Retirement Update Oct 2016

ISSUE 12

OCTOBER 2016

Retirement Update

It’s time to learn...

• if it’s ever too late to change your super fund • if you should reconsider the importance of cash in your retirement investments • if your household spending is out of control • exactly how deeming affects your Age Pension • which top 10 stocks Marcus Padley would choose to boost retirement savings, and • whether the updated super changes will benefit you.

Read on to find the answers.

YourLifeChoices Retirement Update October 2016

1

Once you’ve retired, is your super set in stone?

Once you’ve retired, which changes can you still make to your super fund? Adam Gee weighs up the possibilities, with tips to ensure that your returns remain competitive.

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hilst most Australians recognise that they have a number of options in relation to their fund or investment option while they are accumulating money in superannuation, there is often a misconception that after retirement the funds and options available concerning pension products are more limited.

This is not the case, however, as demonstrated

by SuperRatings’ latest round of ratings, which assessed more than 175 different pension products, across a range of industry, retail, corporate and government superannuation funds. There are a plethora of different pension products on the market that enable individuals to continue to take an active approach to the management of their assets during their retirement. This may include an entire change of fund/product provider, or a shift between different investment options with your existing provider.

The following information summarises the key points that you need to consider for each of these options.

Option 1 - Changing between funds/product providers There are a number of additional considerations that must be taken into account when considering a change of pension product provider (for example, moving from a pension provided by AMP to one provided by AustralianSuper). These necessary considerations are mainly due to the effects of the raft of changes to social security and the Age Pension, made by the Federal Government over the last five years.

As with many aspects of superannuation, there remains substantial complexity between the interaction of pension products and the social security features of the Age Pension. As many individuals will be aware, Centrelink uses a twopronged approach to determine whether an individual is eligible to receive the Age Pension in retirement; being the assets test and the income test.

For those individuals who have maintained their pension with the same provider for many years, any change to a new provider may result in a reduction in any Age Pension benefit that they may be 2

YourLifeChoices Retirement Update October 2016

receiving. For example, the income received from any pension that was purchased prior to 1 January 2015 is not currently counted towards the social security income test. A pension purchased after this date, however, will have a portion of the income “deemed” and counted towards the income test, which will generally lead to a reduction in the level of the Age Pension received.

On this basis, for anyone who is considering changing their pension product provider, it is imperative to seek financial advice to ensure that any change will have a minimal impact on any Age Pension benefit you may be receiving.

the difference between the top performing pension product and the bottom…over the course of a year, was 9.53 per cent.

That said, SuperRatings recognises that there continues to be a wide range of investment performance variance across the industry, suggesting that you should be reviewing how your provider has performed on a regular basis (at least once a year), to ensure that your returns remain competitive. The following tables show the performance of the top five pension product balanced investment options, over the 12 months to 31 August 2016, compared with the performance of the bottom five pension products.

Top five returning pension products Pension product/option*

Return

HOSTPLUS - Balanced

11.58%

Cbus - Growth

10.88%

Catholic Super - Balanced

10.59%

QSuper - Balanced

10.40%

UniSuper - Balanced

10.17%

* All products noted within the above table are “Balanced options” under SuperRatings investment methodology and maintain an allocation to growth assets of between 60% and 76%.

Bottom five returning pension products Pension option/product*

Return

Australian Catholic Super RetireChoice - Balanced

3.65%

OnePath OneAnswer - OnePath Managed Growth

3.61%

AMP Flexible Lifetime - AMP Balanced Growth

3.48%

OnePath OneAnswer - OptiMix Balanced

3.19%

OnePath OneAnswer - OnePath Active Growth

2.05%

* All products noted within the above table are “Balanced options” under SuperRatings investment methodology and maintain an allocation to growth assets of between 60% and 76%.

As can be seen from the above tables, the difference between the top performing pension product and the bottom performing pension product over the course of a year, was 9.53 per cent. This equates to a difference in earnings of $19,060 on a pension balance of $200,000 in just a single year.

Option 2 - Changing between investment options with your current product provider Unlike changing between providers, you can generally switch between investment options at any time and this will not have an impact on any social security or Age Pension benefit that you may be receiving.

Most pension product providers offer members a range of investment options to choose from, such as asset class specific options (Australian shares,

international shares, fixed interest or cash options, for example), as well as a range of diversified options (such as High Growth, Balanced and Conservative options), which allow individuals to take control of their investment strategy.

Almost all providers allow you to choose a selection of these options, as a member may wish to allocate certain percentages of their balance across a number of these options, providing even greater flexibility.

Once again, it is important that you seek advice from an appropriately qualified financial adviser regarding which investment option (or combination of options) might be the most appropriate for you.

However, it also remains important to track the investment option in which your pension is held, and to review this on a regular basis to ensure that the investment return received is maximised.

For information about individual pension products and their providers, individuals can look at the SuperRatings website (www.superratings.com.au), or to undertake detailed comparisons, individuals can look at the Super Savvy website (www.supersavvy.com.au) for more information.

SuperRatings is an independently owned superannuation research and consulting company providing data analysis, information, consulting services and product benchmarking to the superannuation industry, corporate sector and the general public. SuperRatings prides itself on providing impartial advice to all segments of the market. It actively promotes engagement, education and ownership of superannuation through the provision of a range of research, ratings and consultancy services. Offering the most extensive industry coverage accounting for over $1.2 trillion in funds under management and 22 million member accounts, allows SuperRatings to understand the various costs, fees, products, services and performance of superannuation funds and benchmark these against the broader market.

YourLifeChoices Retirement Update October 2016

3

Rethinking the role of cash in your retirement income In an era of low returns, many retirees are questioning the value of cash investments.

Jon Kalkman of the Australian Investors Association considers the options.

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etirees are traditionally very attached to holding their retirement savings in cash.

The reasons are simple. The value of a cash holding does not fluctuate with market prices, it is government guaranteed up to $250,000 per account * and there is no risk of loss.

Bonds are similarly attractive for retires because they have a guaranteed income payment like interest, called a coupon. If held to maturity, the risk of the bond not returning your capital depends on the creditworthiness of the issuer. With government bonds there is low risk because governments can always levy more taxes to repay bondholders, but government bonds also have the lowest yield.

This demonstrates that risk and return are directly linked; it is difficult to achieve high returns with low risk. If sold before maturity, the bond price is set by the market and depends on many variables.

Accordingly, the change in market price provides scope for capital gains and losses.

Traditionally, many retirees have been encouraged to invest their savings conservatively in cash and bonds to ensure they do not risk their capital.

People who invest aggressively in growth assets, such as shares or property, must accept the risk of volatile market prices and the risk that the asset’s sale price will be lower than its purchase price.

In accepting this risk, these investors have been rewarded, at least in the long term, with higher returns.

The problem for today’s retirees is that we no longer live in a traditional world. Central banks have pushed interest rates very low to zero or below, in an attempt to stimulate economies smashed by the GFC. In the process savers including retirees have been squeezed. In 2007, a term deposit of $800,000 would have generated about $64,000 per year in interest, or eight per cent. Today that same term deposit will generate about $24,000, or three per cent. [Possible breakout] At the same time, the Australian Government has made it more difficult for retirees. Rather than using actual income to determine eligibility for the age

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YourLifeChoices Retirement Update October 2016

pension it uses “deemed” income. Any investment, including superannuation, is deemed to be earning a level of income whether it does so or not. Income in excess of the deeming rate it is not counted and that is a bonus to you. If your investment earns less, your pension is calculated as earning the deeming rate even though you don’t receive it. Using the present deeming rate, a term deposit of $800,000 is deemed to earn $24,791, which is higher than the $24,000 from our term deposit above.

In 2007, a term deposit of $800,000 would have generated about $64,000 per year in interest, or eight per cent. Today that same term deposit will generate about $24,000, or three per cent.

It gets worse. Assume a retired couple own their family home and hold $800,000 in a term deposit – their only other asset. At present they receive a part Age Pension of $567.15 per fortnight or $14,750 per annum in addition to the interest on their term deposit, which at three per cent is $24,000. This gives them a modest retirement income of $38,750 pa. Changes to the Age Pension assets test that take effect from 1 January 2017, mean that this couple will have their age pension reduced to $47.40 per fortnight, or $1,234.40 pa. From this date the couple will see their income fall by more than $13,500 pa. Compare their situation with the couple whose assets are below the test threshold.

From 1 January 2017 they can hold $375,000 and still receive the full Age Pension, plus whatever income their assets can earn.

The search for yield is now a global phenomenon.

This has led many to consider shares as a source of income. This is not a recommendation, but consider Telstra shares. At present they cost about $5.10 each (depending on the day of purchase).

The dividend in 2015-16, which is the shareholder’s share of the profits, was 31 cents per share. That is a yield of six per cent. Under Australia’s unique imputation system, Australian dividends have a tax credit for the company tax already paid. That tax credit can be used to pay other income tax and any unused credits are refunded as cash. Many retirees pay little or no tax because they hold their investments inside a superannuation fund or they benefit from the Senior Australian and Pensioners Tax Offset (SAPTO). That means they can benefit from the cash refund of these tax credits. In that case, the Telstra dividend represents a yield of about 8.6%. This compares very favourably with both a term deposit rate and the deeming rate.

The global search for yield has driven some share prices to unsustainable heights and when interest rates return to normal, the attractiveness of these shares and their market prices will likely fall.

Considerable care and advice is needed in selecting suitable shares for income.

individual appetite for such risk. One thing is certain; dependence upon income from cash will erode your capital very quickly, because the income will not even keep pace with inflation.

In summary, retirees may find it helpful to remember: • Depending on term deposits for income in retirement is very expensive. With a return of three per cent, your capital needs to be 33 times your annual income if you want to live on the income and not eat your capital – and that ignores tax and inflation.

• Bonds are similarly expensive but they have the added risk that their market prices are likely to fall if interest rates rise.

• Some shares provide a viable alternative for income but you must be prepared to tolerate the market volatility of prices. The unsavoury choice is between accepting some market risk or longevity risk – the risk that you outlive your money.

Retiree’s discomfort with shares stems from market volatility. The media’s hysterical fascination with falling prices doesn’t help. Remember market volatility relates to an uncertain sale price. If you are prepared to hold a share for the long-term for income, as you would a bond, the sale price may be less relevant.

* per person per Authorised Deposit-taking Institution

Low interest rates mean that retirees need to accept more risk. How much, depends on your

This is not investment advice. The views of the author may not represent the views of the AIA Board or members.

Jon Kalkman trained as a teacher before qualifying as a psychologist. He has held various positions in schools, including spending 10 years as principal of special schools, and has also worked within the Department of Education. Jon joined the Australian Investors Association (AIA) in 2005. He is currently Vice President of the AIA and Chair of the Brisbane Committee.

YourLifeChoices Retirement Update October 2016

5

Your retirement living costs

June quarter costs In September, the Association of Super Funds of Australia (ASFA) released the ASFA Retirement Standard.

ASFA has kindly allowed YourLifeChoices to share this information.

Weekly expenditure for retirees aged 65–85

No change

Increased

Decreased

Comfortable couple

Modest couple

Comfortable single female

Modest single female

Building and contents insurance Rates Home improvements Repairs and maintenance Total housing

32.35 38.00 10.78 18.87 100.00

25.61 32.35 0.00 13.48 71.45

26.96 32.35 10.78 16.17 86.27

25.71 32.48 0.00 16.24 74.43

Electricity and gas Total energy

56.15 56.15

54.18 54.18

41.40 41.40

40.80 40.80

Food – groceries and other fresh food Total food

198.13 198.13

159.61 159.61

110.07 110.07

77.05 77.05

Bundle of home phone, broadband, mobile Total communications

29.65 29.65

14.84 14.84

23.30 23.30

8.48 8.48

Household cleaning and other supplies Cosmetic and personal care items Barber or hairdresser Music and CDs Newspapers and magazines Computer, printer, software Household appliances Pest control, alarm service Total household goods and services

26.12 3.11 20.90 2.18 8.37 4.28 12.00 12.83 89.80

15.67 3.00 9.01 0.00 1.94 4.28 3.04 0.00 36.95

18.81 7.00 15.02 0.32 8.17 4.28 10.22 12.83 76.65

10.45 2.01 5.03 0.00 2.45 4.28 3.04 0.00 27.25

Clothing Total clothing and footwear

57.31 57.31

28.65 28.65

38.21 38.21

17.65 17.65

Car transport and running costs Public transport Total transport

133.36 5.17 138.53

88.64 5.17 93.81

133.36 2.58 135.94

88.64 2.58 91.22

Health insurance Chemist Co-payment and out of pocket Total health services

85.80 25.23 44.27 155.29

68.81 3.44 13.34 85.59

43.65 13.92 30.42 87.99

34.40 1.94 8.01 44.35

Membership clubs TV, DVD, digital camera Alcohol consumed in home (or equivalent spent) Lunches and dinners out Cinema, plays, sport and day trips Domestic vacations Overseas vacations Sundry items Total leisure

9.74 1.80 40.67 81.34 13.63 77.92 54.53 30.08 309.72

1.95 0.90 15.25 25.32 18.99 37.01 0.00 11.68 111.11

4.89 1.80 25.42 60.77 6.81 66.23 37.01 23.07 226.01

0.98 0.90 10.17 30.39 5.85 18.51 0.00 7.79 74.58

Gifts and/or alcohol or tobacco

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

Total weekly expenditure Total annual expenditure

$1,134.58 $59,160

$656.20 $34,216

$825.84 $43,062

$455.81 $23,767

Expenditure items

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YourLifeChoices Retirement Update October 2016

YOUR RETIREMENT BUDGET

How does your spending compare?

Expenditure items

Weekly

Monthly

Annual

Building and contents insurance Rates Home improvements Repairs and maintenance Total housing Electricity and gas Total energy Food – groceries and other fresh food Total food Bundle of home phone, broadband, mobile Total communications Household cleaning and other supplies Cosmetic and personal care items Barber or hairdresser Music and CDs Newspapers and magazines Computer, printer, software Household appliances Pest control, alarm service Total household goods and services Clothing Total clothing and footwear Car transport and running costs Public transport Total transport Health insurance Chemist Co-payment and out of pocket Total health services Membership clubs TV, DVD, digital camera Alcohol consumed in home (or equivalent spent) Lunches and dinners out Cinema, plays, sport and day trips Domestic vacations Overseas vacations Sundry items Total leisure Gifts and/or alcohol or tobacco Total expenditure YourLifeChoices Retirement Update October 2016

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Deeming explained An understanding of deeming rates is critical for those on a full or part Age Pension. Debbie McTaggart makes sense of the dollars and cents.

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entrelink deeming rates are used to determine an average return on a wide variety of investments.

Assessing your Age Pension eligibility Centrelink determines your Age Pension payment and eligibility by assessing your income and assets under each of the means tests. There are certain income and asset-free thresholds that apply to your living situation (single, couple, etc.). If you have income and assets over these thresholds, your payment is reduced.

• Under the income test; your payment is reduced by 50 cents for every dollar over the threshold you receive.

• Under the asset test; your payment is reduced by $1.50 for every $1000 you exceed the asset value threshold.

Under certain circumstances the Minister… can grant an exemption to deeming rates.

You are then paid the lower amount of the two assessments, however, should one calculation return a zero payment, you will not receive any Age Pension.

The income deemed by Centrelink to be received from financial assets is subsequently added to income that you may receive by any other means.

This income is then assessed as part of the Age Pension means test and will ultimately determine whether or not you receive an Age Pension and if you do, the amount of the pension that you will be paid.

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YourLifeChoices Retirement Update October 2016

Why are Centrelink deeming rates used?

By using Centrelink deeming rates rather than actual returns, the process of assessment is streamlined, with Centrelink being able to request less paperwork from customers and ascertain payment rates more quickly. Even if the actual return on investments is greater than the deemed amount, the additional income is not assessed.

The current Centrelink deeming rates and thresholds, as of 1 July 2016, are as follows:

Assets Threshold

Rate of Deemed Income

$0 – $49,200

1.75%

Above $49,200

3.25%

Allowee Couple - per person (1)

$0 – $40,800

1.75%

Above $40,800

3.25%

Pensioner Couple combined (2)

$0 – $81,600

1.75%

Above $81,600

3.25%

Family Situation

Single

How are Centrelink deeming rates applied?

The following is an example of how deeming rates are applied: Paul and Jane are in receipt of the Age Pension and have a combined total of $90,000 in financial assets. This is split between $30,000 in Paul’s savings account, Jane’s term deposit of $20,000 and a jointly held managed investment of $40,000 – all of which pay a different rate of interest.

The total value of financial assets =

$90000

Apply the lower couples threshold of $81,600 and multiply by 1.75%

$1428

Apply the higher couples threshold to the remainder ($90,000 - $81,600 = $8400) $273 and multiply by 3.25% Determine the total deemed income by adding $1428 + $273

$1701

This income is added to any other income, such as that from wages, that Paul and Jane earn and the total is used to determine their Age Pension payment.

How are Centrelink deeming rates set?

Centrelink deeming rates are set by the Minister for Social Services and are monitored regularly to ensure that they reflect the returns on a wide range of investments available in the market.

If I don't receive an Age Pension, do Centrelink deeming rates matter?

Even if you do not receive an Age Pension, Centrelink deeming rates may still be applied to your

financial investments to ascertain your income and therefore your eligibility for a Commonwealth Seniors Health Card (CSHC).

Can I be excluded from Centrelink deeming rates?

Under certain circumstances the Minister for Social Services can grant an exemption to deeming rates and will decide when the exemption will commence. These circumstances are: • when a financial investment has failed, • certain superannuation investments where funds are fully preserved or inaccessible, • accounts that only contains funds paid to participants for a funded package of support through the National Disability Insurance Scheme.

Once an exemption from the Centrelink deeming rates has been granted, the actual return on your investments is what is used to determine your Age Pension eligibility and payment. Deeming exemptions do not apply to the assessable asset value of any financial investment.

YourLifeChoices Retirement Update January 2016

9

Top 10 stocks to boost your retirement savings The volatility of the stock market means that most opt for safe shares.

But Marcus Padley has a better suggestion…

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et’s assume that you are running a selfmanaged super fund (SMSF). Whereas a fund manager will invest across a host of asset classes and hundreds of stocks, it turns out that 50 per cent of SMSF equity investment is invested in just 10 stocks – the 10 biggest stocks. With the top 20 stocks accounting for 53.9 per cent of the All Ordinaries index by market capitalization, you can understand why this is the case. And this is the major difference between equity investment in an SMSF and in a professionally managed fund – the number of stocks. The average SMSF that I’ve seen may hold 20 stocks, less than that is seen as too risky and above that is seen as losing the point of stock picking.

So if we had to pick 10 stocks which ones would they be?

Pose this question to a lot of financial professionals and I can tell you what they will recommend – the ‘Predictable Portfolio’, a portfolio of large stocks that anybody could pick without any risk of being sued for the advice. Such is the consequence of the overregulation of the financial advice industry.

No one on the advice side comes at the investment conundrum from the point of view of the investor anymore, trying to make you money, they first come at it from a liability point of view, trying to make sure their advice won’t get them into trouble.

Of course this sort of ‘sleep-at-night-forever’ portfolio suits a lot of amateur investors who tend to have a low risk threshold and like to stick with the big stocks that they have heard of, many of which are fairly mature, pay a decent dividend and are unlikely to shock. But the reality is that you really don’t need to pay someone 2 per cent of your super balance per annum to do this for you. It’s not a value add to choose the four banks, Telstra, BHP, RIO, Woolworths, Wesfamers and CSL. You can do better.

Plus these stocks are not guaranteed to perform.

Between March 2015 and February 2016 the banks fell 31.4 per cent. BHP and RIO fell hard as well.

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YourLifeChoices Retirement Update October 2016

Woolworths has pretty much halved. Big stocks have their issues at times and it is not ‘safe’ to just buy them, and it’s worth remembering that, as large stocks, their growth is limited.

The way to improve on the Predictable Portfolio is to pick companies on a slightly more scientific basis, not purely the fact that they are big. The way I would do that is to identify positive longterm business themes that promise some chance of growth and are likely to persist for years, rather than months, and in so doing underwrite the long-term share price performance of the stocks exposed to them.

Of course this sort of ‘sleepat-night-forever’ portfolio suits a lot of amateur investors.

At the moment those themes would include some of the following: •A n ageing population. The baby boomer population wave is moving into retirement and as it does the demand on retirement, health and aged care services will remain healthy. This incorporates healthcare equipment stocks such as Cochlear, ResMed, as well as healthcare providers including Sonic Healthcare, Ramsay Health Care and Healthscope.

• I ncome stocks. Infrastructure companies (in particular, airports and toll roads) that do not have competitors or have monopoly style businesses (e.g. banks and utilities). These stocks might include Sydney Airports, Auckland International Airport, Transurban, and utilities such as APA Group, AGL Energy and DUET. These are all low return on equity companies, but are reliable as they have nothing better to do with our money than return it to shareholders.

• Telecommunications. Another industry that isn’t going away is the telecommunications industry, as it is the major conduit for the internet, which has now become vital infrastructure. Telstra dominates ,but there are many midcaps in the space, with one of the most obvious being cloud data centre infrastructure company NextDC. • Disruptors. These are businesses that are exploiting the internet. They will come and go but obvious disruptors include stocks such as Webjet, Realestate.com and Carsales, let alone Dominos Pizza, a modern IT exploiter. Then there are the disruptors like Xero and MYOB. • Healthy growth. Australia has a strong motor industry when it comes to car sales, especially in the 4WD sector. ARB makes 4WD components here and internationally and so are exposed to the healthy growth in car sales.

• Then there is China as a theme. The resources boom is over but the services boom is yet to explode. Stocks such as Bellamy’s and Blackmore’s have only scratched the surface of what is possible when selling to a population of 1.357 billion people, which is growing at 0.5 per cent pa and has a life expectancy of

75.2 years. At some point other Australian services companies will crack the nut and win the trust of the Chinese with their brand.

Out of all that I have plucked out ten big stocks.

Telstra, the Commonwealth Bank, Westpac Bank, Transurban, Sydney Airports, Cochlear, Resmed, Sonic Healthcare, Ramsay Health Care and CSL Limited. And for those of you with a bit more of an appetite for risk, REA Group and smaller stocks NextDC, ARB Corporation, Xero and SG Fleet.

For more on stock picking I invite you to stay up-to-date through my newsletter, Marcus Today. But if you don’t, don’t sue me!

Marcus Padley is the author of the stock market newsletter Marcus Today and a Director of financial services business MTIS Pty Ltd. For a free trial of his newsletter please go to www.marcustoday.com.au Marcus Padley and his Associates may hold securities in the companies mentioned herein. Unless otherwise stated any advice contained in this email is of a general nature only and has been prepared without taking into account your relevant personal circumstances. Those acting upon information contained in this email without first consulting one of MTIS Pty Ltd’s investment advisers do so entirely at their own risk.

YourLifeChoices Retirement Update October 2016

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Super changes update Keeping track of the proposed changes to superannuation is almost a full-time activity, but to make things easier, here’s an update on those which may affect your retirement income.

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nnouncing the long-awaited changes to superannuation in the Federal Budget 2016/17, the Government clearly thought that it had done enough to secure the support of all parties and the public. However, it soon became clear that the legislation for some of the proposed changes would have trouble passing the Senate.

This lead to Treasurer Scott Morrison announcing on 15 September, that certain parts of the proposed legislation would be amended, while others would be scrapped. So, what are the changes now being progressed and how will they affect your retirement plans?

The proposals now being considered are: • $1.6 million cap on balances in retirement income accounts Any amount in excess of $1.6 million must be retained in super or invested by other means.

• Reduce the annual concessional contribution cap to $25,000 If you’re trying to boost your retirement savings by making additional contributions, you will have to keep them below this cap.

• Allow non-concessional contributions of $100,000 per year for those with super balances of less than $500,000 This means you can pay lump sums into your superannuation, as long as your balance is less than $500,000. The bring-forward rule will also remain.

• Improve the integrity of transition to retirement income streams Earnings from TTR pensions will no longer be treated as tax-free and will be taxed in a similar manner as superannuation accounts, attracting a 15 per cent tax impost (depending on your annual income).

• Introduction of the Low Income Superannuation Tax Offset (LISTO) Replacing the Low Income Superannuation Contribution, the LISTO will enable those with adjusted taxable income of $37,000 or less to receive a tax offset of up to $500 to cover tax paid on superannuation guarantee contributions.

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YourLifeChoices Retirement Update October 2016

• Increase the income threshold for recipients of the spouse contribution Currently $10,800, this limit will increase to $40,000, meaning more people will be eligible to access the tax offset.

The proposal to remove the work test for members aged between 65 and 75, who wish to make contributions to superannuation, has been scrapped. The work test will remain in place, although the types of income that qualify for contributions will be extended.

There are also amendments on the table to apply commensurate treatment to defined benefit schemes and constitutionally protected funds.

Most of these changes are scheduled to commence from 1 July 2017, although some, such as non-concession contributions for those with super balances less than $500,000, are scheduled to commence 1 July 2018. All changes are subject to legislation.

For more details on the changes, visit Treasury.gov.au Disclaimer: This material contains general information which has been prepared without taking into account your objectives, financial situation or needs. It has been prepared with due care but no guarantees are provided for the ongoing accuracy or relevance. Before making a decision based on this advice you should consider its appropriateness having regard to your own circumstances. You should seek professional advice from a financial planner, lawyer or tax agent in relation to any aspects that impact your financial and legal circumstances. Date prepared is October 2016.

© YourLifeChoices 2016