Thursday 23 February 2012
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Questions & Answers - Members

What is a Member?

The Members of a SMSF own the SMSF assets. Only Members of a SMSF can contribute to the SMSF. Members of a SMSF must also act as the Trustees for the SMSF meaning that the Members also control the SMSF.

How many Members can a SMSF have?

A SMSF can have a Maximum of 4 Members.

Can all Members contribute to the same SMSF?

Yes. All Members can contribute to the same SMSF.

Does the Fee change if I have more than 1 Member?

No. Our Annual Compliance Fee remains at $699 pa irrespective of whether your SMSF has 1,2,3 or 4 Members.

Do Members also have to be Trustees?

Yes. It is a legal requirement that all SMSF Members must also be Trustees of the SMSF.

Do Trustees also have to be Members?

ESUPERFUND automatically appoints all Trustees of the SMSF as Members of the SMSF when you apply to establish a SMSF with ESUPERFUND. Importantly a Member will only have an entitlement in the SMSF if they contribute to the SMSF. If they do not contribute to the SMSF the Member will have no entitlement to the SMSF and they are considered a NIL Balance Member. Being a NIL Balance Member is the equivalent of not being a Member of the SMSF as in both cases the NIL Balance Member will have no entitlement in the SMSF. It is noted that notwithstanding it is preferred that all Trustees are Members of the SMSF you can nominate in our online application that you do not want a Trustee to be a SMSF Member in the "Comments" area of the online application.

How are Member's Benefits tracked in the SMSF?

All Members of a SMSF have a proportional interest in the SMSF assets based on the Contributions and Rollovers made to the SMSF and any withdrawals made from the SMSF. This means that if one Member contributes 100% of monies to the SMSF and a second Member contributes no monies, then the Member making the total contributions to the SMSF will own 100% of the SMSF. Similarly if one Member contributes say $60,000 to the SMSF and the other Member contributes say $40,000 to the SMSF, then Member 1 will own 60% of the SMSF Assets and Member 2 will own 40% of the SMSF Assets. Each Members percentage or proportional interest in the SMSF Assets is constantly changing. That is each time that a Member contributes or withdrawals monies from the SMSF their proportional interest in the SMSF changes. ESUPERFUND tracks each Members proportional entitlement in the SMSF by allocating every Rollover, Contribution and Withdrawals to a specific Member Account. This is a legal requirement.

Can I Add or Remove Members?

Yes. Once your SMSF is established and the Members appointed there are circumstances where you may need to add or remove the Members. To add or remove the Trustees in your SMSF click here.

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