can we use a recontribution strategy at 70 if we have a large transfer balance?

Q: Can a recontribution strategy work where an SMSF has 2 members aged 70 and 68 with current member balances of $1.7 million each and transfer balance caps of $1.6 million each?
SMSFs and estate planning: What fund members should consider and plan for

The second article in our four-part “SMSF and estate planning series” covers the key issues for trustees when it comes to estate planning within their self-managed fund.
SMSF loans: What are the SMSF borrowing rules?

The ability to borrow to invest gives SMSF trustees additional flexibility when choosing investment assets, but it’s not open slather. Strict rules apply.
Webinar: Transition-to-retirement pensions: Strategies and benefits

In this webinar, Garth will take you through the key benefits of using a transition to retirement pension; from tax planning to achieving better estate planning outcomes. This webinar is a must for all readers approaching or considering retirement.
Q&A: What to consider with unused concessional contribution tax claims?

Q: The bring forward concessional contributions tax claims. Are they still available and any other matters associated with such a tax claim?
SMSFs and estate planning: An introduction

Ensuring your super is dealt with according to your wishes when you die is not only important for your beneficiaries, but for your fellow trustees and the fund itself.
SMSFs: How to deal with lost paperwork

What SMSF trustees need to consider when important fund documentation is misplaced.
Q&A: How does a transition to retirement pension impact CGT on property assets?

I’ve got property assets in my SMSF. I was intending to allocate those property assets into my pension portfolio then sell them and re-use the liquidity in the pension phase investing / payments. Would going with a TTR have an impact on CGT on the property sales?
Webinar: SuperGuide members Q&A: September 2023

In this webinar super expert Garth McNally will answer recent questions from SuperGuide members.
Q&A: Can I do contribution splitting if I live overseas?

What these rules allow us to do is to split, so to take up to 85% of the concessional contributions that were made into our own super fund account last year and then split them or allocate them to our spouse’s super account in either our fund or any other fund in the current year.
Q&A: What is the tax treatment on lump sum withdrawals when 65 and not retired?

Q: For an over 65, not retired, still working and paying income tax, what is the tax treatment on any lump sum withdrawals from super (where super is still in the accumulation phase) having been built up from employer and salary sacrifice contributions and taxed at 15% on way in.
SMSFs: Getting ready for the annual meeting with your accountant

If you use an accountant to prepare your SMSF’s end-of-year compliance tasks, having the right documentation on hand will save time and money.
SMSFs: What advice can your accountant provide?

While many SMSF trustees turn to their accountant for assistance, they can only provide advice on some SMSF-related matters. To help SMSF trustees navigate this tricky area we’ve compiled a checklist to help you work out if your accountant is the right person to ask for help.
Q&A: Does the sole purpose test become redundant when you’ve retired?

When the sole surviving or even the youngest member of the fund finally turns 65, does the sole purpose test then become redundant?
Q&A: Can I cancel a reversionary pension within my SMSF and wind up the SMSF?

I have been receiving a reversionary pension since my husband died but I am finding the paperwork required to maintain my SMSF is a little overwhelming.
Q&A: Can an SMSF accept super contributions if it’s status is “Pending”?

Can contributions be accepted by a newly established (SMSF) fund whose status is “Pending” on the Super Fund Lookup.
Property development in an SMSF: Recent ATO guidance

If you are thinking about using your SMSF for a property development it pays to understand the ATO rules. Failure to do so could be costly.