So confused where to put my money....PMs or just pump the super..... Thing is...Is there a chance we could all lose our super in the wake of a financial collapse.....I dont know what to do?
Once you commit funds to superannuation, you can't use it until you are old. That's O L D, that's a long time away, that's plenty of time for governments to retrospectively change any laws they feel like - as witnessed by Labor's recent policy decision to tax anyone earning more than 100k/year in their super. If you have a choice, use it now, don't lock it away for later waiting for the inevitable black plague of expansionary monetary policy to devour its worth.
Superannuation is just 1 leg of a 3 legged stool that you'll need to retire on. Superannuation The pension Your personal savings/investments If you rely totally on superannuation to retire, you'll be sitting on a single stool leg... i.e. a shaft!
Bloody thing is compulsory not guranteed!!!! Like most thing the govt implied keep changing with time. The last few years was worst as super deterioted with gfc. 30% gone the tube. Adminstration still charges few fee from left to right by the time we retired not much. I m annoyed. Dont trust the stupid govt. A bunch of loser run the nation. Cant expects much.
If, by the time I retire, I'll be able to access the money in "my" super account in any way that is significantly different from a mandated, capped annuity with any remaining funds after my death (and my spouse) being able to be passed on to who I choose, I'll be pleasantly surprised. There's no way I'm putting in any more than the compulsory minimum. (Different story if was in my late fifties.)
Forget about the old aged pension...it's days are numbered Super is increasingly in the treasury spotlight... so you can bet eventually they'll either curtail your own access to your super....or outright steal it (they won't call it that... they'll dole a little out to you as they see fit...but they'll lock it away for themselves) Which pretty much leaves your own savings to retire on. A lot of my friends and aquaintences in their mid-late 30's are looking at their superannuation (im)balances and recognising that they have nowhere near enough to even get by in retirement, let alone live comfortably. They (rightly) struggle with how they can possibly stash away enough in the next 20-or-so years given the tax situation contribution caps etc. However, their worry and anguish soon evapourate when I show them (on paper with a few basic sums) how it's a near impossible task for them to put away enough. Once they realise they can't achieve their goal, a huge weight is lifted from their minds. It's not a great outcome, but there's no point worrying about something you have no control over. Our age group are not going to be able to retire.... we will die on the job.
I lost a heap of dollars in 2008 due to the Global Financial Crisis. Like an idiot, I had my super in a diversified fund with Westpac, I lost more than 30%. So...the gurus in the banking sector don't know shite from clay, so if you can do better than the gurus, best of luck. The big banks will give reasonable interest on your cash (Australian Dollars) personally, I'd keep some cash (In various bank accounts), some precious metal (especially silver) and I'd watch the stock market closely. Shares in the CBA, Woolworths and the much hated Telstra provide a pretty good dividend. Becareful buying shares (cautious) because we could see another decent correction on the ASX if the US market turns turtle; they'll drag down our stocks and we could see a drop similar to 2008. If the stock market did drop like the GFC 2008, it would present an opportunity to buy stocks which are over-sold. So...maybe diversify, metal, cash and dividend producing solid stocks. DYODD
Maybe a SMSF is the only way to go then or will they restrict that also..... I love the idea of a PM loaded super fund.
Personally, I believe that when it comes time that any country's government decides they want to take your lifes savings it's time to leave said country. But while a govt can confiscate digital wealth with a click of mouse button, If you have PM's in your SMSF, they'll always be protected by your ability to take pysical possesion of them yourself.... but you'll wanna be on your way because they'll soon have the goon squad knocking on your door.
I doubt that anyone under the age of 50 will get much of their super if any. It was a wonderful thing, now it is simply a new tax that is massively exposed to a stock market that is in a new bubble. In the event of another really serious negative economic event it is likely the government will confiscate it, and a certainty if it is a Labor Socialist government. They aren't putting mandatory employer super contributions up to 12% for the good of workers, they see it as increasing the government emergency revenue pool.
A colleague of mine lost 70% in one of their funds in 2008 (I forget who it was with, AMP or UBS or someone like that). The hidden kick in the nuts is that a loss of 20% requires a gain of +25% to get back to square one, but the managers fees/salaries are typically a floor rate with an upside for any gain over certain benchmarks, so really you need an even bigger gain just to stay even in nominal terms.
And when you consider these compulsory super increases greatly reduce an employers ability to make good on any old fashioned annual salary increases so workers can keep abreast of inflation its no fukken wonder I'm clean out of cash to buy this dip.
Sympathise, but think about us poor small business people where the cost just comes straight out of whatever income's left over from the rest of the increasing costs to business that can't be passed on. Less current capital for re-investing into the business to stay competitive.
Don't forget who has their snout in the superannuation trough when your earnings are first paid into your chosen (or coerced) super scheme? The ATO and it's 15% contributions tax. That's a 15% return on investment to the ATO each and every year without having to stump up any capital or enterprise. Scam.
Trust me mate, I can see how hard it is out their for small businesses. I just think if the government must meddle and force business people to fork out an extra 3% on their wage budgets toward compulsory super, that it would be better spent on normal wages that workers have free access too. It would mean more money bouncing around the local economy, more employment, more turn over for local business.
Where I work, salaries and wages are both the largest part of my branches' budget and the only cost I can realistically cut (fuel burn, equipment hire, maintenance etc are pretty much fixed items to do business). I'm currently trying to prepare for these proposed super costs, and it's doing my head in. I'm currently in triage over how to stay profitable.... which limb do I cut off to save the patient.
