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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05Sep

Australia. Scott Morrison scraps Government plans to raise pension age to 70

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has dumped the plan to raise the pension age to 70, announcing the decision on breakfast television even before Cabinet has formally agreed to it. It was one of the issues on which Labor had repeatedly attacked the Government, especially highlighting the impact for people with physically difficult jobs. Former treasurer Joe Hockey announced the plan to lift the pension age from 67 to 70 in his controversial 2014 budget in a bid to help fund the...

September 5, 2018
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August 2018

31Aug

Australia. RBA says outage won’t hit pension payments

Pensions and welfare payments do not appear to have been affected by the outage at the Reserve Bank of Australia’s main data centre that hit some payments systems on Thursday afternoon. In a statement issued on Thursday evening, Australia’s central bank said that “retail and corporate customers are able to make and receive payments including payments made through the New Payments Platform.” Crucially, the RBA said “domestic payments, including pensions, are also being processed.” The prospect of government payments being hit by...

August 31, 2018
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27Aug

Australia’s Victoria state in $2 bln land title register deal with pension fund

Australia’s Victoria state has agreed to sell a four-decade concession to run its land and property registries to pension fund First State Super for A$2.86 billion ($2.09 billion), the government said in a statement on Monday. The deal allows First State Super to levy fees for property ownership registrations in Australia’s fastest growing state for 40 years, while the government plans to spend the proceeds on schools, hospitals and transport projects, the statement said. This will give “a major boost to...

August 27, 2018
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17Aug

Australia’s AMP back in inquiry hot seat as pension transfers challenged

The disclosures are the latest blow to the once-venerable firm which could face criminal charges over misconduct earlier uncovered by the inquiry. AMP has lost almost 30 percent of its market value since the inquiry began in February. Richard Allert, chairman of AMP Super, which by law must manage retirement savings in the best interests of customers, said under questioning that he was surprised to see internal company documents tabled at the inquiry saying the transfers were not legally documented. Michael...

August 17, 2018
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14Aug

Commonwealth Bank of Australia breached pension rules, inquiry hears

Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) “breached a legislative provision” when it failed to transfer 15,000 pension customers to a low-cost product, an inquiry into financial sector conduct heard on Tuesday. Documents read at the Royal Commission showed the bank failed to comply with a law introduced in 2014 to provide low-cost retirement funds - dubbed superannuation funds - to some clients who did not choose a specific retirement savings product. Michael Hodge, the barrister assisting the commission, said that as such,...

August 14, 2018
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