The budget has now been released after most of the points were leaked in the last few weeks. All in all it is great news if you are a 'mining magnate' - less so if you are not. And really, really tough if you are one of the marginalised.

There is much in the media about all the changes, but here is a summary on the main points relating to retirement planning. There is also a link from one of our fund managers with a more detailed analysis.

 
 

Overnight, the Federal Government handed down its annual budget. It contained the following key points related to retirement planning:

  • further increasing Age Pension age to 70 by 1 July 2035
  • indexing pensions to CPI, rather than wages, from 1 September 2017
  • resetting deeming thresholds to $30,000 for singles and $50,000 for couples from
    20 September 2017
  • freezing Income and Assets Test thresholds for Government pensions including
    Age and Service Pensions from 1 July 2017
  • including untaxed superannuation income in the Income Test for the Commonwealth Seniors Health Card for new recipients from 1 January 2015.

Other significant items were:

  • introducing a 2% Temporary Budget Repair Levy on incomes over $180,000 for three years from 2014-2015 
  • maintaining SG contributions at 9.5% for three years from 1 July 2014 
  • allowing individuals to withdraw contributions in excess of the non-concessional contributions cap from 1 July 2014
  • tightening the eligibility for Family Tax benefits.

View detailed Budget Report here


 
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