The government has dropped plans to index age pensions to CPI and opted instead to tighten income and assets test. These are welcome changes but more needs to be done.
Treasury Secretary John Fraser now has plenty of company in calling for a ‘fundamental rethink’ of retirement income policy.
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Over the last six months a public consensus has emerged among academics, think tanks, community organisations, elements of the superannuation industry and most politicians about superannuation.
Research has found when super funds share the same directors, fund performance can suffer.
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Labor’s super plan would introduce new taxes to balance inequities in the system - but is this really a radical change, or tinkering around the edges?
Bill Shorten has revealed a Labor plan to remove the tax-free concession available to people with high annual superannuation incomes.
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A Labor government would crack down on the superannuation tax breaks enjoyed by high income earners, raising more than $14 billion over ten years, under a policy released by Bill Shorten on Tuesday.
Devoting time to looking after others can result in significant hidden costs to the carer.
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If the 5.5 million unpaid carers didn’t look after others – at the expense of careers and incomes – taxpayers would bear the costs, so as a community we should give carers a fairer deal in retirement.
Allowing people to raid their superannuation early is likely to have significant unintended consequences.
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Joe Hockey is the sort of guy who often leaps before looking too hard. This thought is particularly brought to mind by two completely different current manifestations of “Hockeyism”. One is Hockey’s thought…
Puzzling omission: the Intergenerational Report is light on detail about the future of superannuation.
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Just what are the issues we need to watch when it comes to tax reform? Read this explainer.
A closer analysis of ‘generation war’ debates reveals that inequalities within generations remain far more significant than those between them.
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The political debate over generational equity, which has been rekindled in the past week, now dominates discussions over wealth, government spending and fiscal sustainability. But a closer look at some…
The Financial System Inquiry says the purpose of superannuation is to provide a retirement income that can substitute or supplement the age pension.
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David Murray’s Financial System Inquiry may call for the removal of superannuation tax breaks but the government’s tax discussion paper, due to be released next week, is unlikely to advocate similar changes…
Big nest egg or small: shouldn’t super fund trustees meet the same professional standards as individual financial planners?
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Finally, Financial System Inquiry chairman, David Murray, has brought some consistency into two hot debates running in finance. Parliament, financial media commentators and a whole range of vested interests…
Australia’s children and grandchildren will not enjoy the fruits of the country’s prosperity as much as their parents.
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Having enjoyed continuously increasing prosperity since the Second World War, Australians have come to expect that each generation will live a better life than the last. But this steady progress may be…
Delaying the super guarantee increase will have widespread repercussions.
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The Abbott government’s deal with the Palmer United Party to freeze the minimum superannuation contribution rate at 9.5% until 2021 will not only cost retirees, it will also see future governments forced…
Former PM Paul Keating says the Liberal party has always opposed universal superannuation.
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Paul Keating has launched a swingeing attack on the government’s deferral of 12% compulsory superannuation, accusing it of wilfully sabotaging Australia’s savings scheme out of prejudice. The former prime…
Despite the fact that Australians are getting wealthier, financial literacy is not increasing at the same rate.
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The wealth profile of Australian households has changed phenomenally over the past 25 years, according to a recent paper from the Australian Centre for Financial Studies. Thanks to increases in asset prices…