RETIREMENT INCOME – AUSTRALIA

Super limit to hit retirees, Costello says

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Original article by Sally Patten, Jonathan Shapiro
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 6 : 18-May-16

Future Fund chairman and former federal treasurer Peter Costello says the superannuation policies of both the Coalition and the Australian Labor Party are unlikely to be introduced due to opposition from the Greens. He has also warned that the Government’s proposal to limit tax-free super savings to $A1.6m will not provide retirees with the amount of income it expects, as the forecasts are based on a rate of return of 5.5 per cent. In contrast, the yield on 10-year Australian government recently fell to a record low of 2.2 per cent.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. FUTURE FUND MANAGEMENT AGENCY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN GREENS

Call to count home in pension

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Original article by Adam Creighton
The Australian – Page: 2 : 14-Mar-16

A report from the Actuaries Institute argues the case for retirees’ homes to be included in the means test for the age pension. The report notes that around one per cent of retirees’ home equity is currently being used to provide a retirement income stream. The institute has also proposed streamlining the regulation of home-equity release products such as reverse mortgages, as well as a reduction in stamp duty to encourage retirees to move to smaller homes.

CORPORATES
THE ACTUARIES INSTITUTE, PRICEWATERHOUSECOOPERS AUSTRALIA (INTERNATIONAL) PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. NATIONAL COMMISSION OF AUDIT, AUSTRALIA. PRODUCTIVITY COMMISSION, THE CENTRE FOR INDEPENDENT STUDIES LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB

Tweaking super won’t help women

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Original article by Sally Rose
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 20-Nov-15

The Australian Institute of Superannuation Trustees (AIST) says the gap in the superannuation savings of men and women can only be eliminated by paying women higher salaries and raising their workforce participation rates. The AIST believes that super policy reforms will have a limited effect on the savings gap, which is now 17 per cent.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN INSTITUTE OF SUPERANNUATION TRUSTEES, DELOITTE TOUCHE TOHMATSU LIMITED

Call for lifetime $580k super cap

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Original article by Sally Rose
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 5 : 18-Nov-15

A new report from accounting firm Deloitte has proposed limiting concessional superannuation contributions during a fund member’s working life to $A580,000. At present there is an annual cap on personal contributions that attract a lower tax rate of just 15 per cent. Deloitte estimates that the average working Australian would have to contribute $A580,000 to their super fund to ensure a retirement balance of $A1m.

CORPORATES
DELOITTE TOUCHE TOHMATSU LIMITED, THE ASSOCIATION OF SUPERANNUATION FUNDS OF AUSTRALIA LIMITED

Wait for super needed, but political poison

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Original article by Sally Rose
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 25 : 6-Aug-15

The preservation age for superannuation should be raised from 55 at present. Actuaries warn that the current rules do not reflect rising longevity. The shadow minister for financial services and superannuation, Bernie Ripoll, made comments on the issue of access to super at the Financial Services Council’s annual conference on the Gold Coast on 5 August 2015. He agreed that the preservation age should be lifted. However, such a measure would be unpopular among voters.

CORPORATES
FINANCIAL SERVICES COUNCIL, RICE WARNER ACTUARIES PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, BT FINANCIAL GROUP PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, NATIONAL SENIORS AUSTRALIA LIMITED

ANZ offers women free super advice

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Original article by Ruth Liew
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 29-Jul-15

It is estimated that Australian women who work full-time are paid about $A15,000 less each year than their male peers. Women also tend to have about 50 per cent less in superannuation upon retirement. The ANZ Bank has launched initiatives aimed at addressing this imbalance. Female customers whose super balance is less than $A50,000 will be offered free financial advice. ANZ’s female employees will also be paid an additional $A500 in super each year.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, QUEENSLAND. DEPT OF THE PREMIER AND CABINET

No evidence retirees are wasting super

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Original article by Jacob Greber
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 7-Jul-15

A Productivity Commission report estimates that retirees’ superannuation balance would be bolstered by at least 10 per cent if they were not able to access their super until the age of 65. The report also refutes the widely-held view that members of the Baby Boom generation are reorganising their finances or spending their super payout on expensive holidays in order to qualify for the age pension.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. PRODUCTIVITY COMMISSION, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

Don’t hoard super, says Morrison

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Original article by Laura Tingle
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 25-May-15

Some 90 per cent of people on lower incomes will be adversely affected by measures in the Australian Government’s 2014 and 2015 Budgets, according to research by the National Centre for Social & Economic Modelling. Changes to the pension assets test will hit retirees with significant assets in particular, but Social Services Minister Scott Morrison argues that they should rely on their superannuation savings rather than the age pension.

CORPORATES
UNIVERSITY OF CANBERRA. NATIONAL CENTRE FOR SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC MODELLING, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF SOCIAL SERVICES, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

Cabinet split on flexible super plan

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Original article by Fleur Anderson, James Eyers
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 12 : 12-Mar-15

Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull is among the federal MPs who have criticised a proposal to allow Australian to use their superannuation savings to buy a home. Shadow treasurer Chris Bowen also opposes any push by Treasurer Joe Hockey to permit super to be used in this way, while financial system inquiry panel member Craig Dunn argues that super should be used solely to finance retirement. Hockey has suggested that super should be available throughout a person’s life due to increasing longevity

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF COMMUNICATIONS, AMP LIMITED – ASX AMP, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, CENTRE FOR INTERNATIONAL FINANCE AND REGULATION, ABC RADIO, BRISBANE CLUB

Murray shoots down Hockey’s super kite

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Original article by Fleur Anderson, Ruth Liew
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 10 : 11-Mar-15

Business leaders have expressed reservations about the Australian Government’s proposal for superannuation to be used to finance home ownership. Financial system inquiry chairman David Murray and AMP CEO Craig Meller are among those who oppose the plan due to its potential effects on the nation’s retirement system. Finance Minister Mathias Cormann also spoke out against such a proposal in October 2014

CORPORATES
AMP LIMITED – ASX AMP, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FINANCE, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, MONASH UNIVERSITY, GEM CAPITAL FINANCIAL ADVICE, COMMITTEE FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OF AUSTRALIA