The Government may have signalled its preparedness to move on reducing deeming rates but it is not prepared to move on superannuation draw-down rates for those aged over 65.
The Treasurer, Josh Frydenberg, used a Sydney radio interview to make clear that Government’s unwillingness to change the draw-down rate formula, despite acknowledging that the deeming rates warranted a review.
In doing so, Frydenberg reinforced the point that the superannuation was not intended to be a wealth accumulation vehicle, but something spent inside the lives of account-holders.
“… it's supposed to be either a substitute or a supplement to the aged pension,” the Treasurer said. “That's why you get a concessional tax arrangement in relation to your super. And when the Government Actuary looked at the current minimum draw down rules, they found that it would lead to people at death still having around 25 per cent of that initial balance in their accounts.”
“It's not meant to be a wealth accumulation vehicle, super, it's supposed to be spent during our lives,” he said.
Vanguard Super has reported strong returns across most of its investment options, attributed to a “low-cost, index-based approach”.
The fund has achieved double-digit returns amid market volatility, reinforcing the value of long-term investment strategies for its members.
Australian super funds notched a third consecutive year of strong returns, with the median balanced option delivering an estimated 10.1 per cent over the 2024-25 financial year, but an economist has warned that the rally may be harder to sustain as key risks gather pace.
AustralianSuper has reported a 9.52 per cent return for its Balanced super option for the 2024–25 financial year, as markets delivered another year of strong performance despite the complex investing environment.
Re where he said :.
“It's not meant to be a wealth accumulation vehicle, super, it's supposed to be spent during our lives,”
I would say that in the politicians case it would be :
“It's meant to be a wealth accumulation vehicle, super, it's not possible to spend that extreme amount of largesse during our lives,”