The federal government will be introducing a temporary concessional cap for over-60s from 1 July 2013, which will also apply to over-50s from 1 July 2014. Draft legislation has been prepared for this change. The government will be introducing an unindexed cap of $35,000 for over 60s (from 1 July … [Read more...]
Q: Do you need to be 60 at July 1 or could you turn 60 any time in 2013/2014 to take advantage of the new $35,000 cap? A: For the benefit of other readers, I will first explain the background to the new over-60s cap. On 5 April 2013, the federal government announced that it will be introducing an … [Read more...]
We have received a lot of emails from readers who have expressed their frustration at the unfairness of the proposed pension tax on earnings above $100,000 a year, although a small minority have supported the tax. The common theme for the majority is that many Australians sacrificed and worked … [Read more...]
The excess contributions tax regime has been, and continues to be a total disaster. The federal government has cared very little about the fact that conscientious super savers, who made every attempt to the follow the rules, were being hit with outrageous tax bills, savaging hard-earned retirement … [Read more...]
On 5 April 2013, the federal government announced that it intended to introduce a new tax on superannuation pension earnings above $100,000, taking effect from 1 July 2014. You can find the background to this proposed change in our SuperGuide article New tax on pension earnings over $100,000. If … [Read more...]
Note: This list of Q&As was created on 15 April, and will be updated and extended periodically. We will include the date of any future update in this note. An important consideration when reading these Q&As is that the proposed new tax is not yet law, and probably won’t become law until … [Read more...]
Q: Where can I find the spreadsheet where you can calculate how much to put in as a co-contribution, and what the government will pay you in return for that super contribution. In other words the sliding scale of co-contributions. The schedule you refer to can be found at the link here. You … [Read more...]
On 5 April 2013, federal treasurer Wayne Swan, and Minister for financial services and superannuation, Bill Shorten announced a bucket of changes to the existing super arrangements. This article is a summary of the announced changes, and you can find more detail on the proposed changes in separate … [Read more...]
If your superannuation pension earns more than $100,000 a year in earnings then expect to be hit with 15% tax on your pension earnings above $100,000. The threshold applies to each individual rather than to each pension/income stream. In a special media conference, held on 5 April 2013, federal … [Read more...]
When we first launched SuperGuide just over 4 years ago, I wrote an article explaining why tax-free super in retirement is a non-issue for most women. The reason for making this statement, and which remains valid 4 years later, was that women, on average, have such low super account balances that … [Read more...]
You can make superannuation contributions up to the age of 74, and these can be concessional (before-tax) or non-concessional (after-tax) contributions. If you’re aged 65 or over, then you must satisfy a work test if you intend to make super contributions. Anyone under the age of 65 can make super … [Read more...]
SuperGuide often receives questions from readers asking what happens if they don’t withdraw the minimum pension amount required to be paid each year from their pension account, especially when the underpayment is due to an honest mistake, or due to circumstances beyond their control. Before … [Read more...]
Q: I am 63. I want to retire next year but I am not sure if I want to access my super benefits yet. I have heard that when I retire, I must withdraw some super benefits each year, otherwise I won’t receive tax-free super benefits. Can you please clarify the rules for me? A: When you retire, you … [Read more...]
Note: This article is updated every few months with the latest lifestyle/income data and latest Age Pension rates. The most recent data was released in November 2012 (for lifestyle costs up to September 2012), and in September 2012 (for Age Pension rates, which apply until March 2013) This case … [Read more...]
Note: Since the concessional contributions cap was halved to $25,000 for over-50s (announced in May 2012, and effective from July 2012), anyone using the popular transition-to-retirement pension/salary sacrifice strategy, or considering using such a strategy, will need to review this strategy, … [Read more...]
