Several thousands among the Australian retiring population are departing from the traditional lifestyle of retirement years. Instead of living a modest life in the cities or just-about-decent life in the suburbs, they are migrating to South East Asia. While a few of them are looking for a cultural crossover and diversity of adventure, a majority is certainly looking at low cost of living in South East Asia as a major plus- one that can give their retirement savings longer legs.
In this article we compare the cost of retirement living in Australia and retiring overseas in 8 countries spread across Asia (6 of them in South East Asia). We also look at the biggest threats to your ambitions of retiring overseas.
Australians care about their Superannuation but the mode of investment is such that it is easy to set it up and then forget about it. The aim of Super funds is to help your money accumulate during the course of your working life. This, the funds aim to attain through a wide range of investment options. The risk quotient differentiates one option of investment from the other. Let us find out all there is to know about your Super investment and also look into one little known yet very important aspect of such investment.
Most of us cannot deny that we daydream about our lives post retirement. In those dreams, we may be cruising half way across the globe or just indulging the gardener in us. We dream of an easy life full of small nothings and crazy ‘somethings’. This is how we are programmed: we know we have to slog it out while we are part of the active workforce and get rewarded for it with a leisure-filled retirement.
A self-managed super fund is a surefire way of gaining greater control over your investments. It also offers you more flexibility (till the time you abide to your investment strategy). This said, there are various responsibilities on the shoulders of an SMSF trustee, and what’s more, you must tick many right boxes before entering into the SMSF space. Let us find out if the SMSF is for you; if yes then why and if not, then what may be the single biggest reason hindering you. Read along.
While the marginal tax rate can get as high as 46.5% for an individual, the rental income for properties purchased through your SMSF is generally taxed at a concessional rate of 15%. It gets even better when you talk about the CGT rebate. You may have to pay 10% in the accumulation phase and nothing in the pension phase. In comparison, rates run close to 23.25% for properties outside Super.
As an SMSF trustee, your top priority should be to get your fund audited by one of the approved auditors each year. For the purpose of such audits, it is important to formally appoint the auditors and there is a timeframe attached to doing so.