May 2019

21May

Australia. Tony Abbott’s Going to Make Way More Money After Losing His Job

Tony Abbott lost his job over the weekend. The former Australian prime minister, onion muncher, and long-term MP for the north Sydney electorate of Warringah suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of Independent underdog Zali Steggall on Saturday night, bringing his political career to an abrupt and somewhat humiliating end. “I can’t say it doesn’t hurt to lose,” he told his supporters on election night, after conceding to Steggall. “So be it. I’d rather be a loser than...

May 21, 2019
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20May

Three Economic Myths about Ageing: Participation, Immigration and Infrastructure

By Dr Cameron K. Murray, Leith van Onselen Population ageing due to longevity is one of the greatest successes of the modern era. However, it is widely thought to dramatically reduce workforce participation and overall output resulting in significant economic costs. This widely held view is wrong. Ageing countries have higher economic growth and the improved health and longevity of older people increases their economic contributions. High immigration is also thought to combat population ageing and be a remedy...

May 20, 2019
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20May

Three economic myths about aging

Population ageing due to longevity is one of the greatest successes of the modern era. However, it is widely thought to dramatically reduce workforce participation and overall output resulting in significant economic costs. This widely held view is wrong. Ageing countries have higher economic growth and the improved health and longevity of older people increases their economic contributions. High immigration is also thought to combat population ageing and be a remedy for these non-existent costs of ageing. This is...

May 20, 2019
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07May

Australia Pension Giant Doubles Down on Push for Woman Directors

BAustralia’s largest pension fund is doubling down on its campaign for more women on boards. With almost all of the top 200 listed companies now having at least one female director, AustralianSuper Pty is raising the bar and pushing for at least two women board members, said Andrew Gray, director of ESG and stewardship at the Melbourne-based fund. That puts more than a quarter of companies in the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index in the A$154 billion ($108 billion) fund’s...

May 7, 2019
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01May

Australia. Self-funded retirees could earn less than age pension

Labor’s policy to end cash refunds for franking credits is a contentious topic – and for good reason. It's a policy that could reduce some retirees’ incomes by up to a third. Consider retirees Alan and Bev, both in their 80s. They have a modest home worth $400,000, a 10-year-old car, a caravan and a small amount of cash that they hold for emergencies. They have built up a nest egg of about $800,000 in a share portfolio they hold...

May 1, 2019
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April 2019

04Apr

Australian Pension Funds in Talks to Create $78 Billion Giant

Two of Australia’s biggest pension funds are exploring a merger that would create a retirement-savings giant with more than A$110 billion ($78 billion) in assets under management. First State Super and VicSuper Pty signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding and believe a merger could “deliver significant benefits to members,” according to a statement Thursday. A recommendation to the pair’s respective boards is expected around the middle of the year. Consolidation in Australia’s A$2.8 trillion pension industry is gathering pace...

April 4, 2019
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March 2019

13Mar

Australia to publish pension fund ratings, pressure underperformers

Australia will begin publishing “heat maps” of the performance of pension funds next year and will pressure those with poor records to exit the industry, the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) said on Wednesday. Australian pension funds manage A$1.7 trillion ($1.20 trillion) in savings but lack “maturity” in governance and risk management practices, APRA Deputy Chair Helen Rowell said in a speech published on the regulator’s website. The sector is under pressure to lift standards and improve accountability...

March 13, 2019
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12Mar

Australia. Innovations in Retirement Income Solutions

The headline gave me hope: “Innovative income product now available for retiring Australians”. It was July 2017. The description of this new product was promising as it was “designed to help Australians more easily and confidently manage their superannuation in the lead up to and during retirement.” But then, like so many times before … ”[A]n account-based pension that offers a flexible and simple way for people to convert their superannuation into a steady income stream.” Lessons for...

March 12, 2019
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06Mar

Pension-Fund Giant Warns Policy Mistake Risk Is Now Elevated

MLC Ltd., one of Australia’s largest pension funds, is pinning its hopes on private-equity investments to lift returns amid an outlook for increasingly volatile markets and an elevated risk of policy errors as the global economic cycle ages. There is now a higher risk of policy mistakes coming from governments or central banks and the sustainability of corporate profit margins near all-time highs is under threat, according to Jonathan Armitage, the firm’s chief investment officer in Sydney, where he...

March 6, 2019
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February 2019

20Feb

Australia. Labor tax safety net to fail 50,000 pensioners

Up to 50,000 pensioners over the next decade could fail to meet Labor’s safety net threshold and lose their annual cash refunds for excess franking credits under Bill Shorten’s plans to axe $55 billion in tax breaks for retirees. Treasury analysis of tax data shows that every year between 3000 and 5000 pensioners who were also members of a self-managed super fund would fail to meet the criteria for Labor’s “pensioner guarantee”. Labor argues the policy was ­announced a...

February 20, 2019
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