Hello, my wife and I are in our late 60’s and have 600,000 in our self-managed superfund. We have 2 kids in their 30’s who are struggling to buy a home we would like to ask if it was possible for us to distribute the funds a gift so they could buy their first home?

Hi Peter,
I’m not an accountant or advisor but my understanding is that it is technically possible. You will need to see a professional to discuss the detail and the implications of your choices
You could try Rob Rich at Endorphin Wealth or James Wrigley who is on this forum for some quality assistance
Best of luck
Scott

Hi Peter,

This is an interesting one, that needs to be addressed in a few stages.

1. Can you take money from your SMSF? Most likely yes given your ages but tread carefully. Will depend on if you are still working or not & are you under or over age 65 (you say late 60's so probably ok) and the types of accounts you have within the SMSF (there are some that restrict your withdrawals regardless of age).
2. Can you gift money to your children (once you've got it out of the SMSF)? Absolutely yes you can.

Assuming you can get money out of your SMSF, the question is then how will you support yourself?

If you are gifting money (or anything really) to your children, Centrelink will count the money as yours for a period of time. Eventually any age pension you may be entitled to will be adjusted accordingly but it may take up to 5 years. How will you support during that time?

The competing priorities of wanting to help children as well as ensure you can support yourself is very common & something I have seen with my own clients many times. A balance can be struck.

If you would like assistance working through all of this please don't hesitate to reach out.

All the best.
James

james.wrigley@firstfinancial.com.au
(03) 9909 5800

Hi Peter,

the short answer is almost certainly yes.......but as James has said, its complicated and there are boxes that need to be ticked off to ensure you dont cruel yourself with tax on a lump sum withdrawal, or end up living on weetbix and catfood down the track whilst your kids live it up in their fancy new homes:):)

If you have a SMSF then you must already have an accountant. If your bean counter cannot explain the ins and outs of this in about 15 minutes then I suggest you go shopping around for someone who can.

there will be a bucketload of paperwork to ensure your fund complies with the legislation, but your question is pretty common, so the solution shouldnt cause your accountant any real headaches:)

cheers
bc