Royal Commission

The Parasites of Western Economy, Part 6B: Robbers of pension money in Australia

by tonytran2015 (Melbourne, Australia).

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(Blog No. 151 ).

#parasite, #Royal Commission, #misconduct, #Banks, #Financial Service Industry, #pension, #superannuation, fee gouging, #fee for no service,

The Parasites of Western Economy, Part 6b: Robbers of pension money in Australia.

This is a continuing and update of the original blog The Parasites of Western Economy, Part 6: Robbers of pension money in Australia.

There is currently a national scandal in Australia about the robbery of pension funds of retirees by Banking and Financial Service Sector.

1. Preparation ground work for the Grand Robbery.

1. Non profit Superannuation (Pension) Associations such as NML (National Mutual Life Association), MLC (Mutual Life Corporation), AMP (Australian Mutual Providence Society) have been justly or unjustly dissolved, bought off around 1998 giving capital accumulated or generations to existing members and management.

This is just like dissolving all Catholic Churches to give their huge cash value to existing members and their leaders. Would you think of that as an immoral robbery by existing members and management of the heritage intended not only for them but also for other future members?

From then on, there are only for profits superannuation fund managers.

2. Next. the Australian government made laws forcing all working people to have compulsory superannuation contributions.

3. Banks and entities with unknown reputation are licensed to manage superannuation funds for everyone.

4. Government makes auditing requirements such that it is uneconomical for individual to manage his own superannuation fund.

2. Count Dracula operating the captive blood bank.

With such system already set up, ordinary people have to rely on banks and entities with unknown reputation. These organizations then play the rough game in gouging the savings placed in superannuation funds.

The charges for managing superannuation from these organizations are [1]:

1.Entry and exit fees of 5% chargeable when you join them and when you leave them (it is a captive market). If you decide to let someone else manage your fund, you will lose another 5% again. If you change the manager every year then you will lose 5% every year on top of all other fees.

How can they justify taking 5% of your hard-earned money just for opening the book?

2. Yearly management fees: This may be at around 3% of your money while your money may earn only 2% from investment on the Share Market. So you may end up with a loss of 1% every year!

How can they justify that level of fees given that owner’s instruction to them is only invest according to the Share Market Index, or alternatively only invest in Government bonds?

3. An Australian feature is that the fund managers advise their clients (when and on what?). There have been advice fees of $1000 per annum even to clients whose deaths the managers have known for more than 10 years [11,34,35].

Why don’t those thieves charging fees for no service go to jail like any smaller time pick-pockets? [12,13]

3. A national scandal of robbery of retirees.

There is no wonder why bankers (meaning the CEO of the banks, not the ordinary bank tellers) are given outrageous incomes [14] while retirees keep getting poorer and poorer [15-19].

4. It has now been confirmed.

After the Royal Commission for inquiry into banking and financial service, it has been found that

a. Since the establishment of Compulsory Superannuation (to be run by private organizations for the public at large), by the Keating government in 1992 the superannuation fund managers have collectively gouged 700 Billions dollars in fees from superannuation account owners [27, 28, 29, 30, 31].

b. In to the top 20 OECD countries, superannuation contributors in those countries collect after their retirements periodic payouts equal to 62% of their working incomes [32]. With the same contributions and conditions [33], superannuation contributors in Australia collect after their retirements periodic payouts equal to only 42% of their working incomes [32], although Australia has the third largest pension fund assets in the World [34].

c. The difference is caused by the gouging of their funds by excessive fees by superannuation fund managers [35, 36, 37, 38, 39].

d. When compared to top 20 OECD countries, Australian superannuation scheme looks scandalous and is a nightmare while Norwegian sovereign fund scheme looks like a dream [41].

5. Conclusions.

People with incomes (working people) have go back to their age old practice:

a. People should buy real estate or gold to store wealth while they have income and keep the gold in safe place to store their accumulated wealth [40].

b. Do NOT TRUST ANYBODY with your retirement saving: This includes family members such as parents, children, spouse, brothers, sisters, acquaintances. This is also the rules by the government of the running of superannuation funds: Do not use your retirement fund for lending, borrowing for investments.

c. Only you care for your retirement. No one else does.

References:

[1]. https://www.superguide.com.au/boost-your-superannuation/comparing-super-funds-10-fees-charges-need-know

[2]. https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/live/2018/apr/23/banking-royal-commission-anz-amp-nab-evidence-live

[3]. https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/how-scott-morrison-changed-his-tune-on-the-banking-royal-commission-20180420-p4zaoa.html

[4]. http://mobile.abc.net.au/news/2018-04-16/banking-royal-commission-financial-planners/9662166

[5]. https://www.smh.com.au/business/banking-and-finance/cba-charged-client-fees-for-10-years-after-death-20180419-p4zag1.html

[6]. https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2018/apr/23/banking-royal-commission-amp-advice-led-to-loss-of-quarter-of-mans-superannuation

[7]. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-04-30/amp-chairperson-catherine-brenner-steps-down/9709874

[8]. https://financialservices.royalcommission.gov.au/public-hearings/Pages/round-2-hearings.aspx

[9]. https://www.minterellison.com/articles/fee-for-no-service-case-studies-at-the-royal-commission

[10]. http://www.afr.com/business/banking-and-finance/financial-services/amp-orders-white-wash-report-for-asic-20180417-h0yvlj

[11]. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-04-19/cba-charged-fees-to-customers-who-had-died-commission-hears/9675922

[12]. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-04-20/corporate-crooks-set-to-face-tougher-penalties/9677792

[13]. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-04-20/banking-royal-commission-financial-advisers-coalition-labor/9679008

[14]. https://survivaltricks.wordpress.com/2016/12/22/bankers-given-outrageous-incomes-by-their-boards/

[15]. http://theconversation.com/the-financial-services-royal-commission-highlights-the-vulnerability-of-many-older-australians-93359

[16]. https://www.investopedia.com/articles/retirement/111216/where-retirees-are-falling-short-living-standard.asp

[17]. http://articles.latimes.com/2013/may/17/business/la-fi-mo-retirees-standard-living-20130517

[18]. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-05-23/super-incentives-to-downsize-home-could-leave-retirees-worse-off/8550874

[19]. https://www.corelogic.com.au/news/retirees-downsizing-good-theory-doesnt-appear-make-fiscal-sense-practice#.WukVHZq-mUk

[20]. http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/pensions/article-4967930/Pensions-rip-fees.html

[21]. https://www.9news.com.au/royal-commission

[22]. https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/live/2018/apr/23/banking-royal-commission-anz-amp-nab-evidence-live

[23]. https://www.ageuk.org.uk/information-advice/money-legal/pensions/pension-scams/

[24]. https://theorangefiles.hu/nationalization-of-private-pension-funds/https://www.reuters.com/article/hungary-pensions-idUSL6N0TG2MP20141127

[25]. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/investing/11726158/Exposed-the-rip-off-investment-advisers-who-cost-British-expats-billions.html

[26]. https://daehee.com/steinhoff-scandal/

[27]. https://www.theguardian.com/business/grogonomics/2018/jun/03/super-funds-treat-customers-with-contempt-thats-putting-it-lightly

[28]. https://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/inquirer/royal-commission-should-not-overlook-super-funds-skulduggery/news-story/d5a60be1332e7522273491401db1f5e7

[29]. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-05-29/superannuation-report-says-retiree-nest-eggs-are-being-diluted/9809306

[30]. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-04-30/the-banks-the-government-and-the-half-trillion-dollar-super-grab/9709114

[31]. https://www.afr.com/news/politics/national/banking-royal-commission-the-remarkable-hypocrisy-of-amp-20180420-h0z14g

[32]. https://data.oecd.org/pension/net-pension-replacement-rates.htm

[33]. https://data.oecd.org/pension/gross-pension-wealth.htm#indicator-chart

[34]. https://www.austrade.gov.au/News/Economic-analysis/australia-has-the-third-largest-pension-fund-assets-in-the-world

[35]. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-04-16/banking-royal-commission-financial-planners/9662166

[36]. https://asic.gov.au/regulatory-resources/find-a-document/reports/rep-499-financial-advice-fees-for-no-service/

[37]. https://www.afr.com/business/banking-and-finance/financial-services/cba-cops-asic-penalty-for-fee-for-no-advice-scandal-20180413-h0ypn8

[38]. https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/national/cba-gold-medallist-for-fees-for-no-service-inquiry/video/d65fffd9ccaf04877a3c80a329d246cb

[39]. http://mobile.abc.net.au/news/2018-05-29/superannuation-report-says-retiree-nest-eggs-are-being-diluted/9809306

[40]. https://survivaltricks.wordpress.com/2017/04/28/gold-for-storing-wealth/

[41]. https://money.cnn.com/2017/09/19/investing/norway-pension-fund-trillion-dollars/

[42]. https://www.moneymanagement.com.au/news/financial-planning/has-demutualisation-experiment-paid-dividends

[43]. http://www.afr.com/opinion/columnists/the-curse-of-amp-20180419-h0z0nf

MORE BANKRUPTCY HAPPENING TO AMERICAN RETIREES

[44]. https://us-issues.com/2018/08/13/bankruptcy-soars-as-the-country-grapples-with-an-unprecedented-debt-problem/

[45]. https://money.usnews.com/investing/news/articles/2018-08-24/australia-inquiry-finds-pension-funds-broke-rules

[46]. http://mobile.abc.net.au/news/2018-08-20/banking-royal-commission-superannuation-fees-boost-bank-bonuses/10137904?pfmredir=sm

A HIGH ART OF ROBBERY: COMPENSATING A VICTIM USING HIS OWN MONEY.

[47]. http://www.abc.net.au/radio/programs/pm/royal-commission-ioof-used-member-funds-to-pay-own-compensation/10107966
(Royal Commission: IOOF used members’ funds to pay its own compensation. How do you like someone using YOUR OWN money (kept by him on your behalf) to compensate you for his misdeed?)

IOOF members compensated themselves, Hodge says

[48]. http://mobile.abc.net.au/news/2018-08-10/banking-royal-commission-superannuation-live-blog/10104990?pfmredir=sm

[49]. https://www.afr.com/personal-finance/superannuation-and-smsfs/ioof-failed-members-with-raid-reserve-expert-20180814-h13yn7

[50]. http://mobile.abc.net.au/news/2018-08-16/amp-to-pay-back-customers27-fees/10129660?pfmredir=sm

LENDING SUPERANNUATION FUND TO BANKS FOR HALF THE GOING RATE

[51]. http://bfcsa.com.au/index.php/entry/bfcsa-save-our-super-ioof-calls-out-rivals-on-cash-plays

(about 2.2 per cent. However three IOOF super cash funds achieved average annual returns of 1.3 per cent in that time, according to respected super analyst SuperRatings)

PAID PAUL BY MISTAKES SO HAVE TO ROB PETER TO RECOVER MONEY

[52]. https://thenewdaily.com.au/money/finance-news/2018/08/10/royal-commission-ioof/

VERTICAL INTEGRATION OF BANK, STOCK BROKING, SUPERANNUATION MANAGEMENT CAUSES CONFLICTS

[53]. https://www.superreview.com.au/news/superannuation/are-member-best-interests-compromised-vertical-integration

EVEN STAFF MEMBERS HAVE TO STAND UP AGAINST MANAGEMENTS

[54]. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/aap/article-5940079/IOOF-staff-refuse-implement-fee-hikes.html

AUST SUPERANNUATION MANAGEMENT IS WORLD’S BEST GRAVY TRAIN

[55]. https://www.9news.com.au/national/2018/08/06/11/08/banking-royal-commission-superannuation-nab-day-one

FEES/COMMISION TO ADVISORS

[56]. https://m.nasdaq.com/article/australias-ioof-gains-from-no-strings-attached-fee-for-advisers-20180807-00004

LESSON TO BE LEARNT

[57]. https://www.adviserratings.com.au/news/royal-commission-learnings-from-the-super-hearings/