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3 July 2024
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Unfunded defined benefit plans mostly cover current and former Commonwealth and State public servants. These schemes are different from funded ones, yet the new $3 million super tax will treat them similarly.
Why is only half of our retirement income system based on compulsion? From an economic point of view, it simply may not make sense to have a compulsory retirement system that switches to voluntary at retirement.
The vast sum of money in super will dwarf the size of the ASX and our GDP in coming years yet allocation is not subject to any regulatory control. Where should super policy be housed and how should assets be invested?
There is far more to the simple 'objective of super' than meets the eye. It will guide future policy and those who assume we've seen the end of major superannuation changes are not reading the signals.
Superannuation is both a revenue source from taxes and a cost from concessions. The Parliamentary Budget Office (PBO) has released its first 'super explainer' and it shows how they think and perhaps future targets.
Underpinning the current wave of consolidation amongst Australian super funds is the belief that it helps to be big. Is this really the case and is there any advantage in being a member of a large super fund?
The costs of super concessions are usually quoted in gross terms, ignoring offsetting behavioural changes and social security savings. The impact of very large balances should be measured in net terms.
Most people accept there should be a limit to the tax concessions for high super balances, but the mechanics of Government's $3 million proposal must be fixed before it is legislated. Treasury missed the detail.
No entity holds a consolidated view of the taxable income of super, not even the ATO. So Treasury and the Treasurer adopted a simple method to impose a new tax, and the adverse consequences then started to surface.
Treasury might not realise, but it's not a 30% tax, it's a completely new tax. And payment will not be due until FY28. Taxing unrealised gains will have major implications and the lack of indexing must change.
The benefits in retirement come at the cost of consumption in prior years and this trade-off should be the focus in making reforms to super. Otherwise, the system will continue to benefit the rich at the expense of the poor.
The Government rushed a decision to increase tax on super balances above $3 million. Although the effective date is after the next election, the big surprise is including unrealised capital gains in earnings.
Two commonly asked questions are: 'How much do I need to retire' and 'How much can I afford to spend in retirement'? This is a guide to help you come up with your own numbers to suit your goals and needs.
There seems to be more confusion than clarity about the mechanics of how the new $3 million super tax is supposed to work. Here is an attempt to answer some of the questions from my previous work on the issue.
Washington H. Soul Pattinson is an ASX top 50 stock with one of the best investment track records this country has seen. Yet, most Australians haven’t heard of it, and the company seems to prefer it that way.
We are often quoted life expectancy at birth but what matters most is how long we should live as we grow older. It is surprising how short this can be for people born last century, so make the most of it.
A new report suggests Australian housing is twice as expensive as that of the US and UK on a price-to-income basis. It also reveals that it’s cheaper to live in New York than most of our capital cities.
Here are 10 rules for staying happy and sharp as we age, including socialise a lot, never retire, learn a demanding skill, practice gratitude, play video games (specific ones), and be sure to reminisce.