Whinge of the day thread...

[Feral]

Dunno that time is an asset. I'm 10 years away from retirement. Busted my but my entire life. My back, shoulders, neck and knees are totally shagged from work. My super at this moment stands at 170k. Don't know how I'm going to last another 10 years and will be broke If I do. Very depressing

 

[Jaros]

During the GFC i lost approx K200 in my super value. Did you get hit by the GFC as well.

 

[user 22230]

Dunno that time is an asset. I'm 10 years away from retirement. Busted my but my entire life. My back, shoulders, neck and knees are totally shagged from work. My super at this moment stands at 170k. Don't know how I'm going to last another 10 years and will be broke If I do. Very depressing

Feral sadly the future for many is an unknown. Congrats for despite your body issues you keep on working

 

[Moneybox]

Well - of course that is largely the present situation. 71% of Australia's electricity in 2021 was generated by fossil fuels. This is why I don't fully understand the rush here to EVs. I think the pollies just think it is an easy way to appear to be doing anything but designing a future energy plan and implementing it.

One reason I will consider a little EV runabout for local driving in future is that I am in a position to charge during the day from my solar. Also interested to see that there is potential to use the old EV batteries on a home solar battery circuit (still plenty of charge left once past being enough for a car).

goldierocks, I think the rush for EV's is because we're running out of fossil fuels. I heard it on the radio in 1972, the world was facing an imminent fuel crises then, so I guess 50 years on it's becoming critical. I think we put too much weight on the propaganda fed to us on a daily basis.

 

[user 22230]

I think you hit it on the head Diginit when you said that the average worker is struggling to pay his bills on an income less that what is recommended for retirement.
But I think the point that was trying to be made was does one really want to be struggling to pay bills after they are retired?
When you live on superannuation, no government or employer tops up your income to cope with inflation. You have to do that yourself from your own super.
A $67K super income may sound generous but but if that is all your super fund is capable of earning through investment income, then some years into retirement that WILL fall behind average earnings and the only way to keep pace would be to start eating into one’s super capital.
Using up capital can mean that your super may not last the distance and you could fall back into struggle town again with rising bills, health expenses etc sooner or later in your retirement.
Sad to say transitioning into a zero carbon future seems to be making things more expensive, energy, cars etc. so I would really have to agree that we should plan for a more expensive retirement.
For those of us already retired that may be too late but for those still working, time is an asset.

I think it really depends on the lifestyle one wishes to live in retirement? I have no wish to travel the world or dine at lavish restaurants having been there done that. Finding as with age one expects less from life being completely content to see out my days sitting atop a hill looking out across thousands of acres of land or meandering as I choose, I would live quite easy on under 30K a year no issue. Watching young calves frolic and play or the curious cattle that come and check one out. Roos as the bound across the landscape, or the huge eagles dancing as they protect their prey as one approaches. Lucky I guess as it's the simple things that bring a smile to my face and only wish I had discovered it all decades ago but lucky in that I now have

 

[Hawkear]

During the GFC i lost approx K200 in my super value. Did you get hit by the GFC as well.

Was over in WA when the 08 GFC crisis hit. There was much talk among us what to do and some withdrew money from their share investments. I was thinking about doing the same but by the time I got back home it was too too late and I just had to ride it out.
Lucky I did as everything recovered well but those who took their money out did not do so well.
Even now I remember that as a lesson, not to take out money during a downturn as one will probably be too late reinvesting it for a full recovery.

 

[user 22230]

Was over in WA when the 08 GFC crisis hit. There was much talk among us what to do and some withdrew money from their share investments. I was thinking about doing the same but by the time I got back home it was too too late and I just had to ride it out.
Lucky I did as everything recovered well but those who took their money out did not do so well.
Even now I remember that as a lesson, not to take out money during a downturn as one will probably be too late reinvesting it for a full recovery.

But one must also remember here, as my accountant for the past forty years pointed out decades ago, super has constantly moving goal posts I remember well many people who had their plans / lives thrown into complete disarray when they lost a third of their super which was tax free became taxed almost overnight. On the news only the other night a couple in despair finding out they only had a small portion of what they thought they had in super?

 

[user 4386]

goldierocks, I think the rush for EV's is because we're running out of fossil fuels. I heard it on the radio in 1972, the world was facing an imminent fuel crises then, so I guess 50 years on it's becoming critical. I think we put too much weight on the propaganda fed to us on a daily basis.

Hi Moneybox. I would have to disagree on that as I monitor each country's fossil fuel reserves for courses that I run. It would take a long time to run out of coal, gas has many years, but petroleum has less life. It varies by country - for example Australia is about the World's largest exporter of LPG but we actually only have small reserves. And the figures in most cases are from companies, not governments (they commonly use the company figures though, since few countries are in the business of exploring).

One problem with predictions is that they tend to be based on RESERVES - that is, what is already measured. Companies do not keep spending billions proving up more reserves that they will not need for decades. So RESOURCES tend to be much bigger than reserves, but of course are less accurately known. They tend to be around 55 years at present for gas and 20 years for petroleum. But the reason the curves are near-horizontal is that companies tend to add reserves each year comparable to what they consume for the year. Many green writers look at such graphs and say - "we have less than 20 years oil left", not necessarily misrepresenting intentionally but simply not understanding how energy economics works.

Re coal - both China and USA have actually been decreasing their annual consumption for a few years now, partly because of a switch to gas.. Annual coal production increased steadily to 2012 but has flattened out in recent years - but not declined.



Graphs are a bit old but don't have time to find my recent ones....

 

[Moneybox]

The statement "we're running out of fossil fuels" was said in jest, after all they did tell us that 50 years back when the world population was half of what it is today. What I'm implying is that we tend to believe what is fed to us in the media. Most of it is propaganda....

 

[Hawkear]

But one must also remember here, as my accountant for the past forty years pointed out decades ago, super has constantly moving goal posts I remember well many people who had their plans / lives thrown into complete disarray when they lost a third of their super which was tax free became taxed almost overnight. On the news only the other night a couple in despair finding out they only had a small portion of what they thought they had in super?

Yes Moving goalposts are a concern. The one that keeps nagging away is tax credit (franking) refunds. That would be a huge hit to people with relatively small superannuation amounts If that is withdrawn.
With Australians of all walks of life,working or retired, and collectively having a large pot of money invested, the temptation for other people to dip their fingers in can be almost irresistible.
The whole idea of superannuation is to extend as far as possible the ability to have a good retirement for as many people as possible by providing some taxation breaks and a safe long term shelter for their retirement fund. The way that company drained money out of that couples super with advisory fees (for no advice) and excessive and unnecessary insurance costs was criminal. I really feel for the couple but there is a lesson there as well in that we should all get a statement from our super funds and check what fees we are paying.
As far as extra insurance within a super fund I fail to see a large need as if I were to die my beneficiaries would receive my super balance anyway. Isn’t that insurance? Why do I need to pay extra?

 

[Feral]

During the GFC i lost approx K200 in my super value. Did you get hit by the GFC as well.

You lost more than my entire super total Jaros and yer, just like everyone else I got hit too. My retirement dream is to go fishing whenever the weather permits.

 

[Hawkear]

You lost more than my entire super total Jaros and yer, just like everyone else I got hit too. My retirement dream is to go fishing whenever the weather permits.

Whilst you may not have enough to be age pension free you could perhaps use your time until retirement in another way
For instance if you would like a good boat with which to enjoy your retirement you could work out how much that would cost and then use your super fund as a tax effective saving means to achieve that when you retire by putting a little extra away from now on.
You are not required to take your super out as a sort of annuity, you can take out extra lump sums to pay for things like a new boat or car.

 

[user 4386]

The statement "we're running out of fossil fuels" was said in jest, after all they did tell us that 50 years back when the world population was half of what it is today. What I'm implying is that we tend to believe what is fed to us in the media. Most of it is propaganda....

Ha - it certainly is. My point being that accurate information is mostly available but not in the daily media.

 

[Feral]

Whilst you may not have enough to be age pension free you could perhaps use your time until retirement in another way
For instance if you would like a good boat with which to enjoy your retirement you could work out how much that would cost and then use your super fund as a tax effective saving means to achieve that when you retire by putting a little extra away from now on.
You are not required to take your super out as a sort of annuity, you can take out extra lump sums to pay for things like a new boat or car.

So long as your super is under 400k you can still get the full pension as I understand it. Bloody thieving government will probably change that n the future though. I heard there is a polly pushing for the retirement to be changed to 70. Most blue collar workers, like me, wont make that. Flat out making 67

 

[user 4386]

So long as your super is under 400k you can still get the full pension as I understand it. Bloody thieving government will probably change that n the future though. I heard there is a polly pushing for the retirement to be changed to 70. Most blue collar workers, like me, wont make that. Flat out making 67

Expect pension age to ultimately reach 70 (as is occurring around the world, with riots in France etc).. The Australian pension age of 65 was adopted in 1900 (a bit later in some states) at a time when the life expectancy for non-indigenous Australians was 47 years (33 for indigenous men). So the majority of Australian men died 18 years before they ever reached pension age, and pensions were a negligible drain on the government coffers as a result.. Two-thirds of men who reach 65 in Australia NOW will live another 20 years (women 23 years) - so 85 and 88 years of life respectively for two-thirds of Australians. most falling off the perch nearly 20 years after going onto a pension.

Unless you have an illness that you actually know will knock you off the perch much earlier than other people (if so I am sorry) , it would be very pessimistic to assume you will only live to around 67. The above 85/88 life3e spans still include those who know they have hypertension, heart disease, diabetes etc. Australians are the sixth longest lived nationality in the world.

Don't sit there waiting to die, most people who do waste decades of life. Just try to stay as fit as practicable and keep your marbles - I'm planning a bit more detecting and a lot of fishing........and playing with the grandkids. Not trying to be argumentative - it is just that most people don't realise. It is one of the positives of all our decades of greenhouse emissions - all that CO2 advanced medical research, nutrition and created an economy capable of keeping people on a pension far more years than in the past.

 

[Mackka]

Retirement age changed July 2021. So if you were born between 1 July 55 - Dec 56 it’s 66 1/2 after 1 Jan 57 it’s 67. Mackka

 

[Dave's Office]

If I was in your shoes I would be making every effort to enjoy myself now Feral, I don't know your situation but from my own experience that's exactly what I did after getting over a bad time,and you certainly don't need a bucket load of doe if you're wish is to go fishing on a regular basis. Best wishes and good fishing to you. Cheers from Dave

 

[user 22230]

So long as your super is under 400k you can still get the full pension as I understand it. Bloody thieving government will probably change that n the future though. I heard there is a polly pushing for the retirement to be changed to 70. Most blue collar workers, like me, wont make that. Flat out making 67

Not close my friend, super is classed as asset, single allowed $280K a couple 419K. Asset is basically anything you own apart from the home you live in. Bank account, car, boat even your detector is asset.. Not a lot when you add it all up. Should add here, if you sell your home and buy one of lesser value and bank the balance, that balance then becomes classed as asset and is then included in your sum of total assets. Trust me when I say they don't really want to pay you the pension

 

[Moneybox]

We cannot get the pension. Mine because of a fictitious asset and Mrs M shares my assets although she hasn't come of age yet. To help manage our living expenses we moved from the more expensive south west to the goldfields where we could by a similar home for hundreds of thousands less. That extra couple of hundred thousand dollars can go a long way to improving your lifestyle if you're not a big spender.

 

[Manpa]

I would suggest that anyone nearing or planning retirement find a good financial adviser who has an intimate knowledge of the superannuation, allocated pension and Centrelink rules. Even access to a part pension, the benefits a health card may offer can all help.