Reading through many of the sentiments expressed here and in other forums, concerning those folk who've embarked upon their own self-fundered super schemes, I realise how fortunate I've been to have access to a government pension.

For two reasons really, I have virtually no understanding nor appreciation of the complexities associated with many of the Super Schemes that are offered by the various funds. Funds that occasionally go 'belly up' through the rank incompetence and greed of many of directors who run them.

And secondly, when in receipt of a government pension one need never have to worry, about the integrity or qualities of the administrators who run the government schemes. I believe there're so many 'checks and balances' as well as auditory oversights of their day to day activities ?

I have friends who've worked inordinately hard and saved diligently, and deposited as much money into Super, as the ATO allows, and in recent times have had to watch much of their 'paper worth' diminish, because of the current economic climate, and the low interest rates that are set by the RBA.

I understand these economic factors have a similar influence on the government funds, but they seem to have far greater repercussions on the smaller groups, that many of the self-funded retirees contribute to.

It must be so, so tough on these poor buggers, who've worked hard all their lives ?

I am waiting for the first Union fund to collapse. Then the Government will step in and give people some of their own money back. In the interim executives of these schemes are ripping everyone off.
It was thought up by Hawke and Keating two millionaires who would not go within a mile of this rubbish.
When the stock market crash happens we will be the ones who lose our money. The people in the know will have theirs stashed away nicely.

The only people profiting from superannuation schemes are politicians and business leaders. The ordinary person would be better off if he / she put that money into their home.

The ordinary person would be better off if he / she put that money into their home.

No they would not, you are assuming houses never drop in value, but in fact they are just as volatile as the share market. Get your house valued once a week and see how much it fluctuates. But no, people buy a house and 10 years later make a profit, the same with super (or should I say the underlying assets) The Aussie share market has returned an average of 9.6% over the last 50 years (even with recessions, GFC, Asian crisis, y2K, 9/11 etc) the residential housing market 8%, government bonds 5.5% and cash 4%.

If you have a balanced portfolio of shares , property bonds and cash, you will make a better return than residential property and its taxed at only 15% and after 60, no tax or CGT.

If we did not have super, as one person has suggested and leave it up to the individual, more people would be on the age pension, for some the ONLY savings they have is the compulsory super. Most aussies love debt not saving

Super is just a tax vehicle, if you leave it in an Union industry fund, of course money is going to ripped off you into union hands. If you take interest in your super (AND you should as it is your money) and get good advice from a financial planner, you will make more

Dear Kirby,

By "put that money into their home", I assume that Mr. Opinion meant:
1. First get rid of any debts on the home.
2. Fix and strengthen the walls and the roof so your house stands forever.
3. Invest in solar panels and double glazing, etc. to lower (or even eliminate) your electricity bills.
4. Plant trees to reduce your food bill.
5. Build a well-insulated cellar where you can store hard food for many years, then invest in that food.

This way, it really doesn't matter what the housing-market does.

If you have more money left, then you can lend it to other people as mortgage (with their own houses as securities). For you it's more than what you would get from the banks, for them it's less than what they would have to pay the banks.

Your own home is the only asset on which you don't pay the cruel inflation-tax, otherwise I would probably invest in gold and foreign currencies which do not decay like the Australian dollar, but alas, I would still be paying tax on the nominal increase.

And if you wasted your money foolishly, then go ahead and try to live on the age-pension alone - it's a miserable existence!

In fact, it is unfair that those who earlier wasted their money on luxuries should receive a pension and not others who lived frugally and saved: EVERYONE should receive the age-pension (which would then also be made a taxable income, so it could end up as a tax-offset), then there would be no incentive to waste. Where from? well you said that superannuation is a "tax vehicle", then it should be replaced with an appropriate and straight-forward tax.

Dear yuyutsu,

And 6. Sell it for a huge profit to one of the 10 million wealthy Chinese migrating to Australia soon and retire to someplace really nice.