Accumulation phase funds are funds in which no members are receiving income stream benefit payments or reporting exempt current pension income.
All other assets are the asset types that make up an insignificant proportion of total asset values. They include insurance policies, debt securities, loans, unlisted shares, collectables and personal use assets, overseas shares, overseas non-residential real property, overseas residential real property, overseas managed investments and other overseas assets as reported on the SMSF annual return.
APRA-regulated funds (or ‘APRA funds’) include corporate, industry, public sector and retail funds. Unless specified as ‘APRA funds with more than 4 members’, they also include small APRA funds and single-member approved deposit funds.
Benefit payments refer to member benefits paid out to the member. From 2013, these are reported at 2 labels – super lump sum payments and super income stream benefit payments – and include (but are not limited to) transition to retirement income stream payments.
Borrowings are outstanding borrowings by the SMSF, including accrued interest. These include (but are not limited to) borrowings under a limited recourse borrowing arrangement.
Direct investments are SMSF investments located in Australia and overseas where the SMSF directly holds the assets, either in the name of the SMSF or in another legally recognised form. These include (but are not limited to) cash and term deposits, debt securities, loans, listed shares, unlisted shares, limited recourse borrowing arrangements, non-residential and residential real property, collectables and personal use assets and other assets.
Employer contributions are as reported on the SMSF annual return. These are contributions received from employers and include (but are not limited to) all mandated employer contributions such as superannuation guarantee, awards, agreements or other obligations, salary sacrifice, super guarantee charge shortfalls and amounts transferred to the SMSF for the member from a superannuation holding accounts special account.
Full retirement phase funds are a subset of ‘retirement phase funds’ in which all members are receiving a form of income stream benefit payment (including transition to retirement) and the fund reports exempt current pension income.
Income stream benefit payments refer to member benefits paid out to the member as an income stream life benefit, transition to retirement income stream or death benefit, and other income stream benefits such as (but not limited to) those relating to a member’s temporary or permanent incapacity.
Investment expenses include deductible and non-deductible investment expenses reported at the investment expense SMSF annual return label.
Inward rollovers refer to inward amounts received for the member in the form of transfers or rollovers within the superannuation system and may include contribution-splitting super benefits, transfer of benefits as a result of family law obligations and reversionary pension or entitlements.
Lump sum benefit payments refer to member benefits paid out to the member as a lump sum life benefit, death benefit, terminal medical condition benefit or release authority payment, and other lump sum benefits such as (but not limited to) benefits relating to a member's permanent incapacity or severe financial hardship, and approved compassionate payments.
Managed investments are SMSF investments in other entities that subsequently make investments on behalf of the SMSF. These include (but are not limited to) listed trusts, unlisted trusts, insurance policies and other Australian and overseas managed investments.
Management and administration expenses include deductible and non-deductible expenses reported at the management and administration expense SMSF annual return label.
Member contributions are as reported on the SMSF annual return. These are contributions received from members and include (but are not limited to) personal contributions, downsizer contributions and small-business exemptions. This item does not include rollovers or transfers from other superannuation entities.
Operating expenses as referred to in this report include deductible and non-deductible expenses reported at the following SMSF annual return labels: approved auditor fee, management and administration expenses, other amounts and SMSF supervisory levy.
Outward rollovers refer to member benefits paid out by the SMSF for the member in the form of transfers or rollovers within the superannuation system and may include contribution-splitting super benefits, transfer of benefits as a result of family law obligations and reversionary pension or entitlements.
Partial retirement phase funds are a subset of ‘retirement phase funds’ in which not all members are receiving an income stream benefit payment (including transition to retirement) and the fund reports exempt current pension income.
Retirement phase funds are funds in which at least one member receives an income stream benefit payment (including transition to retirement) and the fund reports exempt current pension income.
Return on assets as referred to in this report is the estimated investment performance of SMSFs measured as the net earnings divided by total net assets at the beginning of the period.
In line with recommendations made from independent research conducted by the International Centre for Financial Services (University of Adelaide) into the investment performance methodology used by the ATO the following changes have been made:
- Assets at the beginning of the period have been used where previously we used average assets over the period.
- The calculation is based on contributions gross of tax where previously this was net of contributions tax.
Total expenses as referred to in this report include deductible and non-deductible expenses reported at the following SMSF annual return labels: interest expenses within Australia, interest expenses overseas, insurance premiums – members, SMSF auditor fee, investment expenses, management and administration expenses, forestry managed investment scheme expense and other amounts, and SMSF supervisory levy.
Our self-managed super fund (SMSF) analysis and statistics annual overview for 2020–21 includes key data on the sector.