I may be a bit slow on the uptake but I just checked the retirement age online on Friday only to find that it has recently been increased. I checked a few months ago and it was 64.5 for my birth year 1953, now it's gone up to 65.5. I cannot express in acceptable language how upset, disappointed, angry, frustrated, and furious I am. I want to yell at someone. I am only 60 and seriously just don't want to work any more I've just had it. I dont have enough super to retire on now and even if I combined my savings and my super I doubt I could survive until I can get a pension... This probably sounds like boo hoo poor you.. but it just gives me the horrors that they keep moving the goal posts and it means I cant get my van and rig and be a nomad for some time to come. Thanks for letting me vent!!!!

Just remember that is the age when you can get a pension, But if you have the funds to do so you can retire younger has long has you can fund yourself till pension age

I think as long as you have retired you can draw on your super.....best check with your super fund.. People at my work (local govt) have retired around 60 and have got the super as a pension until the aged pension kicks in...

Remember if you delay your retirement just to get more money you can't spend the money when your dead , It a fine line having enough or not enough only you can know that , I retired at 55 and lived on my super would have lots more money if I work till 65 but would do it all again

Maybe I will move to UK I am after all am descendant of a convict they transported a while ago.....

NO NURSING HOME FOR me!!!

No nursing home for me. I'll be checking into a Holiday Inn!

With the average cost for a nursing home care costing £188.00 per day, there is a better way when we get old and too feeble.

I've already checked on reservations at the Holiday Inn.

For a combined long term stay discount and senior discount, it's £59.23 per night.

Breakfast is included, and some have happy hours in the afternoon.

That leaves £128.77 a day for lunch and dinner in any restaurant we want, or room service, laundry, gratuities and special TV movies.

Plus, they provide a spa, swimming pool, a workout room, a lounge and washer-dryer, etc.

Most have free toothpaste and razors, and all have free shampoo and soap.
£5 worth of tips a day you'll have the entire staff scrambling to help you.

They treat you like a customer, not a patient.

There's a bus stop out front, and seniors ride free.

For a change of scenery, take the airport shuttle bus and eat at one of the nice restaurants there.

While you're at the airport, fly somewhere. Otherwise, the cash keeps building up.
It takes months to get into decent nursing homes. Holiday Inn will take your reservation today.

And you're not stuck in one place forever -- you can move from Inn to Inn, or even from city to city.

Want to see Scotland ? They have Holiday Inn there too.

TV broken? Light bulbs need changing? Need a mattress replaced? No problem.. They fix everything, and apologize for the inconvenience.

The Inn has a night security person and daily room service. The maid checks to see if you are ok. If not, they'll call an ambulance . . . Or the undertaker.

If you fall and break a hip, NHS will pay for the hip, and Holiday Inn will upgrade you to a suite for the rest of your life.

And no worries about visits from family. They will always be glad to find you, and probably check in for a few days mini-vacation.

The grandkids can use the pool.

What more could I ask for?

So, when I reach that golden age, I'll face it with a grin.

AIDS WARNING!

To all of you approaching 50 or have REACHED 50 and past, this is especially for you......

SENIOR CITIZENS ARE THE NATION'S LEADING CARRIERS OF AIDS!

HEARING AIDS

BAND AIDS

ROLL AIDS

WALKING AIDS

MEDICAL AIDS

GOVERNMENT AIDS

MOST OF ALL, MONETARY AID TO THEIR KIDS!

Not forgetting HIV

(Hair is Vanishing)

I felt the same way when I found out. the goal posts continue to change.

Wayne Swan introduced the rise to the pension age in his budget of 2009. And whilst it was a nasty shock for those of us born during the boomer years, it's not as bad as it could be......... yet!

Joe Hockey has already flagged rising the pension further to 70 years of age. "It's something we should be discussing" he stated around 12 months ago. I wrote a letter to him expressing my disgust at the proposal. I did not receive a reply!

This is not only a matter of saving on the years a person has access to a Government pension either, it's also a huge win for the Government in unseen ways. For example, if you're still working, then it's unlikely you'll qualify for a low income card. The low income card will allow you one cheap vehicle registration (in Victoria, possibly the same elsewhere) per year and some other benefits such as cheaper medications, however it does not allow a rebate on your Telstra bill, utility bills or general rates. Only an aged or disability pension card will do that. So for all the years you're forced to continue working, you're paying full price for everything and an extra couple of years adds up to big dollars for the Government coffers.

At present, you can either take a lump sum superannuation payment from your compulsory workplace scheme once you turn 60 with no extra taxes, however the preservation age for compulsory superannuation is 55 for those born BEFORE 1960, but I'm fairly certain you get taxed more if you take a lump sum at age 55-59. If you've only got say, $40,000 or so in the scheme when you hit 60, then it may be best to pull it out, invest it in a high interest bearing account with your bank (or another bank so you don't have all your eggs in one basket in the event of your bank crashing) work out how many years you need to survive on your combined saving and super until you reach pension age, then be very strict to stick to your budget until the magic age arrives.

You can also enter a "Transition to Retirement" arrangement with your super fund once preservation age (currently 55) is reached whereby you can take up to 10% of your accumulated superannuation each year provided you meet certain working requirements. Working only part time being one stipulation, but you need to make sure your super fund allows Transition to retirement. Not all funds do.

Both Hockey and Swan, before he resigned as Federal Treasurer, also flagged raising the superannuation preservation to 67 years of age in alignment with with the pension age. This means that you won't be able to take your lump sum super and use it to supplement you savings until pension age unless you get in quick before the next lot get in and do just that. The Government needs to recognise that not only are people damned sick and tired of their "elected leaders" tinkering around with super, but that money is OUR money, not theirs to do with as they please! I do note that one of Abbott's election pledges is to not mess with the superannuation system for 5 years if they get into power. God alone knows what he and Hockey will do after that!!

neilnruth wrote:

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Hoodathunkit I think you will find that those ages have been fixed at that for a few years. I know I was waiting for about 5 years to turn my 'magic' age. I retired without super or pension and we managed on what we had.

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 Good for you neilnruth and for all the other self funded retirees out there. Great to hear that you've managed to survive off your own bat

Unfortunately for a good many of us who worked most of our lives in non Government workplaces and did not have access to superannuation, we'll only have limited amounts of super to fall back on once we decided to retire. I was typical of many from my time who worked mostly in factories through the 70's, 80' and 90's. Compulsory super was introduced around 1984. I think it started off at around 6% of your wage. My wage back then was somewhere around $6.20 and hour, so that 6% was very little. Even kids working at McDonald's today don't believe anyone was every paid so little. I started in that same factory in 1982 on just $4.20 per hour! I couldn't put "extra" away back then. I had two kids to feed and clothe as well as pay the rent. $159.60 per week before tax didn't go far, even back then

I stayed in that factory until taking up a mature aged nursing course in 2000. I've never looked back, but if I work to 80, I'll never have enough super in my account to support me for long, so the pension at age 66 (in my case) is all I have to look forward to!!

 

When my husband started having super taken out I think it was only 2.5%. And 2.5% as you say of a small wage wasn't very much so there wasn't much accumulating. Then there was the GFC and we lost some. Then we had to use some to pay out our mortgage but there was just enough with a bit left over to last until we got the pension....so life has been good and we 'cut the pattern to our cloth' so hence we have an old caravan and see as much as we can. One day we dream of having a newer van.

Jack Mac wrote:

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From memory the compulsory super was introduced in 1988. It was 3%. The original was actually a pay rise during the accord years when wages were adjusted every 3 months. At that time instead of taking the wage rise it was put into super, so commencing the super for all.  Before this if you worked in any job with employer funded super and left the only thing you got back was your own contributions not the employer's, even in govt. jobs. Once the compulsory super came in you could change jobs and your super was rolled over and went with you. That in a nutshell is how it came about.

If you now wish to retire and were born before 1960, you can after the age of 55 take out up to< I think $147k without tax. At age 60 I think you can take nearly all of it with possibly some restriction, not sure about that though.

I'm happy to stand corrected if others have another view.

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 1988??? 3%??? No wonder I don't have much super built up

I certainly do remember the wage thing. Our union did a heap of bargaining before we got the super. Too late in life for me though. I plan to work part time until 62, then pull the pin and hit the road much more than I am at present.

$147,000 is pretty generous too. I only wish I had half of that It will be interesting to see what Abbott's mob does when they get in. I might have to grab what I can and leave early to avoid having my super tied up until 66 or 70!

To be honest from what I hear and see i recon it is best you have very little of any thing these days.

If you don't pay your own health insurance the gov takes care of you

If you don't have much superannuation you get the full pension and all the benefits that go with it.

If you don't own your own house the government pays you rent assistance.

You get discount of ferry to Tasmania.

rego and license discount.

Free dental/glasses.

And then when the ..time comes that I may need a nursing home to spend my last remaining years I can go into a government run one and the fees are taken out from the government pension but like someone said on here her mum's nest egg is getting eaten up paying her way in a nursing home ,but she had only the gov pension then they would have to be happy with the fees out of that.

But I have to pay my own super as I contract to the mines or gas and oil and for me to pay my own super and then they dictate when how why I can access my own money is just robbing me to give to them for what they deem as theirs.. in a funny kind of way....So I Say Spend It Enjoy It And Let The Government Look After Us. Why Should We Miss Out On All The Fun.

I could never understand what that sign on Billeeees motor home represented but now I fully understand .

All this retirement stuff never used to worry me I just thought I would just keep working until I dropped dead ,but it is funny as the years creep up to that magic age you look at in a different kind of way.

I did have a practice run at retirement a few years back,but just got so bored after awhile and we were on the move it was not like we were sitting around watching the grass grow. ...

 

 

Gday...

Yep ... Super sure ain't the only way to 'save for ya retirement' when you are self-employed or contractor.

Put your money into ANYTHING ... shares, property - even if it is not in a Self Managed Super Fund (SMSF) which is 'tax advantaged'.

Ya can even just whack it into an old Milo tin and shove it under the floorboards if ya want - it is all your own choice

Cheers - John

rockylizard wrote:

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Gday...

Yep ... Super sure ain't the only way to 'save for ya retirement' when you are self-employed or contractor.

Put your money into ANYTHING ... shares, property - even if it is not in a Self Managed Super Fund (SMSF) which is 'tax advantaged'.

Ya can even just whack it into an old Milo tin and shove it under the floorboards if ya want - it is all your own choice

Cheers - John

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 I bet Milo would be happy to let you use his tin for storage, under HIS floorboards of course!! 

I'm with the majority, get out & do what you want while you can, I quit work a few years ago & in a couple weeks it will be official..Oh dear.

Cheers Neil

-- Edited by Delta18 on Thursday 8th of August 2013 05:20:44 AM

I retired at 60 & drawing a pension of my super. I have my money in cash for security (not game to gamble with the money I have). The cut in interest rates makes a big difference to money earned. I am now earning about half what I was 18 months ago. I suppose can't have it both ways, small fish are sweet.

Cheers Pete