“Until now, the focus for many SMSF trustees has been on growing their fund to ensure they have the amount of money they need for a comfortable retirement,” Mr Kennedy said.

“Much less thought is given to how they’re going to manage their fund as they age, or how they’re going to exit when the time comes,” he added.

“There’s no doubt that as people get older, they’re certainly less interested in their trustee responsibilities and in an increasing number of cases, less capable of carrying out these responsibilities because of deteriorating mental health.

Mr Kennedy also said there are several options for trustees who no longer want to run a SMSF, however these options need to be considered while the trustee has the ability and mental capacity to make decisions.