WILL THE SUPER REFORMS HURT?

From 1 July 2017, a range of super reforms announced in the 2016 Federal Budget will take effect.

For most people, the impact of these changes will be positive or neutral.

Super remains a very attractive place to save for retirement. And there may be opportunities to grow your super and retire with more.

If your income is below $250,000 (for 2017/18), while you build up your super, pre-tax contributions and investment earnings will generally continue to be taxed at the low rate of up to a maximum of 15%, not your marginal tax rate of up to 49%. 

Also, when you retire, you can still transfer a generous amount into a superannuation pension, where no tax is paid on investment earnings and payments are generally tax-free at age 60 and over.

Next steps...

Once you have read through this guide, you should consider making an appointment with your financial adviser. They can assess the impact the super reforms could have for you, as well as review your retirement savings plans and the strategies you are using. 

Beyond that, as we head towards the end of another financial year, now is a great time to see if there is anything else you could be doing to tax-effectively build and protect your wealth.

If you don’t have an adviser, you call us (Westmount Financial) on 9382 8885 to arrange an appointment. 

View a basic, 'at a glance' guide here.

Rick Maggi

Where are we now?

It’s now a decade since the first problems with US sub-prime mortgages started to appear and nearly eight years since share markets hit their global financial crisis lows. From those lows in 2009 lows US shares are up 239%, global shares are up 167% and Australian shares are up 80% (held back by relatively higher interest rates, the absence of money printing, the plunge in commodity prices from their 2011 highs and the high $A).

An obvious question is how close the next downturn is, which ultimately relates to where we are in the investment cycle. 

Read more here