Budget will negatively impact clients, survey reveals

According to a statement, Midwinter found that just over 57 per cent of the 103 Australian advisers surveyed believe the budget would negatively impact their clients.

Only around 7 per cent of advisers believed the budget would have a positive impact on clients, the statement said.

The survey also revealed that 35 per cent felt the budget would negatively impact their business.

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Midwinter managing director Julian Plummer said this is mainly due to the "increased administrative burden as well as training and business rules changes".

But on the flipside, 25 per cent of advisers viewed the budget as a positive opportunity.

"Planners with a strong strategic and technical background will rise to the top amidst these dramatic changes to super," Mr Plummer said.

"Now is a good time for advisers to be reaching out to their client base to let them know they are on top of the changes and how it impacts them."

However, the Midwinter survey revealed an overwhelmingly negative sentiment from planners regarding other topics addressed in the budget.

Around 87 per cent surveyed felt negative towards the proposed lifetime cap for non-concessional contributions of $500,000, while 86 per cent felt negative towards the proposed lowering of the concessional contributions cap to $25,000, the statement said.

The proposed removal of the tax exemption for fund earnings on transition to retirement (TTR) pensions was also viewed unfavourably, with around 73 per cent expressing negative views of such legislative changes.

Adrian Flores

Adrian Flores is a deputy editor at Momentum Media, focusing mainly on banking, wealth management and financial services. He has also written for Public Accountant, Accountants Daily and The CEO Magazine.

You can contact him on [email protected].