Superannuation Discussion + market volatility

[cove]

Had a good day in the stock market so I seem to be moving away from ever getting some government money in the form of a pension or health care card.

 

[andye]

Had a good day in the stock market so I seem to be moving away from ever getting some government money in the form of a pension or health care card.

Is there a Pensioner's discount for Suites?

 

[cove]

I could ask for you andye. We are going to London on the new SQ Suites from SIN to LHR later on in December.
I am working in the US this week so I am not retired so far.
Flew to the US on QF in First so with champagne taste I might not go too well on beer income.
I think I can keep working.

 

[get me outta here]

In general terms what are these benefits of quailifying for a govt pension? Health rebates etc and what sort of other things / concessions does a person possibly get?

For me @Radio8tiv the magic number would be where I get just $1 of Centrelink money as this would give me all the associated concessions. In years to come this is where I intend to be.

 

[Pushka]

In general terms what are these benefits of quailifying for a govt pension? Health rebates etc and what sort of other things / concessions does a person possibly get?

Health rebates make quite a difference. Think $5 for a script that I currently pay $38. Plus discounts on all sorts of government charges, power, rates etc.

 

[OATEK]

Health rebates make quite a difference. Think $5 for a script that I currently pay $38. Plus discounts on all sorts of government charges, power, rates etc.

While some may not qualify for a $1 of pension and therefore not have a pension card, their income may be low enough to qualify for the Pharmaceutical benefits card.

 

[JohnK]

Health rebates make quite a difference. Think $5 for a script that I currently pay $38. Plus discounts on all sorts of government charges, power, rates etc.

A number of years ago when I was out of work I was able to get a Pharmaceuticals benefits card. That may still be the case although I haven't tried.

 

[Pushka]

A number of years ago when I was out of work I was able to get a Pharmaceuticals benefits card. That may still be the case although I haven't tried.

That would be newstart I’m guessing.

 

[get me outta here]

I used to help my elderly neighbours and he wanted to get his health card back after not qualifying for a year or so. I picked up the form and it was many many pages long. You'd have to be very keen and share all your most 'intimate details' with the gubment.

A number of years ago when I was out of work I was able to get a Pharmaceuticals benefits card. That may still be the case although I haven't tried.

 

[JohnK]

That would be newstart I’m guessing.

I'm not sure. I had 3 investment properties but also owed considerably more on the loans.

 

[Flying mermaid]

Anyone know anything about the IAG capital return? Money was deposited into my bank account yesterday but I don't remember reading about it or giving them my bank account.

I received an email from them about a month ago. This should give you the details.

https://www.asx.com.au/asxpdf/20181031/pdf/43zvgjdjh5n2l9.pdf

If you have given your bank details previously to enable them to deposit your dividend they would have used that.

 

[Flying mermaid]

The nest egg for a “rainy day” is a pertinent question - for emergencies, unexpected expenses, funeral expenses, home repairs. Some with limited super assets should be allowed to keep some super for a rainy day and at the same time gain the full pension.

Is this possible under current rules. My reading is that once in pension phase an annuity must be paid but I think it’s would be very helpful to a lot of people if they could quarantined a certain amount of super from that annuity for a rainy day. The annuity would be reduced but won’t be affected if a lump sum is taken out every so often.

I suppose the way to do that would be to keep that part of super in accumulation phase but then the earnings are taxed. I’m talking about keeping some super in the tax free pension phase from being used as an annuity and kept for a rainy day

that is incorrect. You have to pay a pension (at a minimum % of the assets of the super fund, which rises over time), but that is not an “annuity”. There is nothing stopping you at any time taking a lump sum for any purpose and then the pension in future years will be smaller. E.g. say you have a million in super, you must take a minimum of say $40,000. If that is all coming via dividends etc then the next year you still have a million. Then you might want to buy something for say 200,000, which you take out as a lump sum. Then you only have 800,000 and the minimum pension reduces. Of course you can pay yourself more than the minimum as well.

An annuity is a product that is offered by insurance companies and others and a super fund could elect to purchase one but it seems quite restrictive to me.

I think technically what happens is you stop the pension, take the lump sum and then start a new pension. I am talking about what happens in a SMSF, but I would assume big funds are the same.

 

[cove]

On the subject of annuities be aware that the embedded funds earning rate used by companies selling them is usually close to zero per cent. Most folks are not able to work this out.

 

[JohnK]

I received an email from them about a month ago. This should give you the details.

https://www.asx.com.au/asxpdf/20181031/pdf/43zvgjdjh5n2l9.pdf

If you have given your bank details previously to enable them to deposit your dividend they would have used that.

Thanks. It would appear they have reduced the number of shares and paid out special dividend.

 

[Flying mermaid]

Thanks. It would appear they have reduced the number of shares and paid out special dividend.

That’s correct.

 

[Buzzard]

Thanks. It would appear they have reduced the number of shares and paid out special dividend.

It's know as a consolidation.

 

[k_sheep]

Being in my 30s, I resent a whole lot of my hard earned $$ going into an enforced savings scheme which I'm quite capable of doing myself. When the time comes I will not get a cent from the pension I am sure; and all the fees and regulations about super are not about making ME financially secure, rather all the middle men making zillions off having my money sitting there for them to use.

It's basically gambling that you won't die before you can access your super. And I'm willing to bet the age at which you can access it will keep going up and up, and they will get some draconian system where you can only access a limited amount at a time.

So, yes, I'm definitely in that % that would gladly take my super in hand now to invest with as I choose.

 

[JohnK]

It's know as a consolidation.

A Qantas style enhancement?

 

[Pushka]

Being in my 30s, I resent a whole lot of my hard earned $$ going into an enforced savings scheme which I'm quite capable of doing myself. When the time comes I will not get a cent from the pension I am sure; and all the fees and regulations about super are not about making ME financially secure, rather all the middle men making zillions off having my money sitting there for them to use.

It's basically gambling that you won't die before you can access your super. And I'm willing to bet the age at which you can access it will keep going up and up, and they will get some draconian system where you can only access a limited amount at a time.

So, yes, I'm definitely in that % that would gladly take my super in hand now to invest with as I choose.

Shh. I’m surprised that I am now of the age where I can take out every last cent. With all the meddling they have done, the fact that this is an option is weird. When I was your age I never thought I would get my hands on it, but here I am. The only useful thing I can see with super is that it usually has a life insurance component which is something that many might not even think about when they have a family.

 

[Flying mermaid]

Being in my 30s, I resent a whole lot of my hard earned $$ going into an enforced savings scheme which I'm quite capable of doing myself. When the time comes I will not get a cent from the pension I am sure; and all the fees and regulations about super are not about making ME financially secure, rather all the middle men making zillions off having my money sitting there for them to use.

It's basically gambling that you won't die before you can access your super. And I'm willing to bet the age at which you can access it will keep going up and up, and they will get some draconian system where you can only access a limited amount at a time.

So, yes, I'm definitely in that % that would gladly take my super in hand now to invest with as I choose.

I can understand that point of view, but I guess it was brought in to assist the many who weren’t capable of looking after themselves. Have you considered starting a SMSF, so at least there are no middle men in the mixture? We started our SMSF when we were 34 and it has worked out well for us.

Most companies will pay into an SMSF, so you will have the fun of investing the money as it comes in, keeping fees down and seeing your money grow.