JC Political Thread - For All Things Political Part 2

[gopher]

They cannot change when you can access super, are they going to close down family trusts that are SMSF? I would like to see where anyone has mentioned changing when you can access your super...

Seems they are going to try and do whatever they damn well please

Treasurer Joe Hockey flags changes to superannuation rules before next election - Federal Budget 2014 - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

 

[Rajesh Koothrappali]

Seems they are going to try and do whatever they damn well please

Treasurer Joe Hockey flags changes to superannuation rules before next election - Federal Budget 2014 - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

OK seriously? Is that all this new hype is based on? I should have known better when I heard it on the radio this morning. From an article that says "In last week's budget the Government confirmed the retirement age would be lifted to 70 by the year 2035." which is absolutely and factually WRONG, there is NOTHING from the Q&A transcript that says they're considering changing the age at which you can access your super to 70. It's more leftist spin and sensationalism from the ABC that the mainstream media grabs onto and runs with.

I guess the truth and the facts never make for a good story though.

 

[Calaber]

Australian Public Service Commission - 3. Features of key remuneration components
Go down to "Table 3.7: Employer superannuation contribution as a proportion of Base Salary by classification"

Hmm,nice. Except those tables relate to highly graded personnel - from graduate to what is called SES (which I suspect stands for Senior Executive Service - ie, senior Department leaders and Branch heads, if not the actual heads of departments. Their super would be part of a salary package, subject to contract terms, rather than the average, normal, ordinary public servant, who doesn't seem to appear on that graph. So, again, nothing there that isn't common within private enterprise.

What the next table (3.8) shows is something I felt was the case but wasn't sure, so I didn't refer to it earlier. Older Public Service Staff enjoyed the benefits of the Commonwealth Superannuation Scheme, with admittedly generous benefits for their time. That scheme became unsustainable years ago and was canned. It has been replaced by an accumulation scheme similar to those for private enterprise and so often advertised on TV. (ie Industry and Commercial Super Funds). Look at the graph and you can see that younger staff come within the last scheme and the old schemes have been closed to them for years. State public services did the same thing back in the 1980's. Those accumulation schemes are no different to private enterprise schemes, charging nominal management fees and investing the money to the best advantage for their members.

The internet is great for information but it doesn't always tell the full story. Keep looking.

Or better still, stop convincing yourself that public servants get something they either don't earn or don't deserve.

 

[Reaper]

Seems they are going to try and do whatever they damn well please

Treasurer Joe Hockey flags changes to superannuation rules before next election - Federal Budget 2014 - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

Well firstly Hockey said nothing of the sort. He said they were going to have a discussion on the subject sooner rather than later. Meh - it might change or it might not. Feel free to put forward your point of view. Most importantly (that you seem to have neglected to acknowledge) any change in the near term is off the table:

“A period of stability in respect of superannuation is right and proper, and there won’t be any changes in this term of parliament.” - Tony Abbott

Cookies must be enabled. | The Australian

 

[Rajesh Koothrappali]

Hmm,nice. Except those tables relate to highly graded personnel - from graduate to what is called SES (which I suspect stands for State Executive Service - Department leaders, if not the actual heads of departments. Their super would be part of a salary package, subject to contract terms, rather than the average, normal, ordinary public servant, who doesn't seem to appear on that graph. So, again, nothing there that isn't available to private company execs and senior staff.

Graduate is the lowest level (in terms of pay) of employment in the APS. Once you finish your graduate program you will likely be at APS5 or APS6 level. I don't know if there are any APS1 or APS2 positions these days. Those levels go back to the days of mail room staff. "Entry level" APS roles are APS4 (level 1 Help Desk) etc and the bulk of the APS would be APS5 - EL2. So they're all "ordinary public servants".

EL = Executive Level (junior managers/team leaders/technical experts)
SES = Senior Executive Staff (heads of departmental sections. the heads of the departments are "Secretaries" are are political appointees)

What the next table (3.8) shows is something I felt was the case but wasn't sure, so I didn't refer to it earlier. Older Public Service Staff enjoyed the benefits of the Commonwealth Superannuation Service, with admittedly generous benefits for their time. That scheme became unsustainable years ago and was canned. It has been replaced by an accumulation scheme similar to those for private enterprise and so often advertised on TV. (ie Industry and Commercial Super Funds). Look at the graph and you can see that younger staff come within the last scheme and the old schemes have been closed to them for years. State public services did the same thing back in the 1980's.

My Dad retired from the public service at 55 in 2007 with his active CSS account. A permanent pension paid to him for the rest of his life at 75% of his finishing salary indexed with CPI. He earns more just from that than I do working full time. Add to that his investment portfolio and superannuation and he's laughing all the way to his grave.

There's no way that system was EVER going to be sustainable. The government would go broke!

 

[XUV]

My Dad retired from the public service at 55 in 2007 with his active CSS account. A permanent pension paid to him for the rest of his life at 75% of his finishing salary indexed with CPI. He earns more just from that than I do working full time. Add to that his investment portfolio and superannuation and he's laughing all the way to his grave.

There's no way that system was EVER going to be sustainable. The government would go broke!

and it's systems like that that have sent Greece and Italy to the wall.

 

[Calaber]

Graduate is the lowest level (in terms of pay) of employment in the APS. Once you finish your graduate program you will likely be at APS5 or APS6 level. I don't know if there are any APS1 or APS2 positions these days. Those levels go back to the days of mail room staff. "Entry level" APS roles are APS4 (level 1 Help Desk) etc and the bulk of the APS would be APS5 - EL2. So they're all "ordinary public servants".

EL = Executive Level (junior managers/team leaders/technical experts)
SES = Senior Executive Staff (heads of departmental sections. the heads of the departments are "Secretaries" are are political appointees)



My Dad retired from the public service at 55 in 2007 with his active CSS account. A permanent pension paid to him for the rest of his life at 75% of his finishing salary indexed with CPI. He earns more just from that than I do working full time. Add to that his investment portfolio and superannuation and he's laughing all the way to his grave.

There's no way that system was EVER going to be sustainable. The government would go broke!

Thanks for the clarification. Happy to be shown to be wrong on that one. The grading structure is pretty simple compared to the States services which don't require Graduate status to join. I suppose if you are going to set a standard like that as a basic employment requirement, you have to offer decent salary packages and conditions in return.

Yes, the old CSS was very generous, which is precisely the reason it was canned. The same thing happened to the NSW State Super Scheme.

 

[Pollushon]

I will pay that super, accrued sick leave and redundancy is above and beyond in the APS. Still I could earn twice the coin in private but funnily enough I'm proud to be a Commonwealth employee. My work doesn't make some greedy corporation richer. It provides value add to a faculty most Australians wouldn't think twice about. That's job satisfaction to a T.

 

[minux]

I will pay that super, accrued sick leave and redundancy is above and beyond in the APS. Still I could earn twice the coin in private but funnily enough I'm proud to be a Commonwealth employee. My work doesn't make some greedy corporation richer. It provides value add to a faculty most Australians wouldn't think twice about. That's job satisfaction to a T.

Isn't the government a corporation so to speak? I would rather make someone who has invested their own hard earned rich than make a politician rich off the back of people like everyone in this thread.

Anyway, just an FYI, most corporations are public companies, so working for them can make yourself rich should you invest where you work. We are now part of a Top 200 listed ASX group, I have already taken up investment options offered to employees, I am that confident the group with our companies inclusion will see prices rise and line my back pocket. Kind of a great setup really, knowing if you and your team work well, you can make yourself more money through it.

 

[Pollushon]

Ideally the government is about achieving necessary outcomes for its citizens as efficiently as possible, not profiteering. Any monies that fall out of that are consolidated revenues for the people not persons.

Governments are fleeting, elected by voters, whereas my objectives remain unchanged (although are often directed/modified by the government at the time).