Staff and Office Updates
We are pleased to announce that our Accountant Jessica has returned from maternity leave and is already back hard at work. Her hours will be 9am – 3pm daily.
On the other hand though we are excited to announce that Allison is pregnant and will be off on her maternity leave on the 21st of May. Please note that any email queries you would normally direct to Allison, can be sent to admin@veritassolutions.com.au and they will be passed on to the most appropriate person.
2021 Minimum Pension Reminder
As the end of financial year is fast approaching, now is the time for a quick reminder for our SMSF trustees about the importance of withdrawing the minimum pension amount from your superannuation fund prior to Wednesday 30th June 2021.
You will find each member’s minimum pension withdrawal requirements in the covering letter that was included with your 2020 financial statements. If you haven’t received your 2020 financial statements as yet from us, you will receive them in the coming months and will still have plenty of time to make sure you take out the required amount for your minimum pension for the 2020-2021FY.
If you have any questions in regards to your minimum pension requirements, please call our office to discuss with one of our accountants.
Indexation of the General Transfer Balance Cap (TBC)
The TBC was brought in by changes to the superannuation laws in July 2017. It caps the amount of superannuation a person can have in retirement phase across all their superannuation benefits. Each person was given a TBC of $1.6 million in 2017 and from 1 July 2021 it will be indexed to $1.7 million.
Each person is given a transfer balance account (TBA) once they begin drawing a pension from their super. If you never had one before 1 July 2021, then your personal TBC will be $1.7 million.
If your TBA has ever reached your $1.6 million maximum, your TBC remains at $1.6 million and you are not eligible for any indexation.
If you are somewhere in between, like the majority of retirees, then you will receive a proportional increase in your TBC.
The ATO will be conducting calculations of your personal TBC, however their calculations will be based on the information they have received from your superannuation funds. If you have a myGov account you will be able to see the new TBC online or your personal tax agent will also have access to see it.
The effect of this is that each person will have a different TBC from 1 July 2021 so in order to offer you the most accurate advice we may request that you provide us with the information that the ATO has calculated to confirm our calculations and reduce the possibility of errors.
Contribution Cap Changes for 2021-2022 FY
The concessional contribution cap is set to increase from $25,000 p.a. to $27,500 pa from 1 July 2021. Concessional contributions include:
employer contributions (including contributions made under a salary sacrifice arrangement)
personal contributions claimed as a tax deduction.
If you have more than one fund, all concessional contributions made to all of your funds are added together and are counted towards your concessional contributions cap.
The non-concessional cap in 2021–22 will increase from $100,000 to $110,000 from 1 July 2021. Before making a non-concessional contribution for any financial year, you will need to check your personal Total Superannuation Balance and confirm that you can contribute. Please contact our office to discuss this before contributing.
Non-concessional contributions include personal contributions for which you do not claim an income tax deduction.
If you have more than one fund, all non-concessional contributions made to all of your funds are added together and counted towards the non-concessional contributions cap.
How to gain respect in the workplace
Gaining the respect of your colleagues is crucial to professional success. Most of us would agree that being respected by our colleagues is important to us. However, building trust and admiration in the workplace takes hard work. Respect of others is a tricky quality to manifest because it “requires effort as well as self-reflection”. Trying to be liked can perpetuate a focus on doing whatever you think needs to be done for approval, and that can mean not speaking up or doing what is right.
Companies are also starting to appreciate the high value placed on respect, which is now seen as a fundamental part of boosting productivity and worker wellbeing. 70 per cent of employers recognise “workplace dignity”, which includes feeling respected, proud and valued, as vital to company success.
Supporting your colleagues is important. The fastest way to earn the trust and respect of your co-workers is to not “burn them” in front of others. Show that you’re not interested in the political games, but are actually more focused on the outcomes for the organisation. If you have a general demeanour that lets other people know you’re not driven by self-interest, that translates very well into trust and respect at the peer level. You also need to demonstrate that you are not just pushing your own barrow, but focused on the main goal. If you’re willing to put aside what you’re doing to help a team member’s project that is more important for the organisation, then nothing builds respect faster than that. Consistent behaviour is also essential for gaining respect from co-workers.
People want to be treated the same. You need to walk the talk, and when people say what they mean and their behaviour follows through, it will lead to respect.
Employees who are focused on appearing “nice” are always agreeable, but if it’s respect you’re after, you need to speak up. The ability to disagree with someone respectfully, even if they are more senior, is a great way to gain respect. It’s what people call ‘corporate courage’. People will also respect you if you are “courageously you”, which is really tough. People need to be courageous enough to bring their entire self – strengths and weaknesses – into the picture.
When people are not being themselves, they are faking it until they make it, and putting up boundaries so they can be liked. Calling out bad behaviour when you see it is another important attribute. People admire it, because sometimes they haven’t had the courage to do it themselves.
It’s hard, because being non-conforming is beaten out of us when we are kids, but you really do need to be the change you want to see in the world.
If you are in a senior role that involves managing people, you need to adapt your approach depending on who you are working with to gain their respect. Really good leaders don’t need to tell people what to do. If one of your people is immature or inexperienced, you may need to be more direct or prescriptive with them, but with people who are performing at the right level, you want to set broad parameters for them and work collaboratively.
We unconsciously put people into boxes, so being able to be curious about where they are coming from is important. Once you have established trust with colleagues, it becomes easier to disagree or challenge their view in a healthy way.
If people trust and respect you, there is nothing you can’t say to them.