Super & Funds
HER MONEY
Super and the self-employed
Sally Patten Small business owners too often fall into the trap of assuming their business is going to fund their retirement. It may not.
SUPER & FUNDS
Check on where your super is going
John Collett It's almost a year since the banks were exposed for offering their business clients inducements to make the banks' super funds the default fund for their employees.
Volatile markets no reason to ditch super strategy
John Collett The summer break is when we refresh and get into a positive frame of mind for the year ahead. But even the most “glass half full” type of person must be feeling at least a little nervous about their personal finances this year But even the most “glass half full” type of person must be feeling at least a little nervous about their personal finances this year.
Defined benefit pension winners
Daryl Dixon Federal government employees who joined the CSS or PSS before entry was closed off in 2005 now find themselves in the box seat when funding their retirement.
ASK NOEL
Should you keep your investment property or reduce debt?
Noel Whittaker Noel Whittaker answers readers' questions.
Boost the pension, fix super tax, save $20 billion
Miranda Stewart and David Ingles A more generous pension could be easily offset by reining in super tax concessions and adding the family home to the asset mix.
Why the Bombers' penalty was so different to Cronulla's
Roy Masters A full-season suspension of Essendon players for taking performance enhancing drugs and only a three-game ban for Cronulla footballers?
INSIGHT
Younger women flock to DIY super
Sally Rose The average age of a SMSF trustee is below 50 for the first time, and working-age women are one of the fastest growing cohorts.
TIP OF THE WEEK
What you need to know about 'lifestage' super
Alex Dunnin A lifestage MySuper product will suit risk-averse and set-and-forget investment profiles. But you should be careful to check that it performs well across all age groups.
How to retire overseas
Kate Cowling Leaving the beach gets harder every year. But if you're over 60, maybe you don't have to.
SUPER & FUNDS
Retirement calculators mislead super fund members
John Collett Some of the retirement calculators on the websites of the largest super funds are misleading fund members.
MENTAL WEALTH
How to nail a New Year's resolution
Catherine Robson There is a little known secret to self-control that makes achieving your goals a breeze.
Opinion
Savings tips are not sexist
Sally Rose A few feathers got ruffled when I wrote about how much value a woman in her 30s could realise in her 60s from putting wine money into superannuation.
Don't fall for the super industry's scare tactics
Peter Martin Retirees’ cost of living is not as outrageously high as the industry would have us believe.
SUPER & FUNDS
Read your super fund statement and dump dud funds
John Collett It is that time of year when super funds send annual statements or email them to their members. Yet how many statements remain, if not unopened, at least unread?
BOURIS ON MONEY
'Transition to Retirement' the best-kept secret in super
Mark Bouris There's an under-used government policy that allows the benefits of both working and using your super, without totally losing the advantages of either.
YOUR QUESTIONS
'Splitting' to equalise couples' super
George Cochrane George Cochrane advises a reader about how a husband and wife can use "splitting" to equalise superannuation.
ASSET CHECK
Proposals could damage super system
Daryl Dixon How new lifetime caps on superannuation can be introduced midstream without disadvantaging young people and those with lesser amounts already in super is a major issue.
Super rip-offs amount to $780 per member per year
Peter Martin Expensive related-party transactions by for-profit super funds cost members as much as $740 a year, analysis has found.
RETIREMENT
Time for a new type of age pension
Richard Livingston The recent change in prime minister and treasurer has opened up the possibility of a policy reset. No longer hamstrung by budget emergencies and with fewer political encumbrances, we now have the opportunity to look at real ideas for fixing genuine problems.
SUPER & FUNDS
Lifestage super neither simple nor transparent
John Collett A new type of superannuation investment option promises to give the fund member a smooth "glide path" where the risk is dialled-down as they age.
BASIC TRAINING
Basic Training: A rookie's guide to superannuation
Larissa Ham With a few pointers up your sleeve, picking the right super account doesn't have to be painful.
The $2.6b super rip-off
Caitlin Fitzsimmons and John Collett Dan Warne thinks it is "ridiculous and counterintuitive" that the government is considering reducing the penalties on employers that don't pay superannuation to effectively zero.
Employers diddle workers out of super payments
John Collett Almost 700,000 workers at any given time are being dudded out of their super, costing $2.6 billion a year.
ASK NOEL
How to make super last a (longer) lifetime
Noel Whittaker Our resident personal finance expert answers reader questions.
YOUR QUESTIONS
Should my husband register with Centrelink?
George Cochrane George Cochrane answers readers' questions, such as whether to register with Centrelink even if you're not entitled to any money.
ASSET CHECK
Super proposals would make tax system less fair
Daryl Dixon If superannuation is made less attractive, it would encourage the well off to over-invest in the family home and do even more negative gearing of investment properties.
ANALYSIS
Past disasters a guide to BHP recovery
David Potts BHP was struggling even before the mine disaster in Brazil and some mud, so to speak, is bound to stick.
Major industry funds defend short-selling bonanza
Sally Rose Investment chiefs from five of Australia's largest industry superannuation funds have defended the practice of loaning out stocks to short sellers, who typically drive down share prices, and denied they are shirking the responsibility to exercise their shareholder voting rights.
NAB, CBA, join calls to help boost women's super
Nassim Khadem Women should be able to grow their super savings while on parental leave to help stem the problem of retiring with significantly less than men.
