ASK NOEL
Sydney Morning Herald
Saturday February 19, 2011
WE run our own self-managed super fund but for years have used AMP for our life insurance. We are told we should pay for this through our SMSF but we do our own direct investing and as such don't have any fund managers who would offer this. Is there another way to pay for life insurance through our SMSF?Talk to your insurance representative. It should be possible to have the policy reissued so that they are owned by your super fund and consequently paid for by it. As an SMSF is prohibited from acquiring a life insurance policy from a member, the usual practice is to take out new policies in the name of the SMSF then cancel the existing ones. Make sure everything is in place for the issue of the new policies before you cancel the old ones because underwriting policies vary between life companies.I have a cash management account with a major bank for $16,000. I'd like to invest $10,000 of this for six to 18 months and put the interest back into the cash management account. It irks me that my bank charges $40 a quarter $160 a year in fees. Perhaps I should put all the money into another interest-bearing account instead of having it spread across two accounts.Your easiest option would seem to be the online accounts offered by the banks. There are no entry and exit fees and your money is available at call. I would be wary of tying up much money in a term deposit in a climate where rates are likely to rise but I'm sure you would be able to transfer funds from your online account to a term deposit without fees if you spoke to the bank.
© 2011 Sydney Morning Herald