SMSF Retirement Planning
Build a clear, considered retirement plan through your self-managed super fund. From transition to retirement strategies and pension commencement through to income planning and estate coordination, we help you move from accumulation to retirement with confidence and clarity.
Plan Your Retirement the Right Way Through Your SMSF
Retirement is not a single event. It is a transition that, for most SMSF trustees, begins years before they stop working and continues for decades after. The decisions you make in the lead-up to retirement, and in the early years of drawing income from your fund, have a lasting impact on how long your money lasts and how comfortably you live.
For business owners and professionals with an SMSF, the retirement transition is particularly complex. You may be winding down a business at the same time as transitioning your super to pension phase. You may have a partner whose retirement timeline is different from yours. You may have significant assets outside super that need to be coordinated with your fund’s income stream.
Without a clear plan that connects all of those moving parts, important decisions get made in isolation. Contributions stop at the wrong time. Pensions commence before the tax benefits are maximised. Estate planning documents do not reflect your actual wishes. The result is a retirement that works, but not nearly as well as it could.
At New Wave SMSF, we build retirement plans that are specific to your circumstances, connected to your whole financial picture, and reviewed regularly as your situation evolves. Our financial planning team works alongside your accountant and legal adviser within the same firm, so every retirement decision is made with the full picture in view.
This information is general in nature. For advice specific to your circumstances, please speak with one of our qualified advisers.
How We Support SMSF Retirement Planning Clients
We provide comprehensive retirement planning advice for SMSF trustees at every stage of the retirement journey.
Our services cover:
Retirement Readiness Assessment
We assess your fund’s current position against your retirement goals, identifying gaps, opportunities, and the steps required to get your fund where it needs to be before you stop working.
Transition to Retirement Planning
We advise on transition to retirement strategies that allow you to access your super while still working, helping you reduce your tax liability and boost your retirement savings in the lead-up to full retirement.
Pension Commencement Advice
We advise on when and how to commence an account-based pension from your SMSF, ensuring the timing and structure of your pension maximises the tax benefits available to you in retirement phase.
Retirement Income Strategy
We build a retirement income strategy that draws on your fund in the most tax-effective way possible, balancing your minimum pension requirements with your lifestyle income needs and the longevity of your retirement savings.
Transfer Balance Cap Planning
We help you manage your transfer balance cap, ensuring you maximise the amount you move into retirement phase without exceeding the cap and triggering excess transfer balance tax.
Contribution Strategy in the Lead-Up to Retirement
We maximise contributions into your fund in the years before you retire, using concessional and non-concessional strategies, carry-forward opportunities, and downsizer contributions where applicable.
Coordinating Super with Outside Assets
We coordinate your SMSF retirement income with your assets outside super, including investment properties, business interests, and personal savings, to build a complete retirement income plan.
Retirement and Estate Planning Integration
We integrate your retirement plan with your estate planning documents, ensuring your pension nominations, Binding Death Benefit Nominations, and Wills all reflect your current wishes and work together.
Why Retirement Planning Inside Your SMSF Matters
The transition from accumulation to retirement phase is one of the most significant financial events in a trustee’s life. It is also one of the most complex. The rules around pension commencement, transfer balance caps, minimum pension payments, and tax treatment in retirement phase are detailed and interconnected. Making the wrong decision at this stage, or making the right decision at the wrong time, can have a material impact on your retirement income for years to come.
For business owners, the complexity is even greater. The timing of your business exit, the structure of any sale proceeds, and the interaction between your business income and your super contributions all need to be considered as part of a coordinated retirement plan. Without a specialist who understands both sides of that equation, important opportunities get missed.
The good news is that with proper planning, the tax concessions available inside superannuation in retirement phase are significant. In pension phase, earnings inside your fund including capital gains and investment income may be entirely tax free, subject to your transfer balance cap. Planning your transition to take full advantage of those concessions is one of the most valuable things a specialist retirement planner can do for you.
Planning your SMSF retirement well helps ensure:
- Your pension commences at the right time to maximise tax benefits
- Your transfer balance cap is managed to avoid excess transfer balance tax
- Your contributions are maximised in the final years before retirement
- Your retirement income is structured to last as long as you need it to
- Your super and your outside assets work together as a single retirement plan
- Your estate planning documents reflect your current wishes and are legally valid
Who This Service Is For
Our SMSF retirement planning service is designed for trustees who are approaching retirement or already in retirement and want a clear, coordinated plan for their fund.
This service is the right fit if you are:
- A Business Owner Planning to Exit in the Next Decade
You are thinking about selling your business or winding down your involvement in the next five to ten years. You want a retirement plan that connects your business exit to your super strategy so you capture every available opportunity along the way.
- Someone Within Five Years of Retirement
You are approaching retirement and you want a clear plan for how you transition out of accumulation phase, when to commence a pension, and how to structure your income so your fund lasts as long as you need it to.
- A Trustee Already in Retirement Phase
You have already commenced a pension but you are not confident your retirement income is structured in the most tax-effective way. You want a specialist to review your current arrangement and identify any improvements.
- Someone Who Has Recently Had a Major Life Change
You have recently sold a business, received an inheritance, or experienced another significant financial event that has changed your retirement picture. You want a specialist to review your SMSF strategy in light of your new circumstances.
The New Wave SMSF Difference
SMSF retirement planning at New Wave is not a one-off conversation. It is an ongoing, integrated advisory relationship that keeps your fund on track at every stage of the retirement journey.
- Your Whole Picture in One Place
Your retirement plan needs to account for your super, your business, your personal assets, your tax position, and your estate plan. At New Wave, your financial planner, accountant, and legal adviser work together within the same firm, so every retirement decision is made with the full picture in view.
- Proactive Planning, Not Reactive Advice
We do not wait for you to reach retirement and then figure out what to do. We start planning years in advance, identifying contribution opportunities, pension commencement windows, and tax planning strategies that need to be actioned well before retirement to deliver the maximum benefit.
- Built for Business Owners
Business owners face a retirement transition that is more complex than most. The interaction between your business exit, your super contributions, and your retirement income requires specialist advice that understands both sides of the equation. We are built for exactly that complexity.
Ready to Build Your SMSF Retirement Plan?
Whether you are years away from retirement or already in the transition, the best time to build a clear retirement plan is now. Our team is ready to help you understand your options and build a plan that works for your circumstances.
What Our Clients Say
We are proud to support SMSF trustees and individuals with professional accounting and financial services.
Disclaimer
This information is general in nature and does not constitute financial advice. SMSF retirement planning services are delivered by New Wave Financial Planning Pty Ltd, an Authorised Representative of NWG Financial Services, AFS Licence No. 538619. Any advice provided is subject to a formal Statement of Advice. Please consider your personal circumstances before acting on any information contained on this page.