Investing in infrastructure means you’re putting money into companies that own and operate essential public assets. These assets are usually necessary services to the community and include the following: Toll Roads Railways Airports Ports Water and electricity supply Communication Assets Hospital and education facilities. Given their history of being government owned/managed, infrastructure assets are generally […]
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Changes to insurance in super from 1 Apr 2020
Earlier in the year we announced the changes to insurance in super that took place from 1 July 2019. They formed part of the government’s ‘Protecting Your Super’ (PYS) package which aims to protect super savings from being eroded by fees and charges. New legislation recently passed in September 2019 introduce new changes to insurance […]
ATO to transfer inactive super balances from 1 Nov 2019
ATO is about to transfer any inactive super balances commencing 1 November 2019. If you have lost superannuation floating around from previous jobs that you’ve perhaps forgotten about or simply haven’t had the time to transfer, the Australian Taxation Office is about to do the work for you. ATO will reconcile inactive super balances with […]
The What, Why, When, on Negative Interest Rates in Australia
According to government data, the Australian economy has been sluggish for some time now. The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) has cut interest rates 3 times this year to historic lows in an effort to improve the rate of growth in our economy. More recently, the RBA announced that they are considering alternate strategies to […]
Overview of Power of Attorneys
A Power of Attorney is an important document that is often overlooked. Many people understand the importance of having a Will, but the same consideration is not given to circumstances where you might be unable to manage your own financial affairs while you’re still alive. A Power of Attorney can be useful when you: are […]
Superannuation Changes from 1 July 2019
A number of superannuation changes takes effect from 1 July 2019. What are they and how might this affect you? Read below to find out. Carry-forward concessional contributions The 2018-19 concessional contributions were capped at $25,000. If you didn’t use all $25,000, you are now able to ‘carry-forward’ the unused concessional contribution amount into your […]
What are the minimum pension payment rules?
Once you reach preservation age, you can start to withdraw your super as an income stream, a lump sum or both. These amounts are tax-free provided you take the minimum pension payment. Why is there a minimum pension payment instead of letting you take what you want? Well, it falls down to the Sole Purpose […]
What is the Double Contribution Strategy?
If you have ever wanted to contribute more money to your Self-Managed Super Fund, the Double Contribution Strategy might be for you. It is a way by which you can effectively double your level of tax-deductible superannuation contributions without exceeding the superannuation contribution caps. So what is the double contribution strategy? Background If you or […]
What is an In-Specie Transfer?
If you have a parcel of shares under your name and you wish to transfer ownership to another entity, instead of a buy-and-sell process, you can perform what’s known as an ‘in-specie transfer’ or ‘in-specie contribution’. An in-specie transfer is like a ‘gifting’ of asset where the ownership of the shares is transferred to another […]
What is a Super Co-Contribution?
Super co-contributions are an initiative by the government to encourage low or middle-income earners to put money into their retirement savings. Basically it works like this: if you earn below a certain amount and you make a personal contribution to your super fund, the government will also make a co-contribution to your super fund. Yes, […]