Australians need to look at long-term saving options that sit outside superannuation if they are to have enough money to maintain their current lifestyle in retirement, according to investment group IOOF Research from the firm has shown more than a third of respondents to its consumer survey believe they will not have enough money to maintain their current lifestyle when they retire, with only 29 per cent believing they could carry on as normal. More than one-third of survey respondents still plan to use superannuation as their sole source of income.

“It’s alarming to find out that many Australians believe compulsory superannuation will be enough to maintain their current standard of living, the harsh reality is that in many cases it won’t,” said IOOF’s investor solutions general manager, Renato Mota.

Mota added that those looking to top up their super through voluntary contributions would find their saving potential has been limited following recent cap reductions imposed on voluntary contribution levels. As a result, he advised consumers to look at a selection of investment vehicles as a means of saving for retirement.

IOOF’s survey, which was conducted by AC Neilsen, found 33 per cent of respondents saw retirement as the most important thing for which to save, however, almost one-third had yet to begin long-term planning. Shockingly, despite the lack of financial knowledge among Australians, almost 80 per cent of respondents had not sought professional financial advice for their retirement.

If you need help with determining how much you will n eed in retirement and how to get there, please feel free to contact me at super@protectmywealth.com.au

Source: Moneymanagement.com.au
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Most Australians on average have about 2-3 super funds from old jobs or temp work that they’ve just left because it’s just too hard to find them or gather them all together.

I must admit, it is a challenge talking to the so called customer service departments at fund managers to get details that may or may not be there. And to actually arrange for the money to be rolled over can take weeks or months! I feel a headache coming on just thinking about it.

Here is a quick guide to rounding up your super with minimal fuss:

1) For those who have a current fund and want to transfer the entire benefit amount from the old fund - CLICK HERE to go to the ATO website and compete the third page of the form and send it to your super fund (old one). Please note that this can only be done if you want to transfer the ‘whole’ amount to another fund.

2) If you have moved, and haven’t received a statement from your old fund, or simply have no idea where your super is, go to www.superseeker.com.au which is run by the Australian Tax Office to help you fund your lost super. All you need is your name, Tax File Number and Date of Birth to do the search. This will only bring up funds that have submitted you as being lost. So, if you don’t find anything, you may still have some out there.

Usually the best line of finding where your super is, is to contact your old employer and ask them. By law, they need to keep records of where they paid your super. Unfortunately, we’ve found that many employers haven’t paid super and we encourage you to call your employer to find out if this is the case. They then have to submit your contribution to the ATo where they will receive instructions from you as to where it is to be paid.

If you need help with any of this, I am more than happy to answer your questions or if you would like to look at setting up an individual fund, I can give you some choices in that direction also.

PD

Much of today’s reasons for not having adequate, or any, insurance is affordability. And it’s not surprising due to the ever growing mortgages, especially in the capital cities, which are not in line with the ever stagnant salaries.

Insurance is usually one of the first casualties to the harder times. I haven’t had too many people during this down turn, but I don’t believe we have seen the worst of it yet. There are still some hard times to come unfortunately. KRudd can keep on handing out freebies, but until the addresses the employers in this country, those who are employed will be in for a unsure time over the next 12 months. But I digress, that is for another post.

We all know that insurance is an important part of life, and to cut it out altogether leaves a certain risk. You can, however, afford to have insurance even without any money! No, insurers are not doing a KRudd and giving out policies, but there is a way to use other means to help your cashflow and still keep your cover in force. The simple answer is ‘Superannuation’.

Especially if you have several old supers from previous jobs, they can all be rolled together and the life or income insurance attached to the super. This way, what would normally be paid from your bank account, will now be paid from your superannuation account. Thanks to the government’s co-contribution scheme, if you earn less than $68,000 year and pay some of your own money into suoper, they will match your contribution 150%!

For example, if your insurance is $500 year, and you use the example above by putting it into super and pay $330 year into it. The government will pay $1.50 for each $1 you’ve paid = $500. By paying it through super, you save yourself $170 year. Obviously the more your premium, the more you save, but you get the picture.

There are many questions that come along with this subject: Wouldn’t that eat into my super?, Isn’t there rules for super not to pay out before retirement?, What if I only have my work super?, Can I pay into the super still?

All these questions are ligitimate, and I will cover them off in the next post on this subect. If you would like someone to talk to about making this a reality. Especially if affordability because of the financial crisis is taking place, please email me.

PD