Quote:
Originally Posted by Merlin66
Reading this thread......I've got to ask; what's the real benefit of saving and scraping over the years to build up a half decent super???
I thought with the sacrifices made we were not going to be a burden on society and live "state pension free" - but there are NO perks for doing this - no free medical, transport etc etc. Instead we have to hope that Trump doesn't screw everything up and we loose the meagre dividends which support us.
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Super is compulsory, paid by your employer, no one forced you to contribute extra, although there was a tax advantage (salary sacrifice) at the time if you did. For many of us,
Iike myself, Super was not in effect for our entire working lives, in fact we may only have contributions since Paul Keating made it compulsory. Unlike my kids who have had employer payments since they started working. So of course in that sense the compounding effects of say 40 years of contributions have not grown the balance. Our system is much much better than the US system, where the vast majority have nothing more than Social Security payments to fall back on, unless they are the wealthy elite. The best Super you can have is to own your own home, debt free, prior to retirement. Leveraging your home, downsizing, etc can seriously boost your wealth in retirement, and the home is tax free and asset test free. I live comfortably on my Super and Part Pension, but my Super was boosted through rolling over two redundancy payments when i was working. Super balances have enjoyed great returns, as long as your not sitting with it in cash rate assets. I withdraw only 5% per annum in my allocated pension, the minimum required by the government, and my balance is greater now than when i started because of growth.
Everyone's circumstances are different, but there is far more right about our system than what might be wrong about it.
As to the comments below about Centrelink staff, who would want that job? The call centre zombies just read back scripts that might apply to your questions. Talking to a real person, there in front of you, in a Centrelink office is likely to get you much further. In my experience, there are some really helpful people at Centrelink offices, not all of them, but if you find the right one they are like gold in terms of advice and guideance through the system. I would never go into a Centrelink office in the city, but in regional areas like mine, they are, imho, much more helpful. Once you get over the initial pension application process things get much easier in dealing with them.
In fact through the MyGov website now, all of your interactions can be mostly handled remotely, and you can edit your asset register (used to assess your entitlements) at any time as circumstances change. For example, if your car has dropped in market value you can amend it in your asset register, and this can potentially lead to a part-pension increase or offset Super balance growth. Super funds are required to report your balance to Centrelink twice a year, and changes to that balance can affect your pension. Its just a system that everyone needs to understand and learn how to use to their advantage. Just complaining will get you nowhere.