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If you're confused about superannuation rules, you’re not on your own! What’s a ‘concessional’ and ‘non-concessional’ contribution? What’s the difference between an ‘accumulation’ and a ‘retirement’ account? Read any commentary and these terms are all over the place. But do ordinary people understand any of this?

To help, we’ve done some basic research and have made an attempt to provide some basic facts about superannuation and the currently proposed changes without any of the complicated language. Read here and see if this helps!! More...

The co-writer of the brilliant Yes Minister series, Anthony Jay, passed away this month, aged 86. No doubt he would have loved to have written a script based on the current Australian superannuation ‘reform’ debate.  

First, watch this short clip about how bureaucrats control their ministers. Hilarious!  More...

There’s a pretty dispiriting battle going on at the moment between the big superannuation funds over who gets to control the billions of dollars of ordinary workers’ superannuation money.

The Assistant Treasurer, Kelly O’Dwyer, is trying to bring in superannuation fund disclosure laws that were actually urged by Labor’s own 2010 review into superannuation. Here’s the Treasury discussion paper on superannuation disclosure. More...

This week, in Business Spectator, ICA Executive Director Ken Phillips wrote about a ‘mystery’ box that arrived in the post for him some years ago. It contained the true financial records of a major trade union. The records differed from the union’s publicly declared accounts. The point of Ken's article is that full transparency and disclosure should be imposed on the big superannuation funds or we could see corruption scandals in superannuation similar to those we are seeing with unions.  More...

Big business is angry that the Abbott government is proposing to make anti-competitive behaviour by them more difficult. New laws would restrict big businesses from abusing their market power. Small Business Minister Bruce Billson has hit back saying big business is talking “utter nonsense”. We agree.

Just recently, Coles had to refund $12m to 200 suppliers due to unconscionable conduct by Coles. And the competition regulator (ACCC) is finally responding to evidence of big business cartels in the construction industry. What’s odd is that unions and Labor seem be lining up with big business on this. More...

You may have seen the media hype over the last day or so about wealthy Australians ripping off everyone else because they can draw down, tax-free, from their superannuation when they retire. The media coverage resulted from a report from ASFA, the lobby group for the big superannuation funds. Here’s ASFA’s membership list. More...

ICA has expressed concern for some time about the proposed ‘stepping back’ by the Australian government over investment advice disclosure rules. In this, we drew on the criticisms voiced by Alan Kohler, one of Australia’s most respected financial commentators. Here’s what he said in Business Spectator in February and, more recently, here and here. More...

One of the pressing public policy issues that needs more attention is superannuation. We’ve been tracking this since 2010.  We remain concerned that the new Minister for Superannuation, Senator Sinodinos, is involved in a game of double standards.  More...

We thought that Self Managed Super Funds were safe following the Cooper Review Report in 2010. But the Association for SMSFs has recently issued new warnings about a planned tax attack against people who control their own superannuation. More...

The story of the Calper’s Fund should be studied in Australia. Calpers is heavily union-controlled. It’s a case study in what can happen when corruption, maladministration and cocky, imprudent, politically motivated investment takes control. Full story here. More...