The federal government last week released the final tranche of exposure draft legislation and explanatory material for the superannuation reforms first announced in the 2016 budget.

The SMSF sector will be more adversely affected than any other superannuation sector by the impending reduction in the concessional contributions caps as members of these types of fund tend to make a greater amount of personal contributions.

Class today announced it had achieved substantial growth in its billable portfolios, the majority of which were SMSFs, in addition to winning SMSF accountants’ business where they were moving over to the cloud.

A rise in the number of SMSFs and their assets to all-time highs in the June quarter 2016 highlights the appeal of do-it-yourself investing for many Australians. But SMSFs are still piling a considerable amount of money into cash, which may reduce wealth-creation investment opportunities over the long term.

Despite the complexity and multiple challenges presented by the draft superannuation legislation, the introduction of deferred annuities should provide SMSFs with some control and flexibility over their retirement income.

Retirees need to understand the implications changes to the assets test linked to the age pension commencing on 1 January 2017 will have for them and make the necessary preparations now, a major banking group has said.

SMSF trustees and advisers are highly exposed to the threat of cyberattacks and must stay vigilant, as well as implement cybersecurity risk management practices, SuperAuditors director Shelley Banton has said.

The new superannuation legislation’s introduction of entirely new concepts and procedures, combined with the very short time allowed for consideration for how they will work in practice, will result in a compliance logjam next year, according to the SMSF Owners’ Alliance (SMSFOA).