Sooz
24th February 2015, 10:18
In Oz, we call this superannuation, USA, 401K, social security you save up for on a compulsory basis.
There are moves here now in Oz, to taking those steps to take it all by stealth and may be coming sooner than you think.
Here is a maverick financial newsletter I receive in Oz. This is just one of the many I've received in the last weeks.
It just doesn't apply to Oz, it's a plan set in motion a long time ago, for every country I the world. It's coming at us at a staggering pace. (For the record I got my paltry amount out a few years ago.)
Here is the newsletter from Fitzroy Press, Melbourne, Australia: (Bold is mine).
Government ‘Super Grab’ Takes Another Turn for the Worse...
Monday, 23 February 2015
Melbourne, Australia
By Kris Sayce
Publisher’s Note: Our friends over at The Daily Reckoning have launched a brand new podcast on iTunes. Already there are six episodes including world famous trend tracker Gerald Celente, controversial forecaster Phillip J Anderson, and Money Morning’s very own Kris Sayce. There are plenty more guests from all over the financial world scheduled, so check it out now. It’s totally independent and FREE.
We wish we were wrong on this. We really do. But it doesn’t seem likely.The more we look, the more we find.And it’s all leading to the same conclusion — if you have a super fund, you’ll never see a single cent of it in retirement…
We’re currently putting together an information pack to help investors prepare for the inevitable. That is, the government making gradual moves towards taking your super fund.
We’ve warned about this for six years. And yet, even as it’s happening there are folks who don’t believe it. They think no government could ever get away with it. Well, think that way if you want. But politicians and bureaucrats are pretty smart. They know how to take money from the private sector.
And of course, they don’t do all the work themselves. Oh no. They get the public to do it for them. Simple. Government pits man against man. Look at the comments section on any article to do with changes to the taxes on super. Around 90% of them are egging the government on to ‘tax the rich’. Most of the comments say how it’s not fair that the working classes and middle classes subsidise tax breaks for the rich.
Of course, what they forget is that the ‘rich’ (the real rich), probably pay 20, 50, or 100 times in tax than most in the middle classes anyway.So the idea that they’re subsidising the rich isn’t quite right.
But that’s not the main point. Those who are urging the government to increase taxes on super don’t realise that those taxes will actually harm the middle classes more than the rich.
They don’t realise that there are maximum contribution amounts for super. They don’t realise that the real rich don’t put their money anywhere near the super system. They have their money locked up in company holdings, family trusts, and other tax effective ways of shielding their wealth from the government.
An attack on super harms only two sets of people — the working class and the middle class. In other words, the same groups who always suffer from taxes.Yet, still they urge the government on, like the bloodthirsty crowd at a gladiator fight.
You will never see your super. There’s no doubt this all plays into the government’s hands. And as you’d expect, the vested interests in the super industry — fund managers — have spotted the opportunity to move in to shore up the fight.
Take this report from the Australian over the weekend:
‘Retail superannuation funds are backing an increase to 65 in the age at which people gain access to their savings while not-for-profit industry funds want tax concessions for multi-millionaires wound back as the nation seeks to ease pressure on the Age Pension.’
No surprises there. We’re sure you can guess why the super industry wants to restrict your access to your own retirement money, right? That’s right. The long you super remains in the accumulation phase, the longer the parasites in the funds management industry can cream off 2% of your money each year.
Make no mistake, it’s a big sum of money. Think of it this way. Once you hit your ‘preservation age’, you can withdraw every last cent from your super fund. That means you don’t have to pay the fund managers a single cent in fees.
You can take the money out, stick it in a bank account, buy shares, and of course begin spending it in retirement. But as long as it stays in super, you can’t do anything with it (unless you have a self-managed super fund). Think of the difference this will have for the funds management industry if they can lock up your cash for five more years.
If you have a modest $500,000 in your super fund, odds are you’re paying about 2% in management fees. That’s a staggering $10,000 per year. If the funds management industry can keep that locked up for another five years, that’s $50,000 in fees they get to swipe. And that’s just from one modest fund.
Multiply that across everyone with a super fund below the age of 60, and you can see how much this will mean for the industry.It’s no wonder that they’re working hand over fist to lobby the government…claiming that you can’t be trusted to look after your own money…that the only safe option is to let the fund managers look after it…in exchange for an extra $50,000 in fees.
Super industry lobbies for $20 billion fee increase. But don’t just take our maths for it. As the Australian article explains:
‘The Financial Services Council told The Weekend Australian it wanted the superannuation preservation age to rise gradually to 65, citing research showing that, for every extra year of work, private superannuation savings increase by $200 billion.
‘Raising the preservation age by five years could produce another $1 trillion in retirement savings.’
The article and the Financial Services Council failed to mention one thing. 2% of $1 trillion is $20 billion in fees. That will head straight for the funds management industry’s coffers.
Don’t be naïve about this. This has nothing to do with helping you prepare for retirement. It has everything to do with the government getting its hands on your super savings. And the funds management industry is helping them do it.
Warning issued. We’ll have details on practical ways to avoid this outcome soon.
PS: If you think we’re over-reacting on the blatant attacks on super, check out this quote we came across just this morning. It’s from Professionalplanner.com.au: ‘Superannuation tax breaks for the rich is the “worst piece of public policy since white Australia”, Garry Weaven pioneer of industry funds said at Conexus Financial’s 18th annual Investment Administration Conference, held last week.’ Got that? It now seems that if you have the temerity to save you’re a racist! They’re coming for you super. You better believe it.
There are moves here now in Oz, to taking those steps to take it all by stealth and may be coming sooner than you think.
Here is a maverick financial newsletter I receive in Oz. This is just one of the many I've received in the last weeks.
It just doesn't apply to Oz, it's a plan set in motion a long time ago, for every country I the world. It's coming at us at a staggering pace. (For the record I got my paltry amount out a few years ago.)
Here is the newsletter from Fitzroy Press, Melbourne, Australia: (Bold is mine).
Government ‘Super Grab’ Takes Another Turn for the Worse...
Monday, 23 February 2015
Melbourne, Australia
By Kris Sayce
Publisher’s Note: Our friends over at The Daily Reckoning have launched a brand new podcast on iTunes. Already there are six episodes including world famous trend tracker Gerald Celente, controversial forecaster Phillip J Anderson, and Money Morning’s very own Kris Sayce. There are plenty more guests from all over the financial world scheduled, so check it out now. It’s totally independent and FREE.
We wish we were wrong on this. We really do. But it doesn’t seem likely.The more we look, the more we find.And it’s all leading to the same conclusion — if you have a super fund, you’ll never see a single cent of it in retirement…
We’re currently putting together an information pack to help investors prepare for the inevitable. That is, the government making gradual moves towards taking your super fund.
We’ve warned about this for six years. And yet, even as it’s happening there are folks who don’t believe it. They think no government could ever get away with it. Well, think that way if you want. But politicians and bureaucrats are pretty smart. They know how to take money from the private sector.
And of course, they don’t do all the work themselves. Oh no. They get the public to do it for them. Simple. Government pits man against man. Look at the comments section on any article to do with changes to the taxes on super. Around 90% of them are egging the government on to ‘tax the rich’. Most of the comments say how it’s not fair that the working classes and middle classes subsidise tax breaks for the rich.
Of course, what they forget is that the ‘rich’ (the real rich), probably pay 20, 50, or 100 times in tax than most in the middle classes anyway.So the idea that they’re subsidising the rich isn’t quite right.
But that’s not the main point. Those who are urging the government to increase taxes on super don’t realise that those taxes will actually harm the middle classes more than the rich.
They don’t realise that there are maximum contribution amounts for super. They don’t realise that the real rich don’t put their money anywhere near the super system. They have their money locked up in company holdings, family trusts, and other tax effective ways of shielding their wealth from the government.
An attack on super harms only two sets of people — the working class and the middle class. In other words, the same groups who always suffer from taxes.Yet, still they urge the government on, like the bloodthirsty crowd at a gladiator fight.
You will never see your super. There’s no doubt this all plays into the government’s hands. And as you’d expect, the vested interests in the super industry — fund managers — have spotted the opportunity to move in to shore up the fight.
Take this report from the Australian over the weekend:
‘Retail superannuation funds are backing an increase to 65 in the age at which people gain access to their savings while not-for-profit industry funds want tax concessions for multi-millionaires wound back as the nation seeks to ease pressure on the Age Pension.’
No surprises there. We’re sure you can guess why the super industry wants to restrict your access to your own retirement money, right? That’s right. The long you super remains in the accumulation phase, the longer the parasites in the funds management industry can cream off 2% of your money each year.
Make no mistake, it’s a big sum of money. Think of it this way. Once you hit your ‘preservation age’, you can withdraw every last cent from your super fund. That means you don’t have to pay the fund managers a single cent in fees.
You can take the money out, stick it in a bank account, buy shares, and of course begin spending it in retirement. But as long as it stays in super, you can’t do anything with it (unless you have a self-managed super fund). Think of the difference this will have for the funds management industry if they can lock up your cash for five more years.
If you have a modest $500,000 in your super fund, odds are you’re paying about 2% in management fees. That’s a staggering $10,000 per year. If the funds management industry can keep that locked up for another five years, that’s $50,000 in fees they get to swipe. And that’s just from one modest fund.
Multiply that across everyone with a super fund below the age of 60, and you can see how much this will mean for the industry.It’s no wonder that they’re working hand over fist to lobby the government…claiming that you can’t be trusted to look after your own money…that the only safe option is to let the fund managers look after it…in exchange for an extra $50,000 in fees.
Super industry lobbies for $20 billion fee increase. But don’t just take our maths for it. As the Australian article explains:
‘The Financial Services Council told The Weekend Australian it wanted the superannuation preservation age to rise gradually to 65, citing research showing that, for every extra year of work, private superannuation savings increase by $200 billion.
‘Raising the preservation age by five years could produce another $1 trillion in retirement savings.’
The article and the Financial Services Council failed to mention one thing. 2% of $1 trillion is $20 billion in fees. That will head straight for the funds management industry’s coffers.
Don’t be naïve about this. This has nothing to do with helping you prepare for retirement. It has everything to do with the government getting its hands on your super savings. And the funds management industry is helping them do it.
Warning issued. We’ll have details on practical ways to avoid this outcome soon.
PS: If you think we’re over-reacting on the blatant attacks on super, check out this quote we came across just this morning. It’s from Professionalplanner.com.au: ‘Superannuation tax breaks for the rich is the “worst piece of public policy since white Australia”, Garry Weaven pioneer of industry funds said at Conexus Financial’s 18th annual Investment Administration Conference, held last week.’ Got that? It now seems that if you have the temerity to save you’re a racist! They’re coming for you super. You better believe it.