Trustees need to assess SMSF product offers with greater scrutiny or risk incurring heavy fines under the Australian Taxation Office’s (ATO) new penalty regime, a specialist superannuation lawyer has said.

The federal budget proposal that income generated from excess non-concessional contributions has to be refunded along with the contributions themselves will be difficult for SMSFs to comply with, according to some sector experts.

The announcement changing how the age pension applies to Australians contained in last week’s budget is likely to place even more importance on superannuation savings, according to an industry commentator.

Advisers may need to revise their clients’ pension strategies in the wake of the changes to the assessable income rules handed down in last week’s federal budget, an industry expert has said.

The SMSF Professionals’ Association of Australia (SPAA) has repaid 13 founding members a total of $26,000 in start-up subscriptions after changing its constitution to allow the funds to be released.

SMSFs are now one of the most significant savings vehicles in the country and are starting to have a telling impact on the Australian equities market, according to a senior analyst with an internationally-owned fund manager.

Recent analysis into SMSF investors has revealed a marked and continual move out of cash, with unitised trusts and listed trusts receiving positive flows.

The cost of a comfortable retirement for couples increased by 0.3 per cent to $57,817 a year in the March quarter.

The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) has expressed its concern as to whether individuals are establishing their SMSFs for the right reasons and uses.