Is a SMSF worth it?
Things are slowly getting back to normal for Adele and her husband, whose lives took a sharp turn in 2014 when they both became suddenly unwell.
Two years earlier, they had combined their super, and set up a self-managed super fund, on the advice of an accountant.
They were not prepared for the amount of work involved, and how hard it would be to make investment decisions.
Even before they both became sick, they felt that managing their own super was becoming too great a burden.
It was hard to find the time required to devote to running it, and there were unforeseen costs involved.
Adele feels the expertise required to run an SMSF was not properly explained to them.
“I bit off more than I could chew, as far as trying to find investment opportunities, ideas, and best way to do things,” Adele said.
“It was too much work".
“And the when you add in the cost involved in accounting and getting the auditing done - it’s not worth it.”
As Adele and her husband focused on their treatments and getting better, their super took a back seat.
“Running the SMSF was just not a priority.” Happily, Adele and her husband are now both well on the road to recovery.
Having returned to REI Super during their combined illness, they’re not tempted to go back to an SMSF.
Adele says the costs and returns involved in an SMSF compared to being in REI Super were part of that decision.
“Without a doubt, there were more costs in running your own super – the auditor fees, paying tax. All of those costs meant there was a lot more coming out of my super than before.
“I’m not in the slightest bit interested in going back. My account balance is not going down!”