Super

[stang65]

Hi all,
just wanted to pass on my experience with my super company.
I have been out of work for the past year and have just noticed on my latest super statement that I was charged $437.00 for insurance premium and $426.00 for income replacement.

Now at no time did I agree to these but the super company say`s that the employer puts them in by default.

They have now left me with $1500.00 in my super account. These super comapnies are bleeding people dry with fees and charges. if no money is being paid in by the employer why would I need income protection?

My advice to everybody is keep an eye on your super as i beleive super to be the biggest scam out there at the moment.

[Bobman]

Yeah, it is a scam. Hence why I pulled my money out under financial hardship and reinvested it in other smarter ways.

They're just like banks these days with fees, etc.

[Mr Hardware]

stang65, you make an excellent point. If you're even remotely close to retirement (whether it feels like it or not) or you have any decent amount of super, be very, very, very careful. Be fully aware of what's going on with it and what could happen. Be aware of what it's invested in and how, and what the ramifications could be if things were to go sour, and how that would affect your life! Super isn't a scam, but it is nowhere near the blissful little pocket of unworry that the vast majority of the population think it is.

[Black F6]

Life insurance inside super is a great idea, the only place its tax deductible, but makes no sense to have income protection in there, the tax rate would be lower than your own

[MO]

No super is not a scam but you the person should be researching what is best for you. There are a myriad of schemes out there some have woeful fees and charges other dont.

For me any scheme that is high risk and high fees etc don't touch it unless you can absorb the possible loss. Even though low to no risk schemes don't return much they are safe and you will always get your money and the more you put in now is the more you will need when you retire.

Most ppl around the age of 25 to 30 now will need about $1,500,000.00 at retirement to live comfortably.

My advice do your research get yourself a good accountant/financial advisor there fees are tax deductible.

[GT0132]

Originally Posted by BFXRScott

Life insurance inside super is a great idea, the only place its tax deductible, but makes no sense to have income protection in there, the tax rate would be lower than your own

Yep spot on....If you don't want life or income protection insurance as part of your super fund you can easily opt out of it.

[stang65]

I have a few policies and I have been meaning to merge them the redtape to do this is ridicoulos. they want to know all the stop dates of previous employers etc.Super should be just linked to your TFN and should just follow you from job to job. Not to mention I could see the previous company I worked for that set up this super most likely would of have received a kickback form the super company.

look how super has performed over the past few years, i have a friend who is a financial advisor.One of her clients super lost quite a large sum of money which she was relying on to retire on. Now she only has 2/3 of her super,she wanted to retire then but copped the **************** line that the market will bounce back.

The goverment should have taken control of super, there should be no fees and should be guaranteed by the goverment similar to . That would make sure these super companies and finacial advisor can`t rip off the public.

[Mr Hardware]

For me any scheme that is high risk and high fees etc don't touch it unless you can absorb the possible loss.

Its all about how close you are to retirement. Risk equals return remember, and when the market tanks and you're ages off retirement, it's actually a good thing. You're buying more for your super dollar.

Most ppl around the age of 25 to 30 now will need about $1,500,000.00 at retirement to live comfortably.

Close. If you want to retire for 30yrs on a good benefit now, you're looking at just shy of a mil - for me i'm looking at needing close to 3mil (in future dollars, the equivalent of about $900k now) to retire when i will.

My advice do your research get yourself a good accountant/financial advisor there fees are tax deductible.

Excellent advice. Anyone who doesn't see a financial planner incrementally is a fool, there is no other word for it. It might cost you a couple of hundred now, but that will eventuate into thousands later down the track, if not peace of mind.

i have a friend who is a financial advisor.One of her clients super lost quite a large sum of money which she was relying on to retire on. Now she only has 2/3 of her super,she wanted to retire then but copped the **************** line that the market will bounce back.

Case No.1 of putting all your eggs in one basket. I don't think i'd ever blindly trust something to support me financially for the rest of my life! Check it all out, especially if you're even remotely close to retirement.

none of this constitutes legal or financial advice blah blah blah

[bafel]

stang65 - are you with an industry super fund? Sounds like you aren't. You could save a fair bit on fees

[Spudz27]

I still need to ring my super company. I got a statement last week, it said $7,524 had been withdrawn and my balance was 0. WTF is with that I have to ring them and find out what that means, because if for some reason they have withdrawn 7g from my super there will be hell to pay.

[mcnamg]

Industry funds seem to like playing games with rollovers and try to make you provide a letter of termination or a some evidence to say you have left the company you were with before they allow you to roll over your funds. I work for a financial planning firm and deal with this on a daily basis.

The other thing industry and employer funds are doing at the moment is increasing the number of standard units of insurance the give to all members by default. This is a little shonky as they are doing it as an opt out system whereby they send a letter to your mailing address on file (these can be seriously out of date too) telling you they are giving you $xxx of life and tpd and $xxx per month of income protection and it will cost $xx if you dont want it let us know and we will cancel it otherwise it starts in 2 weeks. This is dodgy as there is many many people who have lost super who have moved and changed employers and dont realise they have a few thousand in these accounts and it is being slowly whittled down to $0 as a result of insurance they didnt even want. There is only one person benefiting from this and it is the super fund as there is no commissions being paid to advisers or employers in this situation.

So much for industry funds being set up with low fees to protect members.

It is extremely important to ensure you know where your super is invested and how it is invested and to be aware of all fees and charges you are being charged. You are entitled to choice of fund under current regulations and if you dont like the fund that your employer has put you into it is your right to change.

Also it pays to read the fine print on the insurance policies attached to your super as well as many industry super funds are worded such that if you leave the employ of the company who set up the account for you the insurance is no longer valid but it is up to you to notify the super fund and cancel the cover and no refunds will be given.

Super is a great tax effective way to plan for retirement but its not a set and forget service definately pay attention to whats going on

[sgt_doofey]

Originally Posted by mcnamg

if you dont like the fund that your employer has put you into it is your right to change.

An employer can't put you in to a fund anymore, as per the super choice laws. They will have a default super provider should you not provide one for them.

[mcnamg]

Originally Posted by sgt_doofey

An employer can't put you in to a fund anymore, as per the super choice laws. They will have a default super provider should you not provide one for them.

Correct poor choice of words on my behalf. Employers cant force you into a fund but unless you provide the employer with alternate super fund details they will put you into their default fund.

[Feathers]

This is exactly why Dad has started a self-managed super fund.

[FPV+fteT3]

Originally Posted by Feathers

This is exactly why Dad has started a self-managed super fund.

This is what I did was recommended by my accountant it has its benefits.