Super who thinks they'll get it?

No news to me at all.

I've been of the opinion for a very long time that the Gubbmint will eventually find a way to scoop that pool for some other purpose they have in mind.

This is the very reason I reckon super is a dud investment.

Yeah; it's got tax advantages, but it's locked in and there ain't nuttin' you can do if those fools start robbing us Peters to pay Paul.
 
I rememeber paul clitheroe once said (something like) "The rules for super will change so much between now and when you have access to it I really wouldnt worry about it until you are about 5 years from accessing it, as long as you invest that money sensibly in other areas."

I am mid 30's and by the time I become eligable for super I reckon I am going to need to be 80+ to tap into it and the rules will change many times as paul mentioned. I would rather use that $$$ now investing and having control of that money rather than some fanciful 'nest egg' that I cant touch :)
 
Unlike Bay View, I doubt the gubbmint will actually "steal" it but the returns will be paltry unless (strangely!) the gubbmint offers "infrastructure bonds" to the funds at reasonable interest rates. This would be a win/win I reckon.
 
Start a SMSF and convert the whole fund to a physical asset (e.g. Gold, art, classic cars)...

tried to but hubby's is in a strong unionised company super fund (where he has worked for 30+) years ... not allowed to roll it over until he is over 55 - and that may change between now and then.

The day he turns 55 we will rip out every cent possible. I wouldn't mind so much but the returns have been very ordinary in the last few years and I reckon we could have almost doubled the last 2 years earning (and not lost so much in the GFC) if we had self control.
 
Start a SMSF and convert the whole fund to a physical asset (e.g. Gold, art, classic cars)...

I had a conversation with my accountant about this very thing 2 weeks ago as part of our end of financial year tax planning strategies meeting (sounds very corporate, hey? ;)).

He was suggesting starting one up, and was hinting at buying some form of managed fund type product as the vehicle for the SMSF to use...immediately the cynical mind in me went "alert, alert...sales pitch"...:rolleyes:

Anyway, I'm onto the whole idea of SMSF, but haven't pulled the trigger on it as yet, and it will be with a vehicle that provides some form of rent/income stream returns..

No hurry for me given that bugger-all of our wealth is in our super or will come from it.
 
I had a conversation with my accountant about this very thing 2 weeks ago as part of our end of financial year tax planning strategies meeting (sounds very corporate, hey? ;)).

He was suggesting starting one up, and was hinting at buying some form of managed fund type product as the vehicle for the SMSF to use...immediately the cynical mind in me went "alert, alert...sales pitch"...:rolleyes:

Anyway, I'm onto the whole idea of SMSF, but haven't pulled the trigger on it as yet, and it will be with a vehicle that provides some form of rent/income stream returns..

No hurry for me given that bugger-all of our wealth is in our super or will come from it.

So you are not worried the govt will steal fom your SMSF like you mentioned earlier ? You sounded like earlier saying super was a dud idea
 
Learning the ins and outs of getting super now...

We have a SMSF and I have organised for my hubby to start a TRIS (Transition to Retirement Income Stream) he is 55 and is retired so we took the minimum amount out this year.

Our plan is to access the interest earnt each year from SMSF obviously we need will need to make sure we take an amount to satisfy ATO.

I was told costs are about $2500 in fees each year after SMSF esablished so far we have paid.

Expenses
$1750 to accountant included auditor fee.
$693 to upgrade trust deed (apparently this is done about every 3 years).
PAYG installments to ATO for interest earnt each quarter at 12.71%
Plus we had to pay a fee to ASIC of $41 to confirm our address is up to date and since was done by Accountant we had to pay accountant as well ?$210.

Income
Super co-contribution to hubby of $879 from Government.

Anyway the only way to learn something is to have a go.

We are planning to sell a rental next year and add money to SMSF and then we can possibly buy a commercial property.

So far it has not been to bad running SMSF and I will pay in $1000 voluntary co -contribution to Super for hubby before June 30th and hopefully Gubbermint matches that!


Regards
Sheryn
 
Anyway, I'm onto the whole idea of SMSF, but haven't pulled the trigger on it as yet, and it will be with a vehicle that provides some form of rent/income stream returns..

No hurry for me given that bugger-all of our wealth is in our super or will come from it.

Bugger-all might be in super now, but down the track (preservation age) that is where you will want it.

- Bullet proof asset protection
- Tax free earnings

Sounds too good to be true.
 
For someone in my situation, I reckon superannuation is a load of rubbish. I contribute the minimum, and don't expect to ever receive a useful or usable benefit.
 
I'm not concerned that the government will change the super laws in a way that will mean that I can't get my money when I retire...

What concerns me is that there's 20+ years of other people pulling their money out of super in the meantime. In theory they're only taking out what they've put in, but in doing so, they could massively de-value the fund. By the time my turn comes, the funds may have taken repeated hits. Whilst my unit count will be up, the value of the units could potentially be quite low.

I've got no problems with superannuation structures, the legal and taxation rules, etc, but another 20 years of baby boomers getting there first does concern me. I actually think that people 10 or more years younger than me will have better super than gen X will.

A good strategy could be to build up your assets (regardless of asset class) until you're about 55. At that point you can start to liquidate those assets and move the money into superannuation, thus avoiding most of the CGT when you liquidate. Then you can assess an income from your super tax free (which is more difficult if you hold the assets outside of super).

For people close to retirement super is an excellent investment vehicle. For other's there are alternate investment strategies which could work better, but do take some serious financial planning.

Of course, the worst thing you can do is nothing at all. Super will still be around when I retire, but the pension almost certainly won't.
 
tried to but hubby's is in a strong unionised company super fund (where he has worked for 30+) years ... not allowed to roll it over until he is over 55 - and that may change between now and then.

It's interesting that about 3 days before super was changed to give people a choice of fund, the unions quietly signed new workplace agreements which made the industry funds the mandatory superannuation for the members under the award.

If you work under an instustry award, you don't get a choice of which fund you're in. You do do get a choice of the investment strategy within the fund, but by default it's the conservative fund, which isn't ideal for many people. Industry super funds are reasonably good, but as people tend not to get advice (because the funds don't pay financial planners), they're generally not optimised for the individual members circumstances.
 
Now I could be wrong here
what I have been told by a fund manager is the government needs to build roads etc.
it will borrow money from the super funds on a long term
paying the super funds interest. The government will get cheaper loans and the super funds will be able to invest the super in a more stable platform.
I stand to be corected if it is wrong thought
 
Bugger-all might be in super now, but down the track (preservation age) that is where you will want it.

- Bullet proof asset protection
- Tax free earnings

Sounds too good to be true.

Assuming there isn't a stock market crash 3 minutes before my super becomes mature and I can withdraw some of it.

Imagine the poor bar-stewards who retired 6 months after the GFC began.

I prefer to hedge my bet on it and put my trust in my ability to invest in other assets and take gains and profits along the way as they come.
 
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Super is just another elaborate government taxation system... surely people can see that :confused:

The only difference to normal taxation is an in faith commitment for you to personally access those funds at some point in the future with little loopholes to "help" people from becoming a liability on the system through certain access provisions. Until then, too bad & suck it up.

Anyone who is surprised by such antics really should come back to planet earth and get a dose of reality....

The current super landscape will change significantly in 15-20 yrs time as the government starts feeling the real pain of an aging population and scrambles to keep the public ship afloat. The 20th century fairy tale is about to meet 21st century reality! ;)
 
Assuming there isn't a stock market crash 3 minutes before my super becomes mature and I can withdraw some of it.

Imagine the poor bar-stewards who retired 6 months after the GFC began.

I prefer to hedge my bet on it and put my trust in my ability to invest in other assets and tqake gains and profits along the way as they come.

The thing is most people don't trust themselves or have the ability to invest on a scale allowing them to set up a decent income stream in retirement.

Some of those that do attempt going it alone can still incur losses along the way - in all asset classes. Doing it yourself doesn't guarantee final success everytime.

Also the effects of stockmarket crashes are felt by most investors, with age of the investor having more impact than super fund v individual shareholder.

Super may not be for everyone but some industry super funds are very low fee and provide a reasonable alternative to those who would otherwise have nothing to show for later, especially those on reasonable incomes, those taking advantage of salary packaging or super and tax minimization reasons and those contributing extra when they're able to afford it.

addit. Yeh I think I'll get it. I'm on one of those ancient Government Super schemes. I call it my bread and butter money :).
 
Now I could be wrong here
what I have been told by a fund manager is the government needs to build roads etc.
it will borrow money from the super funds on a long term
paying the super funds interest. The government will get cheaper loans and the super funds will be able to invest the super in a more stable platform.
I stand to be corected if it is wrong thought

A little further up the page I said: I doubt the gubbmint will actually "steal" it but the returns will be paltry unless (strangely!) the gubbmint offers "infrastructure bonds" to the funds at reasonable interest rates. This would be a win/win I reckon.

I see nothing wrong with this as long as the interest payable matches the market, not a mandated percentage to be invested below the market rate.
 
I certainly won't be counting on Super....I much prefer to have total control over my own investments, choosing when & how I will distribute funds as I please and at any age I care to do so.

One thing though, if I survive to get it, it will pay for a nice trip around the World.

What I don't get is the Gov. want to tax the billyo out of self funded folks who are willing to forego claiming welfare when they retire...?

I got attacked over this in another thread where the discussion was centred around the top 15% should be entitled to some form of assistance in paying the way for the poorer folks.

Maybe I'm expected to give it back as I'm supposedly wealthy and can afford it...:D
 
What I don't get is the Gov. want to tax the billyo out of self funded folks who are willing to forego claiming welfare when they retire...?

I got attacked over this in another thread where the discussion was centred around the top 15% should be entitled to some form of assistance in paying the way for the poorer folks.

Maybe I'm expected to give it back as I'm supposedly wealthy and can afford it...:D

This is a very real problem. My parents worked hard and smart and now my father is in a nursing home that cost him $500,000 entry and about $750 per week. The pensioner in the next room probably didn't pay a bond and is paying only a percentage of his/her pension for exactly the same care.

It is very wrong. But what can you do?
 
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