ATO issues fresh warning on illegal early access schemes

With illegal early access schemes on the rise, the Tax Office has issued a fact sheet warning super members about the promoters of these schemes.

.

In a recent update, the ATO warned superannuation members to be wary of anyone known as promotors who want to help set up an SMSF for the purposes of illegally accessing super.

The ATO said it’s important that anyone running an SMSF is aware that accessing super can be illegal at times.

“As a trustee of a SMSF it is your responsibility to ensure that if you are accessing your super early, you are doing this within super laws,” the ATO cautioned.

The ATO has recently released a fact sheet, Accessing your super may be illegal, which highlights what SMSF trustees need to know about accessing their super and what to do if they are approached by a promotor.

The fact sheet warned that some promotors may say they can help individuals set up an SMSF in order to access their super for reasons such as paying off your credit card, buying a house or to go on a holiday when this is actually illegal.

“These people will often charge you a lot of money, tell you to transfer some or all your super from your existing super fund to the SMSF and tell you that you can use as much as you need for personal expenses,” the fact sheet warned.

The ATO also warned there is the risk of identity theft with these kinds of schemes.

“These promoters may also ask for your personal information. If you give it to them, they can steal your identity. With your personal information, they can steal your super for themselves,” the ATO warned.

The ATO advised anyone contacted by one of these promotors to contact the ATO on 13 10 20 straight away to get advice.

“Do not agree to anything and do not sign any documents or give them your personal details,” it stated.

“Don’t access your super before you retire unless you meet one of the conditions that makes it legal to access your super and receive relevant approval.”

The ATO reminded SMSF trustees that most people can only access their super when they retire and turn 60 or when they turn 65, otherwise it’s illegal.

Last year, ATO assistant commissioner SMSF risk and strategy, Justin Micale, warned that the ATO was seeing an increasing number of trustees taking advantage of their direct access to their superannuation bank account and using these savings to pay for business debts, holidays, renovations and new cars.

Mr Micale said the ATO was stepping up its focus on licensed and unlicensed promoters of illegal early access schemes.

“This behaviour is unacceptable particularly as we know promoters often target people who are in vulnerable communities, under financial pressure and with low financial and super literacy,” he said.

 

 

Miranda Brownlee
23 January 2023
smsfadviser.com

Want to know more?

Do you have a question about something you've read in this article? Need more information? Want to book an appointment? Simply let us know below and we'll get back to you ASAP.

General Disclaimer

The information contained on this website is general in nature and does not take into account your personal circumstances, financial needs or objectives. Before acting on any information, you should consider the appropriateness of it and the relevant product having regard to your objectives, financial situation and needs. In particular, you should seek the appropriate financial advice and read the relevant Product Disclosure Statement or other offer document prior to acquiring any financial product.

Dr John Tickell is a registered Medical Doctor, who graduated at the University of Melbourne, Australia. Dr John has spent several decades travelling and researching the eating and living habits of the longest living, healthiest people on our planet.

The author may give opinions and make general or particular statements in this literature regarding potential changes of lifestyle habits based on experience and research. You are strongly advised not to make any changes or take any action as a result of reading or listening to this material without specific advice from your doctor, physician or registered Health Professional.

The author, the Publisher, the Editor and their respective employees or agents do not accept any responsibility for the actions of any person, or injury, loss or damage occasioned - actions which are in any way related to information contained herein.

Opinions and statements in this literature are based on verified research and experiences by the authors and are to be regarded as health and wellness advice.

Privacy Policy

What Personal Information Do We Collect?

The personal information that we collect will depend on your relationship with us and the service(s) you or your organisation have engaged us to provide or are interested in. It may include:

Name and contact information (including telephone and mobile number, email address and residential and postal address);

Individual information (including racial or ethnic origin(s), language(s) spoken, religious belief(s) and affiliation(s), date of birth, age, place of birth, gender(s), occupation(s), employment and qualification details, financial records, income details, asset listings, taxation records, bank account details, insurance policies, medical history, disability status, criminal record and Court records);

Payment and transactional information (including banking and credit card details);

Other personal or sensitive information (including information contained in communications or documents, any information required due to the nature of your matter, or information we are required to or permitted to collect by law).

Collecting Personal Information

HOW WE COLLECT PERSONAL INFORMATION

We may collect your personal information directly from you or in the course of our dealings with you. For example, we collect personal information from you or about you from:

Correspondence between you and us;

Meetings and interviews with us, telephone calls with us, the instructions you provide to us;

Visits to and submissions you make on our website;

Your interactions with our electronic direct mail and/or emails from our marketing campaigns (such as clicks on links included in these emails); and

Registration and forms you may fill in for our marketing-related activities and events.

WHY WE COLLECT, HOLD AND USE PERSONAL INFORMATION

We collect and hold your personal information for a variety of purposes, and you permit us to use it:

To provide you with our services and carry out our business functions;

For purposes related to the provision of our services such as , educational briefings, seminars and coaching and other service offering updates, conducting client satisfaction surveys and feedback requests, statistical collation and website traffic analysis;

Where you have consented to its use or disclosure;

Where we reasonably believe that use or disclosure is necessary to lessen or prevent a serious, immediate threat to someone's health or safety or the public's health or safety;

Where we reasonably suspect that unlawful activity has been, is being or may be engaged in and the use or disclosure is a necessary part of our investigation or in reporting the matter to the relevant authorities;

Where such use or disclosure is required under or authorised by law (for example, to comply with a subpoena, a warrant or other order of a court or legal process);

Where we reasonably believe that use or disclosure is necessary for the prevention, investigation, prosecution and punishment of crimes or wrongdoings or the preparation for, or conduct of, proceedings before any court or tribunal (or the implementation of orders of a court or tribunal or on behalf of an enforcement body);

To develop and improve our business, products and services; and

For any lawful purpose.

Where we wish to use or disclose your personal information for other purposes, we will obtain your consent.

HOW WE HOLD AND STORE PERSONAL INFORMATION

Your personal information is held and stored on paper, by electronic means or both. We have physical, electronic and procedural safeguards in place for personal information and take reasonable steps to ensure that your personal information is protected from misuse, interference, loss and unauthorised access, modification and disclosure:

Data held and stored on paper is stored in a secure premises.

Data held and stored electronically is protected by internal and external firewalls, high encryption and all access to electronic data including databases requires password access

Access to personal information is restricted to staff and contractors whose job description requires access. Our employees and contractors are contractually obliged to maintain the confidentiality of any personal information held by us.

We undertake regular data backups, with the data copied and backed up to multiple locations for redundancy purposes.

Our staff receive regular training on privacy procedures.