Digital Finance Analytics (DFA) Blog
"Intelligent Insight"
From The Conversation While all workers benefit from the 9% superannuation guarantee, those on middle incomes benefit significantly less than lower and upper incomes, according to my research. I ran simulations on the financial assets accumulated over a working life, comparing this to what would have been earned on the same amount saved but invested … Continue reading “How superannuation discriminates against middle income earners”
From The Conversation. The Productivity Commission’s latest report on superannuation asks whether the current system is working for members – and answers firmly in the negative. The report identifies four factors that can chip away at super fund members’ retirement benefits: fees rate of return insurance holding multiple accounts What is also clear from the … Continue reading “Superannuation is still mired in the same old issues”
From InvestorDaily. Long criticised as a laggard in digital technology, 2017 marks the year the super industry got serious says Willis Towers Watson. Since 2013, we’ve surveyed superannuation funds on their use of digital. Four short years ago, the rate of uptake was slow and funds didn’t allocate significant budget to invest in technologies aimed … Continue reading “Chat bots, AI and superannuation”
From The Conversation. Two decades of reforms, reviews and inquiries appear to have better served the financial sector than the interests of super fund members. At first glance Australia’s 214 major superannuation funds are performing well, giving a healthy 9.2% return on the A$1.4 trillion we have deposited with them. But there are issues with … Continue reading “Could we nationalise the superannuation system even if we wanted to?”
Despite not being able to estimate the true amount of superannuation guarantee non-compliance, the Government is proposing a number of reforms to protect employees and strength compliance. They say it is mostly small businesses who are non-compliant, and this is often caused by cash-flow issues. We have summarised their recommendations. On 31 March 2017, the … Continue reading “Superannuation Guarantee Compliance Reforms Ahead”
The ABC The Business segment on superannuation fees underscores the recent Rainmaker report. During the last 10 years Australians have paid around $230-billion in fees to superannuation funds and over the next 10 years, those fees are set to double. in 2016 Australians paid $31 billion in fees on $2.2 trillion of superannuation. That amount … Continue reading “ABC The Business Does Superannuation Fees”
From The New Daily. Retail super funds are soaking up half of all fees in the superannuation system despite holding only 29 per cent of retirement savings, according to new research carried out by Rainmaker for Industry Super Australia. ‘Retail’ includes the big four banks, who last year alone scooped up 28 per cent of all fees, totalling … Continue reading “Retail funds harvest 50% of all superannuation fees”
The Government has released for public consultation draft legislation and associated explanatory materials for changes to improve the integrity of the superannuation system. These changes are being progressed as part of a package of amendments to address concerns that have been raised in the implementation of the superannuation reform tax package. The draft legislation will … Continue reading “Treasury consults on Superannuation integrity of limited recourse borrowing arrangements”
From The Real Estate Conversation. The government is considering offering exemptions to new superannuation limits for retirees who downsize from their family home, according to reports. The upcoming Federal Budget could contain measures that allow elderly Australians who sell the family home to be exempt from new superannuation caps, according to media reports. A report in The … Continue reading “Budget may encourage downsizing with superannuation breaks”
From The Conversation. The federal government is split on whether first home buyers in Australia should be allowed to use part of their superannuation for home deposits. But what the more strident critics miss is that Australia’s superannuation system already channels a significant proportion of retirement savings into housing. It does this not via the … Continue reading “Here’s how superannuation is already financing homes”