qmv superbrief issue #18 of 2015
TRANSCRIPT
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Issue #18 of 2015: Friday, 8th May
AGE PENSION
The Minister for Social Services,
the Hon. Scott Morrison, has
announced new changes to
the Age Pension, in an effort to
make a fairer and more
sustainable system. The
changes will see an increase to
the asset free area for home
owners, with an increase from
$202,000.00 to $250,000.00 for
single pensioners, and from
$286,500.00 to $375,000.00 for
married couples; an increase to
the taper rate from a rate of
$1.50 to $3.00, reversing
changes made by the Howard
Government in 2007; and the
abolishment of last year’s
Budget measure to restrict
pension increases to the
Consumer Price Index (CPI). The
changes will take effect from
January 2017.
Source: The Hon. Scott Morrison
EARLY RELEASE
The Government has
announced amendments to
the provision for accessing
superannuation for people
suffering a terminal illness. The
amendment will see the life
expectancy period for terminal
illness increased to 24 months,
from the current 12 months. The
change will take effect from 1
July 2015.
Source: Treasury
REPORTING
The Australian Securities &
Investments Commission (ASIC)
has introduced human
readable financial reporting
using inline XBRL (iXBRL).
Companies have been able to
voluntarily use the XBRL
reporting for financial
information to investors since
2010, with this change removing
the requirement for separate
paper or PDF based
submissions.
Source: ASIC
RETIREMENT
A new report from Mercer titled
Retirement Income: A
Framework for a complex
problem has proposed a new
framework for determining the
adequacy of retirement
products and strategies. The
report proposes shifting away
from the current focus on short-
term investment returns, and
instead introduces a framework
and modelling approach to
help funds understand
member’s retirement needs
and expectations, and the
likelihood of different retirement
strategies in reaching those
goals.
Source: Mercer
FINANCIAL ADVICE
The Australian Securities &
Investments Commission (ASIC)
has announced that it will be
producing a regulatory guide
on review and remediation
programs, aimed at financial
services licensees. ASIC has
said that the guide will build on
its recent experience
negotiating a number of major
remediation programs, in
addition to several previously
published dispute resolution
guides.
Source: ASIC
FINANCIAL CRIME
The Government has
announced the establishment
of the Serious Financial Crime
Taskforce, providing funding of
$127.6 million of a four year
period. The new taskforce will
continue the work done under
Project Wickenby, which finishes
this year, and will focus on
superannuation and investment
fraud, identity crime, and tax
evasion.
Source: Treasury
TAXATION
The Treasurer, the Hon. Joe
Hockey, has ruled out and
superannuation tax changes in
the upcoming Federal Budget.
Source: Money Management