superannuation - Economics Students Society of Australia

superannuation

A collection of 14 posts

Does Australia’s Retirement Income System Provide Adequate Retirement Outcomes?

Does Australia’s Retirement Income System Provide Adequate Retirement Outcomes?

Will I have enough money to retire? It’s not a question that many people think about until they near the end of their working lives. The question of how much to retire with is an important one. After all, everyone only has one chance to get it right. Most

Should the Superannuation Guarantee increase to 12%?

Should the Superannuation Guarantee increase to 12%?

Amidst the economic recovery currently underway in Australia, the federal government has an important decision that will decide the retirement outcomes for all Australians. This decision is whether or not to stop the planned increases in the Superannuation Guarantee (SG) rate. The rate currently stands at 9.5% (of earnings)

Budget 2017: Housing affordability

Budget 2017: Housing affordability

The 2017 Federal Budget arrived on Tuesday night, and brought with it various policies which will undoubtedly impact on Australian housing affordability. If you ever want to stop eating smashed avocado and save for a house one day, read on. Arguably, some of the budget’s policies may actually exacerbate

Superannuation – A disconnect between mind and matter?

Superannuation – A disconnect between mind and matter?

Let’s face it, Superannuation is a topic that is furthest away from the minds of many students: an annoyance that is deducted from our pay slips. However, what is surprising is that this apathetic attitude towards Superannuation is prevalent not just among Australia’s youth but across the general

The disconnect between economic policy and thought

The disconnect between economic policy and thought

One of my old economics lecturers used to advise the government on economic policy. He once told me that presenting economic policy to the government can be very unrewarding. He said that what the government considers to be sound policy is often rejected under the guise of being bad politics.

Pensions: The need for present action to prevent future problems

ageing population

Pensions: The need for present action to prevent future problems

Global pension plans collectively are estimated to sustain a multi-trillion dollar shortfall. Demographic changes, years of political standstill and the great recession have led to pension obligations being underfunded worldwide. If this retirement income crisis is not addressed adequately it will not only have serious economic consequences, but will lead

Super leagues not playing on a level field

Super leagues not playing on a level field

The Australian superannuation industry has been subjected to criticism for charging high fees relative to its international counterparts. The Grattan Institute report Super Sting published in April last year finds that Australian superannuation fees are approximately three times the median rate of developed countries – at 1.2 per cent per

ageing population

Not so super

In between studying, I work part time at a clothing store. Every week, I receive my payslip, and towards the bottom, I see a (very small) amount of money put into my superannuation. When I retire – many, many years from now – I hope that super will have grown into something

Self-managed super funds: a blessing or a bomb?

Self-managed super funds: a blessing or a bomb?

I remember sitting in a finance lecture on superannuation, presumably paying little attention, until the lecturer suddenly decided to embark upon a tangential rant. Being an avid listener of talkback radio on the long drives to and from Monash University, Clayton, I had acquired a taste for the rhetorical art-form

Reflections on Australia’s first public policy case competition

ageing population

Reflections on Australia’s first public policy case competition

This year ESSA, in partnership with the Boston Consulting Group and the Grattan Institute, ran Australia’s first ever public policy case competition. The topic was “Superannuation: Australia’s retirement plan”. The ageing population presents a long-term, complex and challenging policy task for present day Australia. Teams were asked to

Editors' Picks - 14 September 2014

Editors' Picks - 14 September 2014

This week in Editors’ Picks, we take a look at the gender pay gap consequences of having children, superannuation: policy suggestions and fact-checks, international comparisons of quality-of-life and a dash of sports economics The Motherhood Penalty vs. The Fatherhood Bonus – Claire Cain Miller Miller wades into the gender divide debate,

Are your parents about to rip you off?

Today I want to talk about superannuation. No! No! Don’t stop reading. Seriously, this is important. Yes, I know that many readers of this site are below thirty, so that an article on superannuation has about as much appeal as a discussing aged accommodation and colonoscopies. But it is

Superannuation: an incentive to save or upper-class welfare?

Superannuation: an incentive to save or upper-class welfare?

Superannuation reform – how boring, right? I suspect you aren’t aware of this fundamental loophole though. Consider this. Currently, the Australian superannuation system allows an individual who has (a) reached 60 years of age and (b) decided to permanently retire to simply withdraw all of their funds from super – completely

Taxation of Superannuation

By Professor John Freebairn Superannuation is a form of remuneration and labour cost, and it is a form of saving current income for future consumption in retirement. In terms of equity and efficiency, it is desirable that the taxation of superannuation be similar, if not identical, across different forms of