THE SOAPBOX: The 25-year super war
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 [...]
SMSF fraud: a case of mistaken identity
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 [...]
THE SOAPBOX: Debunking the DIY super myth
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 SOAPBOX: Trish’s four lessons from the GFC (Grab-For-Cash)
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. [...]
THE SOAPBOX: Let’s raise our glasses to Sherry
… 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, [...]
No SG for over-70s: now, that’s not fair
Article update: Great news! The Government is listening to SuperGuide readers. For the latest proposals on extending Superannuation Guarantee to over-70s read the article SG to be paid for over-70s from July 2013. I have received a lot of encouraging [...]
THE SOAPBOX EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: Cheap financial advice now available – what does it mean for consumers?
Superannuation funds are now providing cheap (and in some cases, free) personal financial advice to super fund members with the blessing of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC). In early July 2009, ASIC announced that it’s okay to provide [...]
THE SOAPBOX: Defending decent SMSF trustees
Based on the bagging that DIY super trustees have received in the media recently from government and certain sectors of the superannuation industry, you may be thinking that taking control of your retirement savings via a self-managed super fund (SMSF) [...]
Top ten problems with our super system, and how we can fix them
In the May 2009 edition of SuperGuide, I promised you a list of what I believed to be the top ten problems with Australia’s super system. My motivation for promising this list was the federal government’s announcement of yet another [...]
THE SOAPBOX: Does the Government think we’re stupid?
As a budding novelist, I love to read a good work of fiction, and on many levels, that’s an appropriate way to describe this latest Federal Budget – a fiction, or more precisely, an artifice. By treating the Budget as [...]
Another super review: Who’s looking out for consumers?
The Superannuation Minister Nick Sherry has announced another review of the superannuation sector. He believes that after nearly 20 years of compulsory super that it’s time to re-examine the system. Senator Sherry has made it clear that this review is [...]
