2012 checklist: 10 super tips for a financially healthy retirement
Use this list as a kick-start for your 2012 super resolutions. You may not keep all of your resolutions, but if you do just a handful of the tasks listed in the checklist below, you can strengthen the chances of a financially secure retirement.
Is super pension income considered ‘assessable income’ or ‘total income’?
Q: Can you clarify whether income from a pension (from a taxed and/or untaxed super fund) is considered ‘assessable income’ and/or part of ‘total income’? Is it considered self employment income or employer income?
I’m under 60. Does my super payout also affect my other income, and tax bill?
Q: I turn 55 soon and I am eligible for a super payout of $150,554 next month of which only the $554 is taxable at 16%. However I still intend to keep working and wondered how this will affect the tax payable on my super.
Do I pay tax on a super account in the last year of accumulation phase?
Q: On April 1 2011 I transferred from accumulation phase to pension phase (I turned 65 on March 27 2011). Is my super fund subject to tax (this tax year) on income earned up until the date of conversion or is no tax payable because the fund has been converted to allocated pension?
Does my superannuation pension income affect tax payable on other income?
Q: How does the income from an account-based pension affect taxation payable on other income received from salaries, dividends, capital gains and investments? Or, is there no affect whatsoever regardless of the amount of pension taken in any one year [...]
For your convenience: Income tax rates for the 2011/2012 year
Super is a concessionally taxed investment vehicle, which means the rate of tax that you pay on your personal income generally influences any decision that you make regarding your super savings. For your convenience we have included the latest income tax rates.
I retired at 59. Do I pay tax on my superannuation lump sum?
Q: I retired in September 2011. I’m now living on a tiny super pension since then of $640 a fortnight. In September 2011, I also received a $15,000 superannuation lump sum. The tax free component of my total superannuation is [...]
I’m 59 and I have $180,000 in super. Will my super be taxed?
Q: I’ve just turned 59, and I’m thinking of retiring before I turn 60. I would like to know whether I would have to pay tax on my superannuation. I know that after I turn 60, it’s tax-free, so my inquiry is regarding the period till I turn 60.
How is capital gains calculated for a pensioner?
Q: I’m a pensioner with one investment property in Tasmania, which I sold a month ago been sell out. My question is how capital gains is calculated for a pensioner? I don’t know anything about this, so could you please [...]
Can my SMSF buy a property without paying tax?
Q: Can I sell my managed funds within my super fund and buy a rental property for the same amount without paying any taxes? We are an information site rather than an advisory site, and the answer to your question depends [...]
Which financial year do salary sacrifice contributions fall in?
Q: I salary sacrifice into my super. My super contribution for the month of June 2011 is not available to my super fund until July 2011. Will this contribution fall under the 2010 financial year limit or the 2011 financial year limit?
