People can wind up their SMSF for many different reasons, including:
Illness or death of someone in your SMSF
Relationship breakdown with someone in your SMSF
It took too much time to manage
Accounting fees cost too much
Didn’t make enough investment returns
Getting professional tax and financial advice can help you decide when to wind up your SMSF. Learn how to close a self-managed super fund and switch to an account with us.
See advice optionsOnce all members of your SMSF have agreed to wind up your fund, there's plenty you have to do. Before you get started, it's a good idea to speak with the Australian Taxation Office (ATO). And think about how you'll manage the money within the superannuation system.
You need to let the ATO know within 28 days if you want to close down an SMSF.
The trust deed, as the legal document of your SMSF, lists anything extra you need to do.
All trustees of the SMSF need to agree in writing to wind it up. Get their confirmation and signatures (digital signature is okay). Keep this with the SMSF records.
When closing an SMSF, you need to sell off or get rid of all the fund's assets at market value, and pay any capital gains tax (CGT).
Send your last reports to the ATO, including transfer balance account reports for a pension/income stream. You may need to send a PAYG payment summary for benefits you've already paid to members, or a lump sum to a deceased estate.
You might need to pay any last expenses, legal and accounting bills, and tax.
Work out how much money each member should get, then pay the benefit to them (or their account with another super fund, or their estate).
An approved SMSF auditor must do an audit and finish any paperwork or reports before you lodge your final SMSF annual return.
Once your audit's done, you'll lodge an SMSF annual return. Include wind-up details, any super regulatory information, member contributions, and SMSF supervisory levy.
Check the steps below to transfer your SMSF money to us.
Tell any employers the SMSF is closed and give them your new account details for future super payments. The ATO cancels the SMSF's ABN. If you had a company, you'll need to deregister it with ASIC.
You can close the SMSF bank account once there's no more money in it and nothing left to pay. You'll also need to keep your SMSF records for at least 5-10 years for most documents, so check the requirements.
Watch: When should I wind up my SMSF?
Winding up an SMSF can have an impact on your retirement savings. So, it's important to get financial advice and plan an exit strategy before you close it. Keep in mind that once you've wound up an SMSF, you can't reopen it.
For more details, see the ATO website.
Changing from an SMSF to an industry fund or any other fund has a few key benefits. Of course, it always depends on your situation.
We take care of all the administration, legal compliance, and reporting.
See how easy it is
Our range of investment options and retirement products means you don't reinvent the wheel.
Why choose us
If something ever happens to you, we're there to make a hard time easier.
Insurance optionsOnce you've decided to close the SMSF, it's easy to transfer your super to a Super Savings account.
It only takes 3 minutes to open an account with us online.
If you don't already have one, set up an electronic service address (ESA) and SuperStream. (We can't accept BPAY or cheque from an SMSF.)
Use the payment reference number (PRN) and our BSB/account number from SuperStream to send your super to us by online banking transfer. If your bank has a transaction limit, you might need to do multiple smaller payments.
We'll let you know once the money is in your ART account. This can take 3 business days.
Send any employers your new account details online or by form.
Fund name:
Australian Retirement Trust, Super Savings account
ABN:
60 905 115 063
USI (replaces SPIN):
60 905 115 063 003
Phone:
13 11 84
Fund address:
GPO Box 2924
Brisbane QLD 4001
Your member number:
If you don't know it, we can help you find your member number.
You may also need:
If you need any help with transferring your super to us, please contact our friendly team. You can speak to a local specialist in superannuation. And if you need personal advice, we can help you find a financial adviser.
Contact usYes, you can wind up an SMSF in the pension phase. You just need to make sure the SMSF has no money left in it before winding up.
So, you'll need to make the final pension payments and pay the remaining balance to your members.
If you want to keep your money within the super system, join us and use your super to open our Retirement Income account and/or Lifetime Pension.
It's worth getting financial advice about your options, the timing for opening accounts and adding contributions, potential Centrelink impacts and how you may be affected if, for example, your pension income stream stops.
Running an SMSF can be complex and time-consuming. Winding up an SMSF can also be complex because of all the paperwork and tax implications.
But once it's done, you can choose an easier option.
In general, industry super funds like Australian Retirement Trust have several features:
If you'd like to speak to someone about closing your SMSF, we have a national network of financial advisers we can connect you with.
Yes, you can have an SMSF and an account with an industry super fund like us at the same time.
Let's say you have an account-based pension like our Retirement Income account with a super fund. You can also invest some of your super through an SMSF.
But you should get financial advice about whether having both open at once is the best choice for you. And check our pros and cons of SMSFs.
You can transfer your SMSF to an industry fund or other fund by following the steps in the SMSF wind-up checklist above.
Find out why so many Australians choose us to grow their super. It only takes a few minutes to join online, so you can rest easier.
