January 2019

10Jan

Australia. Investors increasing fixed income allocations

New research has found that fixed income is set to experience a spike over the new twelve months among institutional investors.  BlackRock’s annual survey of global institutional investors found that 38 per cent of investors intended to increase their fixed income allocations, up 9 percentage points from 29 per cent last year. BlackRock’s global head of institutional client business Edwin Conway said that as the economic cycle turned private markets would help clients to navigate the challenging environment. “We have...

January 10, 2019
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09Jan

Australia. Industry super to dominate at $1 trillion by 2024

Industry superannuation funds are on track to overtake self-managed super funds to become the dominant players in the $2.7 trillion retirement savings system within the next two years. The remarkable shift is being driven by a combination of factors, including industry funds' superior investment returns and members switching from retail super funds in the wake of damning hearings at the banking royal commission. Read more @AFR

January 9, 2019
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08Jan

Australia. Investors blindsided by tax from super withdrawals

Australians running their own superannuation funds are being hit with surprise taxes due to a lack of understanding regarding what meeting a full condition of release means, a technical expert has warned. SuperConcepts non-executive director Stuart Forsyth explained that he is coming across a number of SMSF trustees who have decided to pull money out of their super fund and pay it back without realising that the commissioner might consider that to be assessable income. What often happens in these situations, he...

January 8, 2019
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December 2018

13Dec

Older Australians living overseas will need to prove they are alive to keep getting pension

Australians aged over 80 who are living overseas will soon have to produce a "proof of life certificate" to continue receiving the pension. From July 1, pensioners will be asked to go to an Australian embassy or consulate every two years to register that they are still alive and entitled to receive a welfare payment. Social Services Minister Paul Fletcher said estimates suggested there had been thousands of cases where a person died while living overseas but continued to receive the...

December 13, 2018
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10Dec

The Vulnerability of Older Australians in Bankruptcy: Insights from an Empirical Study

By Lev Bromberg (The University of Melbourne), Ian Ramsay (Melbourne Law School - University of Melbourne), Paul Ali (University of Melbourne - Law School; Centre for International Finance and Regulation (CIFR)) This article presents the results of the first empirical study focused on older Australians in bankruptcy. Our study — based on the examination of a large and unique dataset obtained by the authors from the bankruptcy regulator — provides a valuable insight into the severe financial challenges faced by...

December 10, 2018
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October 2018

04Oct

Australia. Pension increase: More money for veterans and families

VETERAN pension payments will increase this month in line with the biannual indexation process. Minister for Veterans' Affairs Darren Chester said the increase was about putting veterans and their families first. "Our Government provides more than $11.2 billion each year to deliver essential services and programs to support 290,000 veterans and their families," Mr Chester said. "The new pension rates will be fully effective from pension payday October 11 for pension recipients including veterans, their partners, war widows and widowers across Australia." Single...

October 4, 2018
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September 2018

20Sep

Australia. Superannuation’s multimillion-dollar problem

Very few superannuation systems the world over can hold a candle to Australia’s, but one key flaw leaving certain Australians at risk of poverty has persisted through its 25-year history. The average Australian can expect to retire with hundreds of thousands of dollars in savings, taking pressure off the government pension and improving retirees’ quality of life – but it’s most effective for Australians who work full time for their entire adulthood. Taking a career break is punished severely by the...

September 20, 2018
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14Sep

Australia can give pointers on pension reform to Korea

Head of investment firm says much was learned in 24 years Worries about the state pension fund have grown in Korea, as it may run out of money as Korea’s population ages. That has led many people to look for models abroad. Some are pointing to Australia’s superannuation corporate pension fund. Put simply, the superannuation system mandates an employer put aside a set portion of workers’ salary as a pension fund to be managed by a board trusted by workers. Australia is considered...

September 14, 2018
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10Sep

Welfare boost for 4.8 million Australians

Single pensioners will soon receive an extra $8.70 a fortnight and couples will pocket an additional $13.20 following a twice-yearly change to indexation rates. Unemployed Australians will take home about $2 more each week, while parenting payments will also rise by about $3 per week. Rent assistance rates will also increase from September 20, as will a range of income and asset test limits for various payments including the age pension. Welfare rates are raised every six months to help people handle...

September 10, 2018
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06Sep

What are the retirement ages around the world?

Retirement ages, or the age when some sort of government pension can be received, varies around the world. The OECD average for a normal pension age is currently 64.3 years for men and 63.7 years for women. While life expectancy has risen in many countries and governments grapple with ageing populations, any attempts to make people wait longer to collect benefits are usually met with fierce opposition, as Russia and Australia found out recently. Read more sbs

September 6, 2018
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