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10 March 2026
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Always a good read for current issues. Perhaps a reduced emphasis on poor $3m+ individuals.
Always a good read for current issues. Perhaps a reduced emphasis on boomers and more on Gen-X.
Totally agree. Tax-free $6m a couple in superannuation, income of $30,000 each from other sources and pay no tax! I feel good luck to them, enjoy life, no one has yet taken a cent to the afterlife! If there is one!
I have enjoyed it for many years and is one of my prime sources of information
Agree with Raymond. Would you please focus more on those of us living in the real world of super balances.
Calculate using your own inputs: = NPER(7%, ((1 - 15%) * 27500) + -110000, -750000, 3000000) = 11.2 y
well prepared content
Any one who shrugs their shoulders and says in relation to the proposed $3M cap 'well it doesn't apply to me' you are on notice. At a return of 7% pa your asset will double in value every 10 years. That means that if you have $1.5M in super now, in ten years time you will be hitting the un-indexed cap of $3M. If you have 750K in super now you will hit the cap in 20 years. Therefore the valuable commentary, largely by Graham, is very relevant to many people.
That would assume that you're in accumulation phase and not drawing down on your super at all. So if you're 50-55 (depending on whether you're planning to commence a pension at 60 or 65) then you need to have 1.5 mill now. If you're 40-45 then you need to have $750k now. Those certainly aren't impossible figures to have, but we're really talking about the top 10% or so of the population. I don't like the fact that this is in real terms a retrospective change to super, but I also think that someone with 3 mill in super of which 1.7 mill is in pension should be paying a higher tax rate on earnings than 0% on their pension and 15% or the other 1.3 mill, which is an overall tax rate of roughly 5%. If someone wants to argue that they're also missing out on the $21,000 or $26,000 of welfare in the form of age pension (depending on marital status) then sure that's fair, but assuming earnings of 5% on the total super amount of $3,000,000 so $150,000, and tax of $9,750 on the 5% in the $1,300,000 in accumulation phase, plus foregone welfare of $21,000, then you're looking at a total of $30,000 out of $150,000. Not peanuts, but surely a sum of money that someone with 3 mill in super might consider to be reasonable.
leaving aside any withdrawals Anne.
That is the point of the $3m cap. $3m will provide a comfortable retired living. Until you reach that $3m balance, enjoy the tax shelter while your balance grows. After reaching the balance, a discounted tax rate is not required to be paid to you by most other tax payers who have a snowflake in hell of achieving 10% of $3m - particularly women.
"snowflake in hell of achieving 10% of $3m": Minimum real after super tax rate of return, with maximum concessional contributions, required to achieve "10% of $3m": = RATE((67 - 27), (1 - 15%) * -27500, 0, 10% * 3000000) = -7.438% / y (- = loss) Real contributions, with o% real return, required to achieve "10% of $3m: = PMT(0%, (67 - 27), 0, 10% * 3000000) / (1 - 15%) = $-8,823.53 / y (- = contribution) Middle of the road proof: = RATE((67 - 27), (1 - 15%) * -8823.53, 0, 10% * 3000000) = 0.0%
Anne, how about $360k in super? ASFA, March 2022. Average super balance for a 60-64 year-old male is $359,870. At a return of 7% pa a 64 year-old male will hit the cap at the age of 104 years.
Sorry Anne, that should have been 94 years, not 104 years, but I could give you some scary numbers for a 64 year old female on a median (not average) super balance.
"64 year old female on a median (not average) super balance": = (137051 + 180718) / 2 = $158,884.50 https://www.afr.com/policy/tax-and-super/how-your-super-balance-compares-with-people-your-age-20220318-p5a5sn Age Pension Asset Test single: = $280,000 Age Pension single home owner full: = 26 f * 1026.50 / f = $26,689.00 / y Plenty live & entertain with spare to save.
Survey done! We all need steady regular cashflow. Besides Peter Thornhill, who else out there is doing good old fashioned dividend growth investing and can capably write about it? Let’s hear them please. As for Super dramas, there are other products and places to keep retirement money. Super is now in the cross hairs of legislation change, so just don’t have all your eggs in that basket.
Good source of information. Have tried to influence/introduce women to your newsletters but find that once brackets, percentages and calculations appear they turn off. Accountant type hyperbole of no interest. Look at the Dixon Fiasco. Perhaps more info to those on balances under $350,000. That is the real world of super, we can only dream of figures in the millionaire bracket.
"dream of figures in the millionaire bracket": Millionaire full Age Pension at deeming rate: = (26 * -1547.6) / 2.25% = -$1,788,337.78 (- = invested) Regrettable only while alive. Mortals: = PV(0%, (87 - 67), 26 * 1547.6, 0) = -$804,752.00 (- = invested)
I appreciate the range of views expressed in Firstlinks publications.
The method of calculating "income" for the proposed $3 million "cap" contains within it the indefensible idea of including unrealized paper gains in the market value of investments which would have the potential effect of penalizing investment in any speculative early stage exploration biotech or "tech" stocks. An example from my own experience is a biotech stock whose market price in the three years has gone from 2 cents to 60 cents and back to 12 cents. Anyone fortunately buying and selling at the the right time would have made real taxable capital gains, but anyone who simply held during this period may have huge paper gains which could now be called "income", at the same time as when the total value of the portfolio was temporarily inflated and exceeded the new "cap". This looks like another unintended consequence of poorly thought out proposal.
I forgot to mention in my comments, more PETER THORNHILL or similar articles please.
A more rational taxation system that supports home ownership but discourages asset speculation could provide greater financial support to first home buyers.
Our cost-of-living pressures go beyond the RBA: surging house prices, excessive migration, and expanding government programs, including the NDIS, are fuelling inflation, demanding bold, structural solutions.
The post-World War Two economic system is unravelling, leading to huge shifts in currency, bond and commodity markets, yet stocks seem oblivious to the chaos. This looks to history as a guide for what’s next.
The capital gains tax discount is under review, but debate should go beyond its size. Its original purpose, design flaws and distortions suggest Australia could adopt a better, more targeted approach.
This is my last edition as Editor of Firstlinks. I’m moving onto a new role though the newsletter will remain in good hands until my permanent replacement is found.
Most commentary on gold's recent record highs focus on it being the product of fear or speculative momentum. That's ignoring the deeper structural drivers at play.
An ageing Australia is shifting the superannuation system’s focus from accumulation to the lifecycle of retirement. While these pressures have been anticipated for decades, they are now converging at scale and driving widespread industry change.
Evidence for a strong reporting season had been piling up for months and validated an upgrade cycle already underway. However, risks remain from policy uncertainty.
One in five Australians die before retirement and most have not set up their super properly so their loved ones can benefit from all their hard work and savings.
Getting a mortgage is never an easy process but when an investment property is purchased in a SMSF the complexity increases significantly. Read this before taking the plunge.
Good advisers lead to more diversification, lower turnover and less home bias. However, studies show the average adviser may not be adding much value to clients.
When the new AFL season kicks off a wild-card will be added to the finals. Is this new formula fair and how does it impact the odds of winning the premiership.
Investors have historically balked at exchanging a lump sum for a future steam of income. Breaking down the financial and emotional considerations of purchasing an annuity.