Olivia Long

Retirees, many of them SMSF members, are in danger of missing out on their valuable Commonwealth Seniors Health Card (CSHC) benefits following legislation that was part of the Federal Government’s Budget package, says Olivia Long, CEO of Xpress Super and SuperGuardian, the specialist self-managed super fund (SMSF) administrator.

“From 1 January 2015 the new deeming rules mean that Account Based Pensions started after this date will be assessed differently when determining an individual’s eligibility to receive the CSHC. It is something SMSFs must be vigilant about,” says Ms Long.

She was commenting on the new Government legislation that will see deeming rules applied to the Income Test for income from account-based superannuation income streams from 1 January 2015.

“Account-based superannuation income streams started before 31 December 2014 may be entitled to grandfathering provisions, where payments are assessed concessionally. Retirees need to be careful because if a pension is ‘reset’ via a stop and restart then this is considered a new pension and grandfathering is lost.

“Not many people realise that if eligibility for the card is lost, even for a short period of time, the grandfathering for all the Account Based Pension is lost,” she said.  “This can occur even if a person travels overseas for just six weeks.”

Ms Long says that it is important that SMSF trustees who have transferred most of their assets into their super fund should now review how they are structured.

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Olivia Long

A seasoned industry practitioner is highly critical of the Federal Government’s decision to push back the date by which superannuation funds must comply with the SuperStream contributions data standards. Superannuation funds now have up to 1 July 2015 to meet the new standards.

SuperGuardian and Xpress Super CEO Olivia Long says that the Australian Taxation Office has given the industry “ample opportunity” to start complying with the new standards, and industry associations that are supporting the delay “are merely serving the interests of their under-performing members”.

“The ATO has given plenty of notice to the industry. Frankly there’s no excuse for practitioners not to be ready for these changes. Firms that have invested capital and made the effort to get ready are effectively being penalised.”

She agrees that SuperStream might have some impact on self-managed super funds (SMSFs) as some funds will have to get professional advice to meet the new standards.

“Going forward all SMSFs will be required to have a bank account and an electronic service address that are able to receive employer contribution payments and messages sent electronically using the SuperStream standard.

“This is yet another example of why accountants should consider outsourcing their SMSF work to SMSF accounting specialists.  The industry is continually changing and for many small accounting practices it is simply proving too difficult to stay ahead of the game,” Long says.

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Thumbs up for Xpress Super by the 2013 Smart Investor Administrator Survey.

The decision by the specialist self-managed super fund (SMSF) administrator SuperGuardian to introduce the low-cost option Xpress Super has been strongly endorsed by the 2013 Smart Investor Administrator Survey.

Xpress Super, which was launched in April, has taken the top two positions in all three categories and scored best product for medium balance SMSFs ($1 million).

Xpress Super chief executive officer Olivia Long says:  “We always believed a low-cost option would have strong market appeal, but to have our judgment confirmed so quickly is an enormous fillip for the business.

“Xpress Super provides a complete SMSF solution for the self directed investor – with free SMSF establishment, an online trading solution provided by Comsec Adviser Services and all accounting, tax and compliance provided all for the low fee of $799. [The average SMSF fee is $2700.]

“But it’s not just an issue of cost. We are one of the few firms that insist all our client managers are a SPAA Specialist SMSF Advisor, ensuring the total professionalism of our service.”

Xpress Super, one of Australia’s first paperless SMSF services, uses the state-of-the-art software offered by Class Financial Systems.

Class CEO Rajarshi Ray says: “We are delighted to work with XpressSuper. Its price, service and delivery model are clearly supported by the market.

“For too long the SMSF industry and its participants have been held back by inferior, incumbent technologies that ill serve administrators and trustees alike. The work of Olivia and her team is changing that situation via this service – and we are excited to be part of it.”

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Olivia Long, Chief Executive Officer of SuperGuardian, one of Australia’s largest fully independent SMSF administrators with nearly 2000 SMSFs, says: “We are excited to offer a comprehensive product that will boast a pricing structure to rival the cheapest provider in the market.
 
“Called Xpress Super, it will provide an SMSF service to rival the top end of the market with fees positioned at the lower end; it will offer free SMSF establishment, no fees in the first year, an annual $799 fee thereafter, daily online reporting and one-stop shop trading, accounts and compliance.
 
“By developing a business model where a default trading platform, cash hub and term deposit service can integrate seamlessly, you create significant efficiency gains that can be passed on to the end client by way of extremely competitive fees,” says Olivia Long.
 
“Although SuperGuardian’s service is a premium offering with distribution primarily through intermediaries, we’re now ready to increase our presence at the other end of the market with an offering designed to capture Investors running their SMSFs without an investment adviser.
 
“Xpress Super is set to revolutionise this end of the market. We are pioneers with this level of offering in this space.”
 
Ms Long says Xpress Super will provide a superior daily online reporting service leveraging off the online capabilities and data automation of Class Super software.
 
“Rajarshi Ray, Class CEO, said: “We are delighted to welcome XpressSuper as a Class Super user whose price, service and delivery model are clearly supported by the market leading SMSF technology of Class. 
 
“For too long the SMSF industry and its participants have been held back by inferior, incumbent technologies that ill serves administrators and trustees alike. The work of Olivia and her team is changing that perception through the launch of this service – and we are excited to be part of that story.”
 
“Xpress Super will partner with the Commonwealth Bank and has selected the CBA Accelerator Cash Account as the platform hub and will use Commsec Adviser Services trading platform as the online share trading facility for clients.
 
“Australian Money Market has been selected to provide a paperless term deposit service providing SMSF investors with online automated applications and simple switching between institutions.
 
“Xpress Super will also offer SMSF trustees a group insurance policy via the AIA SMSF Master Insurance Plan. Xpress clients can access the benefits of a wholesale insurance arrangement including a simplified application process and competitive rates,” she said.

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