The must-read section of SuperGuide. These popular and compelling columns generate debate about issues affecting Australians planning for retirement, or living in retirement. Each month, we draw attention to an area of our superannuation system that needs improvement or deserves recognition. Trish Power’s views in the columns are informed, and independent.
And SuperGuide has the list!
It’s taken some time but a handful of motivated licensed financial advisers have finally raised the bar and demanded that… wait for it… licensed advisers provide independent advice in the best interests of clients.
I can hardly believe it myself, but according to Matthew Ross, the co-founder [...]
In early February 2010, the Federal Government released a report reminding us that Australia’s population is growing, causing increased pressure on infrastructure such as housing, telecommunications, schools, energy, water and transport. Our growing population is also disproportionately ageing creating additional pressures on government spending, in particular, spending on [...]
I am writing this short article to provide some context to the articles that have appeared in the Australia Day weekend newspapers about the Henry tax review. Although the Henry tax review report is not a public document the Government has deemed it appropriate to ‘leak’ the [...]
If you’re confused about what is happening with the Super System Review, then you’re not alone. Over the past few months, I have chatted with many Australians who are reading in the newspapers about phases, issues papers and preliminary reports and not sure what fits where in the Super System Review [...]
Consumers don’t matter. They really don’t.
In case you thought superannuation was about the fund members and that the 9% Superannuation Guarantee was all about your retirement savings, then think again. In the heat of the battle, sometimes civilians get hurt and anyone who has followed the Afghan and Iraqi conflicts [...]
If you read the business section of the newspapers recently, or keep track of the financial news on the television, you may have heard about the push by a few industry groups within the superannuation sector to tighten the entry requirements for self-managed super funds (SMSFs) because of the incidence of [...]
Australians born today are expected to live longer than Aussies born five years earlier, on average, according to the Australian Life Tables 2002-2007 released by the Australian Government Actuary – unless you’re woman in your eighties or nineties.
In what may be a statistical aberration, or perhaps a sign that life expectancies [...]
The practice of calling self-managed super funds, ‘DIY super funds’ upsets the regulator, and also concerns many of the service providers making a living from helping individuals set up, and run, self-managed super funds (SMSFs).
The key message emanating from the SMSF industry is that you can’t possibly do it all yourself; you need professionals to [...]
I was holidaying in Europe when the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) officially hit in October 2008 (although investment markets had been falling dramatically since December 2007). The impact of the GFC saw the United Kingdom bail out its major banks. Ireland came to a standstill, becoming the first country in the world to guarantee bank [...]
… that is, Nick Sherry, the Assistant Treasurer, and former Minister for Superannuation and Corporate Law.
Senator Sherry has stood his ground against the mighty force of the financial services industry and it appears… hopefully, eventually… if the planets align, that his courage and leadership will dismantle the outdated and inappropriate [...]
I have received a lot of encouraging emails from readers commenting on my top ten problems list, including a timely email from one reader about the fact that Superannuation Guarantee ceases when an employee turns 70. She writes:
“…If you are still working after 70, employers should still have to pay super [...]
Hi - I'm Trish Power and I am the author of Superannuation For Dummies and many other books on super and investing.And guess what! This site, SuperGuide, is the only INDEPENDENT website for consumers on superannuation in Australia. Read more