Superannuation - a good thing?

[Julia]

I gather from the article that this is just a suggestion at this stage. Why can't the funds adequately plan to be able to support X number of members taking out lump sums at retirement? Surely they've done the demographic research which tells them how many will be retiring and when?

However, there's a simple answer. Make sure you are financially literate and open your own SMSF. Then you can be the architect of your own retirement.

Not much point in whining about the public funds if you're not prepared to take responsibility yourself.

 

[Starcraftmazter]

IMO super was put in place by boomer politicians as a way to deal with the demographic phenomena of baby boomers retiring and pulling their money out of the market - ie. forcefully dump it on all the younger generations, so that they get to keep their loot. Bastards.

 

[SuperGlue]

Front page article in MarketWatch website this morning about superannuation in the US.

"To retire securely, save like an Aussie"

http://blogs.marketwatch.com/encore/2013/06/06/to-retire-securely-save-like-an-aussie/

Quite surprising that they don't have it over in the US.

As usual comments & debates about the pros and cons. Where the money is coming from & the govt. will try to get hold of it, we have social security already......etc. interesting times for US

 

[SuperGlue]

Finally we can teach US a lesson................... on savings.


Anyone a member of Marketwatch, maybe post a link to this website.

 

[FxTrader]

Front page article in MarketWatch website this morning about superannuation in the US.

"To retire securely, save like an Aussie"

http://blogs.marketwatch.com/encore/2013/06/06/to-retire-securely-save-like-an-aussie/

Quite surprising that they don't have it over in the US.

As usual comments & debates about the pros and cons. Where the money is coming from & the govt. will try to get hold of it, we have social security already......etc. interesting times for US

The foundation article is here... http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-05-30/in-australia-retirement-saving-done-right

The contents of the article are mostly correct but our super system has it's faults. For one thing it has created a parasitic class of super fund managers that skim hundreds of millions of dollars in fees for doing next to nothing in return other than administration and compliance (their packaged investment strategies are simple and mechanical). For SMSF I have to pay around 2K every year for just accountancy and auditing.

The problem with glorification of the current system is that, given current life expectancy, the sums accumulating in super in most cases are not adequate to fund retirement, government assistance will be required at some stage.

It seems highly probably that a future government will be compelled at some point to start taxing income for super in pension phase for those over 60+. While I accept this may be necessary, it seems far more sensible now to let baby boomers plough more that 35K a year concessionaly into super so they will be less of a drain on the public pension system in the future. This was the case previously.

 

[Julia]

Agree 100%.

 

[Intrinsic Value]

The foundation article is here... http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-05-30/in-australia-retirement-saving-done-right

The contents of the article are mostly correct but our super system has it's faults. For one thing it has created a parasitic class of super fund managers that skim hundreds of millions of dollars in fees for doing next to nothing in return other than administration and compliance (their packaged investment strategies are simple and mechanical). For SMSF I have to pay around 2K every year for just accountancy and auditing.

The problem with glorification of the current system is that, given current life expectancy, the sums accumulating in super in most cases are not adequate to fund retirement, government assistance will be required at some stage.

It seems highly probably that a future government will be compelled at some point to start taxing income for super in pension phase for those over 60+. While I accept this may be necessary, it seems far more sensible now to let baby boomers plough more that 35K a year concessionaly into super so they will be less of a drain on the public pension system in the future. This was the case previously.

Agree with everything written here.

And especially agree with letting people salary sacrifice larger amounts at the lower tax thresholds as a way to boost super rather than having the income in the retirement phase tax free. This would be much more revenue positive for the govt as well.



I really dont understand this bit at all.

 

[sptrawler]

I gather from the article that this is just a suggestion at this stage. Why can't the funds adequately plan to be able to support X number of members taking out lump sums at retirement? Surely they've done the demographic research which tells them how many will be retiring and when?

However, there's a simple answer. Make sure you are financially literate and open your own SMSF. Then you can be the architect of your own retirement.

Not much point in whining about the public funds if you're not prepared to take responsibility yourself.

Talking about SMSF, here is a bit of news.


When the new penalty system was first proposed the value of a penalty unit was $110. In December 2012 the value of penalty units was increased to $170. This means the lowest fine payable by trustees of an SMSF have increased from $550 to $850. The maximum has increased from $6600 to $10,200

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/business/smsf...hefty-price-20130613-2o6xc.html#ixzz2W645vGRS

 

[sptrawler]

It is poignant, that there is a resurgence, when super funds have to report returns.

http://www.smh.com.au/business/markets/shackles-released--stocks-jump-20130614-2o7r7.html

Don't want a negative this year, when they have been talking it up all year.

 

[MrBurns]

Anyone have any advice re good Super Funds ?

 

[Bill M]

Anyone have any advice re good Super Funds ?

Yes I do MrBurns, it is ING Living Super, I have an account with them.

It is almost like having your own SMSF, you can pick and choose where you want your money to go. You can also open the shares option as well.

From their website "Trade shares real-time online. Choose from the S&P/ASX 200 index, selected Exchange Traded Funds and Listed Investment Companies." Link: http://www.ingdirect.com.au/superannuation/living-super.html

You can not invest in everything, for example I can't buy hybrids. Otherwise I don't go outside the top 200 stocks anyway so it suits me well.

The best part is they do everything for you accounting and tax wise. You do not have to do anything but allocate capital where you see fit. It is classed a normal super fund but you get to make the decisions.

I've had 6 or so different funds in my lifetime but this one is the best. Check it out.

 

[MrBurns]

Yes I do MrBurns, it is ING Living Super, I have an account with them.

It is almost like having your own SMSF, you can pick and choose where you want your money to go. You can also open the shares option as well.

From their website "Trade shares real-time online. Choose from the S&P/ASX 200 index, selected Exchange Traded Funds and Listed Investment Companies." Link: http://www.ingdirect.com.au/superannuation/living-super.html

You can not invest in everything, for example I can't buy hybrids. Otherwise I don't go outside the top 200 stocks anyway so it suits me well.

The best part is they do everything for you accounting and tax wise. You do not have to do anything but allocate capital where you see fit. It is classed a normal super fund but you get to make the decisions.

I've had 6 or so different funds in my lifetime but this one is the best. Check it out.

Thanks Bill, I'll check it out.
It's for a relative who cant choose shares for themselves, they just want the money to be somewhere safe and earning a little better than a TD so this may not suit.

 

[sptrawler]

Anyone have any advice re good Super Funds ?

I helped my MIL join Australian Super, she was 74 at the time, she hasn't complained and now is 82.

She may well be just holding her tonque, but that would be unusual.

They may be worth checking out, but I have no personal knowledge.

 

[systematic]

I helped my MIL join Australian Super, she was 74 at the time, she hasn't complained and now is 82.

She may well be just holding her tonque, but that would be unusual.

They may be worth checking out, but I have no personal knowledge.

Australian Super are huge (I think they are still the biggest). Due to size and the fact that they're an industry fund, you're going to get good rates on things like insurance along with the Super fees. They have options for those who want to be more active, but they also have the usual ready-to-go options (balanced, high growth etc).

 

[Wysiwyg]

Yes the Super Funds with self managed options are the go for investors with market experience I reckon. Took that option myself last year.

 

[MrBurns]

I helped my MIL join Australian Super, she was 74 at the time, she hasn't complained and now is 82.

She may well be just holding her tonque, but that would be unusual.

They may be worth checking out, but I have no personal knowledge.

Sounds like what is needed from what you and systematic have said, thanks.

 

[dyna]

Can't find the regular super thread so this one will have to do. (Why do there have to be so many?)

Treasury's latest 5 yearly Intergenerational Report (IGR) of 28th of June, predicts super will be worth 10 times the $3 Trillion value now, in 40 years time.
The ASX, according to the RBA has grown at the GDP rate, of 5 % for the past 20 years, so that could be worth $14 Trillion by then, too.
Already, super is bigger than the ASX by about $ 1 Trillion, but could be 20 times bigger in 40 years. That future super pile could become like Norway's sovereign wealth fund. That is, too big for it's own domestic market and forced to invest in other world markets.
For those lefties, fretting about overseas investors taking their mining dividends back home , as at December 2020, Australian foreign investment has exceeded the incoming capital by $1/4 Trillion.
Our super is going to get really big. Certainly bigger than piddly Norway . Maybe one of the biggest in the world.

 

[Dona Ferentes]

Superannuation ... Yep. A good thing. Great even? Perhaps not for members, though!

Cbus has told the NSW Supreme Court it could become insolvent if it is not allowed to use members’ money to build a multimillion-dollar war chest to pay fines.

better give some attribution:

Industry funds may slug members with a fee increase of close to $1 billion to bail out badly behaving directors, as the sector grapples with a new law that threatens to render non-profit boards insolvent.

Super fee hikes could near $1b

Cbus has told the NSW Supreme Court it could become insolvent if it is not allowed to use members’ money to build a multimillion-dollar war chest to pay fines.

www.afr.com

(haven't seen anything on ABC; Baz, what about The New Daily?)

 

[sptrawler]

Superannuation ... Yep. A good thing. Great even? Perhaps not for members, though!


better give some attribution:

Industry funds may slug members with a fee increase of close to $1 billion to bail out badly behaving directors, as the sector grapples with a new law that threatens to render non-profit boards insolvent.

Super fee hikes could near $1b

Cbus has told the NSW Supreme Court it could become insolvent if it is not allowed to use members’ money to build a multimillion-dollar war chest to pay fines.

www.afr.com

(haven't seen anything on ABC; Baz, what about The New Daily?)

Yep super funds similar snouts, in different troughs.