SMSF cost calculator

For Australians. Self-managed super funds are an Australian retirement savings structure, so amounts are in Australian dollars.

An SMSF has mostly fixed costs, while most funds charge a percentage of your balance. This compares the two with your own numbers. It looks at costs only; it can't tell you whether an SMSF suits you.

Your super

Super balance today (A$)

Contributions each year, after tax (A$)

Return before fees (% a year)

Years to compare (1 to 50)

Costs

Current fund: fee as % of balance

Current fund: fixed fee (A$ a year)

SMSF: setup cost (A$)

SMSF: accounting, audit and levy (A$ a year)

Costs compared

First-year cost: current fund: 0.83% of your balance
First-year cost: SMSF: 1.00% of your balance
Balance where yearly costs are equal: $487,500.00

Over 15 years, fees would total $98,056.00 in your current fund and $63,000.00 in an SMSF, including setup. With the same return, the SMSF would end up $39,114.00 ahead on fees alone.

Balances each year, same return, different fees

Time machineYear 15 / 15

Current fund balance$1,401,115.00
SMSF balance$1,440,229.00

Fees paid by year 15

Current fund$98,056.00

SMSF$63,000.00

Stress test

Share markets fall too. See how a sharp fall in one year changes each fund's fees and balance.

Your assumptions in one sentence

If I compared my $400,000.00 of super in a fund charging 0.8% plus $100.00 a year with an SMSF costing $4,000.00 a year, over 15 years at a 6% return, fees would total about $98,056.00 in the fund and $63,000.00 in the SMSF. This compares costs only, on my assumptions; it's not a forecast or a recommendation.

What running an SMSF involves

Every member is a trustee or a director of the trustee company, and is legally responsible for the fund.
The fund must be run for the sole purpose of providing retirement benefits.
Fund assets must be kept separate from your own and your business's.
Trustees must have a written investment strategy and review it regularly.
An approved SMSF auditor must audit the fund every year, and it must lodge an annual return with the ATO.
Insurance held through your current fund may end if you roll your whole balance out.

Your fund's fees are in its product disclosure statement and annual statement. Quotes from SMSF accountants and auditors vary, so get your own. A licensed adviser can tell you whether an SMSF suits your situation. The ATO's guidance on self-managed super funds is at ato.gov.au.