A draft version of the latest guidelines for MySuper legislation was released this week. The guidelines detail recommendations for a number of aspects of insurance and intra-fund advice, including clarification of commissions and payments for advisors, particularly in the field of group insurance. In the area of insurance, according to the new guidelines, MySuper trustees…
The number of Australians with life insurance coverage through superannuation has increased while there was a drop for the same number of people with stand-alone coverage, potentially worsening the insurance gap. In 2006, the Financial Services Council said a similar study showed an increase in the number of Australians with superannuation life insurance coverage from…
An amendment to the Exposure Draft Superannuation Legislation was released by the government in December 2011. Known as the Exposure Draft Superannuation Legislation Amendment (Trustee Obligations and Prudential Standards) Bill 2012, this amendment added a number of covenants to the existing legislation document and increased the scope of obligations for trustees and licensees of superannuation…
Self-managed super funds (SMSFs) give people more control over their superannuation, and they can also hold personal insurance policies such as life insurance, total and permanent disability (TPD) insurance, and income protection insurance. There may be several advantages of purchasing life insurance through your SMSF, but there are also some drawbacks you may not have…
Purchasing your insurance through a self-managed super fund (SMSF) may have a number of advantages over having it in your personal name. These include tax deductions on life insurance and total and permanent disability (TPD) insurance as well as improved cash flow due to the fact that your insurance premiums are being paid by your…
July 1, 2011 saw a change in the rules surrounding tax deductions for total and permanent disablement (TPD) insurance policies owned by a super fund. The changes ushered in by the Australian Taxation Office mean TPD premiums that come under the definition of “own occupation” are only partially tax deductible. Premiums that relate to the…
MLC Masterkey Business Super has introduced some exciting new features to its insurance product. Integral to its new and improved product is the Best Doctors medical information service. This service was established in 1989 to help people with significant illnesses connect to a worldwide network of leading specialists, so that they can get access…
Due to superannuation reforms over the last decade, many Australians these days have Life Insurance, Trauma Insurance and Total and Permanent Disability Insurance (TPD) of some sort. Do you know what you have? Did you also know though that further legislative change in 2007 can affect how much money you (if you are totally and…
This note looks at the global economy and financial markets one year on from Lehman Brothers’ demise. The key points are as follows: – The global economy is now in far better shape than was the case in the aftermath of the Lehman Brothers’ collapse a year ago. Money and credit markets have improved dramatically,…
The global and Australian sharemarkets have rallied around 40% from their March lows in anticipation of an earnings recovery. Matthew Sherwood, Perpetual’s Head of Investments Market Research evaluates the recovery and finds that although economic growth should improve in H2 2009, markets appear to be experiencing valuation fatigue and will need analysts to upgrade FY2010…