July 2020 newsletter

The cover is much harder to claim if you’re unemployed, casual or part-time, because of the ‘activities of daily living’ test.

Tracey Spicer talks to Natasha Janssens about some of the challenges that women face in building their super, and what to think about if you’re considering taking out some of your super due to COVID-19.

Ross Clare from ASFA talks to Tracey Spicer about how the pandemic has impacted superannuation and the broader economy.

In this article we report median super fund performance for 1, 3, 5, 7, 10 and 15 years, up to 30 June 2021 and across five different investment options.

Super funds continue to produce strong returns for their members in a difficult economic climate, with the median Growth fund up 1.7% in August for a cumulative return of 2.8% in the first two months of the financial year.

In your late 60s, you may need to meet a work test before making contributions into your super account. Here’s the current rules and what they mean for you.

Getting money into super in the final dash to retirement is not always straightforward, so check you’re eligible before making any last minute contributions.

Once you’re in retirement, making super contributions gets a lot trickier. But it’s not impossible if you understand the rules and are willing to use different types of contributions.

Using the bring-forward rules is a great way to put a large contribution into your super account in the same year. Here’s what you need to know about the rules.

Re-contribution strategies can reduce the tax on your super benefit and may eliminate tax for non-tax dependant beneficiaries like your adult children.

Rolling forward any unused amounts from your annual concessional contribution cap can be an easy way to get more money into super tax-effectively.

Splitting your super with your spouse or partner can be a great way to boost your joint retirement savings and possibly save yourself some tax as well.

Going over your annual limits for super contributions can cause problems and cost you money, so it’s important to know what to do if you have.

If you access your super when you’re under age 60, the tax man is going to get a share of it, so make sure you know the rules.

When you reach age 60, the rules change on how much tax you are required to pay when you withdraw your super savings.

Many trustees have never had to run a self-managed super fund through a recession. So to survive this period, experts recommend avoiding selling when markets are at their nadir, focusing on fundamentals and looking for opportunities to acquire well-priced quality businesses.

The bar has been raised on the amount you can transfer into a pension account, but don’t get tripped up by the details.

Tracey Spicer talks to clinical psychologist Deanna Pitchford about ways that retirees can look after their brain health.

David Williams from My Longevity talks about the concept of Personal Capital and why it’s important retirees don’t overlook it.