Self Managed Superannuation Funds (“SMSF’s”) have long lived under a very harsh penalty regime. If a trustee failed to meet their obligations then the Australian Tax Office (ATO) was able or even required to declare the fund “non-complying”. That was a nuclear bomb option as it resulted in the fund assets being taxed at the…
There are few areas of government expenditure in the world that are more contentious than those associated with the payment of pensions. This includes “age pensions” in countries that have such things, as well as “employer pensions” from time spent with an employer. There is a huge range of types of super funds available, with…
How should your mix of assets change as you approach retirement? Should that mix change at all? What can history tell us about such ideas?
Which is the best super fund, and how will you decide between the thousands of options on offer?
The world is going to end but you can save yourself by subscribing to… These self-help newsletters, websites and email lists are getting a little bit carried away with themselves.
So, what risks ARE you prepared to take? Some people think it is fun to bungey-jump off a cliff or a bridge or a crane when they are travelling overseas, while others are not prepared to do this – whether it be from fear of heights, concern over the health effect on their eyes or…
It’s interesting to read notes and articles and research that shows Australia’s pensioners “sitting on a time bomb” or that there is a shortfall in retirement savings of hundreds of billions of dollars. For what it is worth, the bulk of these appear to be a beat-up. For the morosely disinterested or even the remotely…
Todays’ Australian Financial Review includes an article “Disclosure statements found wanting” (page 56 Financial Services, AFR Friday 29th October 2010). Now there is a non sequitur if ever i’ve seen one! That statement assumes that there would be a time when superannuation statements would NOT be found wanting – and i really can’t see that…
Just what constitutes “personal financial advice”? We here in Wealth & Security Planners have noticed a marked increase in the number of people who are looking at various forms of money market news as “advice”. It is a development that has both good and bad aspects to it. This post is a quick look at…
Charles Dickens penned these words as the start of his ‘Tale of Two Cities‘ – a stark portrayal of social, political and economic contrasts so vivid that it remains, even today, one of the biggest selling English novels. Why the literary reference? Apart from enjoying the novel immensely, the key phrase most clearly elucidates my…
