Housing prices and household debt*
Ratio to household disposable income
ratio
ratio
Household debt
Housing prices
2.0
5
1.5
4
*image: Household disposable income is after tax, before the deduction of interest payments, and includes income
3
1.0
of unincorporated enterprises. Sources: ABS: CoreLogic: RBA
0.5
2
1991
2006
2021 1991
2006
2021
If you have default cover inside your super fund, it is important to check if there are any restrictive terms that apply. Super funds often apply exclusions and restrictive disability definitions when a member is employed in a so- called ‘high-risk’ occupation. However, these definitions can even include white collar jobs such as authors, writers, and composers. Industry lobby group, the Financial Services Council , has proposed a new standard that would remove such exclusions and restrictions by January 2023. ASIC offers a simple life insurance calculator to help you consider how much insurance you need. Cull unnecessary life insurance policies Around four million people still held two or more super accounts at 30 June 2020, according to the Australian Taxation Office . Unfortunately, many of those funds also charge fees for default life insurance. A 2019 inquiry by the Productivity Commission warned that duplicate or unsuitable life policies in super can erode retirement balances by more than $50,000. New regulations that stop new employer super accounts being automatically opened when a person starts a new job (known as ‘stapling’) and making life insurance opt-in on low balances and for younger members, are slowly helping tackle the problem. However, the fastest way to ensure you’re not being charged with unnecessary fees is to double-check that you don’t have any lost super accounts. You can search for multiple super accounts through the ATO’s online services via myGov .
Viewpoint Edition 2 2022 • 5
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