SMSF Association opposes cap on super balances

The SMSF Association CEO John Maroney addressed the issue in a statement on Thursday, 10 March after Shadow Treasurer Jim Chalmers knocked back calls to cap super balances at $5 million this week, saying the Labor Party’s “priorities are elsewhere”.

“We do not and have never supported such a cap,” Mr Maroney said.

“These balances are a legacy issue with the 2017 changes putting clear limits on contributions to superannuation funds and on amounts that can be held in the tax-free retirement phase.”

Mr Maroney added that the association recommended in 2020 that the Retirement Income Review should examine the issue of large balances, but intentionally did not recommend where the line should be drawn.

“It’s our position that any proposal to restrict retention of extremely large balances in superannuation needs to be handled carefully to ensure that any rule changes allow adequate time to manage the restructuring that would be involved, especially where large illiquid assets are involved,” he said.

The SMSF Association welcomed Mr Chalmers’ comments with Mr Maroney saying constant changes to superannuation tax settings “erode confidence” in the system and discourage members from making long-term savings plans.

Neil Griffiths

Neil is the Deputy Editor of the wealth titles, including ifa and InvestorDaily.

Neil is also the host of the ifa show podcast.