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Q: Consider for a moment or two.
In 2008 (GFC) the Australian Government gave a guarantee on bank deposits to Australian Financial Institutions to the tune of $600B. It was in the eyes of the Government a necessary initiative to shore up local confidence and protect the nation’s international competitiveness and funded by taxpayers.
Fast forward 10 years and Australia is drought-stricken.
The big four banks in Australia now have a combined market value of approximately $384B. When you consider, 82% (20,500,000) of Australian’s are over the age of 15, the $384B represents a value of $18,731 per person.
As a Friday 3 August 2018 the big 4 banks have donated $3,300,000 to The Big Drought Appeal to help the Australian Farmers.
• Commonwealth Bank - $2M
• ANZ - $1M
• Westpac $200,000
• NAB - $100,000
Using the same parameters as above their donations represents $0.16c per and 0.0008% of the value each person over the age of 15 delivers to the banks.
We’d love to get your thoughts. Are the bank's donations fair and reasonable or should they be donating more?
A: What he said!
I really don't think I can answer that question any better or as well as Brendan Curran has - his response is brilliant and, in my opinion, so true.
Perhaps, for the banks, it's not as much about giving the farmers money as it is about giving them a real break/relief in terms of what they might owe the bank...although a decent handout wouldn't go astray also. As Brendan said, the banks are never in a situation where they don't make money so now is the time for them to give back to people that really need it.
Well said Brendan
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Q: It is reported 75% of Australians over the age of 65 receive the full or part pension from the Government.
Compulsory superannuation was introduced into Australia in 1992 (26 years ago) for employees to have a percentage (now 9.5%) of their income invested into a superannuation fund to help fund their retirement years. The desired outcome was for people to be self-funded retirees as opposed to being reliant on government pensions.
The superannuation industry is a $2.6 trillion dollar industry with something like $26B of fees paid annually.
If after 26 years, 75% of Aussies over 65% are still reliant on the government it begs the following questions
1. Is the current superannuation policy working?
2. Who is really benefiting from the compulsory superannuation regulations?
3. Should superannuation be compulsory or voluntary?
We’d love to get your thoughts and opinions.
A: I'd have to agree with the other comments so far, in that I believe Superannuation should remain compulsory. Although 75% is still the majority of people (relying on full or part pension) I agree with Jimmy S that this figure would be even higher without the compulsory Super. I think James Wrigley is spot on when he says that 9.5% is better than nothing but realistically won't be enough to fully self fund retirement for most people who have a particular standard of living i.e. the overseas holidays, entertainment etc. Maybe the Government and/or the financial institutions need to invest in some more Super education activities to make Super more comprehendible...and dare I say 'sexy'...so that people take more notice...and we're not just looking at ads that talk about 'eggs getting bigger'. Through my personal and professional networks, a significant number of people perceive Super as a bit of a mystery...a complex web of fees, investments, funds and information that often ends up in the 'all too hard' basket so they just stick with a default option through their employer. That said, I realise it would just be another expense for the Government and/or institutions to invest in this type of thing and I'm not sure how you can make Super more sexy, even though it is incredibly important.
