Help! I have lost my super.

Q. Hello I have lost super and I have been told that I could use this to buy a house for our retirement.  I am 55 and my wife is 51 we are renting and would like to have a house that is ours what can we do. thank you.

Josie answer: A common problem with billions of dollars lost.  However, it is not really ‘lost’, just too many people not caring enough about their superannuation.

Super funds contact you on a regular basis, but if you have changed address it is very easy to forget.  You have worked very hard for your money and great to see you have finally mustered up some energy to find all those lost superannuation accounts. Read more

Superannuation Warning - “Is your employer paying your superannuation”

Q. On your radio program you mentioned for workers to check that their co-contributions are being paid as per the ATO rules.

Could you please give a little more info?

Read more

My son is now at Uni and I am worried about fees eroding his super savings

 

 

 

Q. My son worked at Macdonalds for 4 years and has a superannuation with employer contributions. He is now doing full time study at uni. Should he do something with this superannuation before it is eaten away with fees?

A: I just love it when people are conscious of fees within their superannuation fund. As you know there are far too many people who simply don’t care and then years later wonder what happened.

Just wish they understood that if you are in the wrong super fund, fees can easily strip 20% of your final retirement benefit (just imagine a slow drip from a tap - very soon the bucket is full and in this case the bucket belongs to the financial institution and in some cases, the financial planner). Read more

I was born in 1964. I heard they will be stopping the age pension?

Q. Can u tell me, at what birth year does the aged pension stop. I was born in 1964 and need to know whether I will receive the aged pension.

A: A great question and I suspect many people reading this question will think you have gone bananas. Most Aussies have the attitude that it is their god given right to receive the age pension as they have paid taxes all their life.

A fair point, but there is only so much money in the Government kitty. Remember they are simply managers of the tax we have to pay them.

A huge problem facing most Governments is Read more

We are quitting work and travelling around Australia. How will it affect our super?

Q. My partner and I regularly listen to your financial advice segment on Radio 4GR Toowoomba on Sundays. Congratulations on a very interesting show.

We are aged 57 and 52 respectively, currently working full time and we each have superannuation policies. Later this year we plan to resign from our jobs and go on a working holiday around Australia for an indefinite period.

We are both going to roll over our superannuation policies. Also we plan to set up an ABN as this seems to be a requirement of some of the farms on which we are going to work.

In order to avoid fees eating up what we have saved in our superannuation policies we are going to make regular payments into our respective policies.

We have two questions

1. are there any tax advantages in making payments into our superannuation policies from our joint ABN account; and

2. is there a set % requirement based on the gross as to what we are required to pay into our superannuation policies e.g 9% or as self employed is that up to us.

We hope you can help. Looking forward to your reply

Josies answer: Thank you listening to Money Matters and I greatly appreciate your feedback. I am having so much fun and thoroughly enjoy answering questions on the radio and this website.

It is obvious there is such a great need for this type of service. Read more

I am business owner and I am questioning my accountant’s advice.

Q. We are business owners and our accountant has us pay a designated amount into super each month. We are reluctant to do this at the moment and have that amount lose money immediately when banks are offering over 8%. Should we try to delay these payments?

Josie’s answer: I am finding that many people are asking similar questions. Why put my money into superannuation when they might get a higher return by investing in a cash management account or term deposit outside of super. This is where a little research and homework will make it a lot clearer and thank you for asking this great question.

When thinking of superannuation, do not think of it as an investment. This is a common mistake. Superannuation is simply a trust which offers amazing tax concessions. For example, if you had a family trust, would you be asking the same question? Probably not.

Firstly, I will discuss the tax benefits. Lets say your monthly contribution to superannuation Read more

Does an employer have to pay Super to someone who is working 24 hours per week?

Q. Does an employer have to pay the superannuation guarantee charge to someone who is working 24 hours per week?

Josie’s answer: Yes, they do, however, they are exempt from paying super for the following:-· employees paid less than $450 in a calendar month· those aged aged 70 years or more· employees less than 18 years of age and working less than 30 hours per week· non resident employees· employees who are paid for domestic or private work, less than 30 hours per week. Read more

Do I get a refund of tax when my super is negative?

Q. Investment earnings in superannuation are taxed at 15%. What happens when your super fund makes a loss? (as may well be for me again this year). Is there no tax? Is there a credit (I wish) or is the loss offset in future years within the fund?

Josie’s answer: This is a really good question and one I am sure lots of visitors to www.askjosiekay.com and listeners of Money Matters will have similar thoughts.

I am also assuming that your superannuation contributions are invested in an industry or retail superannuation fund (in other words, they are managed funds). You are right in stating that investment earnings in superannuation funds are taxed at 15%, however, this the maximum they pay.

In reality, they are probably paying a lot less, particularly if they are invested in shares as they can offset imputation credits attached to shares (in simple terms, they get a refund of any company tax, up to 30%, that may have been paid on the dividend when it is passed on to superannuation fund).

Therefore, you are probably paying a lot less than 15% and may even get a rebate of excess franking credits. I know a bit technical, but this is a good thing. Read more

My Self Managed Super Fund is too volatile and expensive.

Q. My Husband and I have a SMSF (at the suggestion of our Adviser) of about $600K, I have an Industry Fund i.e. First State Super (NSW) of around $99K, with a diversified portfolio we are paying our adviser 1.25%, plus the accountant for the Tax return.

During the times of extreme volatility the Industry fund was not “hammered” nearly as much as our own fund, we are considering moving all funds to the Industry,as the fees are much less. Can or should we and what could be the implications e.g. CGT etc We are both 57 and not working and may need to draw down in the near future.Josie’s answer: As you did not mention where your funds are invested within your Self Managed Superannuation Fund (SMSF) it is difficult for me to provide an opinion as to whether you should redeem these investments and transfer to an industry fund, such as First State Super (NSW). However, I would like you to think about the following:-

Read more

I need help Consolidating my Super?

Q. I have a few superannuation funds which I am trying to consolidate and finding the whole process very frustrating. Any suggestions?

Josie’s Answer - Congratulations on trying to organise your financial life.

As you know having a few super funds probably means that you are paying extra fees, which will only hurt you financially in the future. There may also be a financial planner or two also receiving some commission and probably not giving you any service.

The problem these days is that you need to provide documents which are certified by an acceptable person. Acceptable documents include your driver’s license, passport, birth certificate (plus many others). Read more