Australian Workers Get a Final Boost to Their Retirement Savings
Employers will now be required to pay the equivalent of 12% of workers' wages — the last scheduled increase to a number that's steadily climbed since the current superannuation system was created in the early 1990s. Back then, employers contributed the equivalent of 3% of wages.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
39 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Australia, Britain sign 50-year AUKUS submarine partnership treaty
SYDNEY (Reuters) -Australia's government said on Saturday it signed a treaty with Britain to bolster cooperation over the next 50 years on the AUKUS nuclear submarine partnership. The AUKUS pact, agreed upon by Australia, Britain and the U.S. in 2021, aims to provide Australia with nuclear-powered attack submarines from the next decade to counter China's ambitions in the Indo-Pacific. U.S. President Donald Trump's administration announced a formal review of the pact this year. Defence Minister Richard Marles said in a statement that the bilateral treaty was signed with Britain's Defence Secretary John Healey on Saturday after a meeting in the city of Geelong, in Victoria state. "The Geelong Treaty will enable comprehensive cooperation on the design, build, operation, sustainment, and disposal of our SSN-AUKUS submarines," the statement said. The treaty was a "commitment for the next 50 years of UK-Australian bilateral defence cooperation under AUKUS Pillar I", it said, adding that it built on the "strong foundation" of trilateral AUKUS cooperation. Britain's ministry of defence said this week that the bilateral treaty would underpin the two allies' submarine programmes and was expected to be worth up to 20 billion pounds ($27.1 billion) for Britain in exports over the next 25 years. AUKUS is Australia's biggest-ever defence project, with Canberra committing to spend A$368 billion over three decades to the programme, which includes billions of dollars of investment in the U.S. production base. Australia, which this month paid A$800 million to the U.S. in the second instalment under AUKUS, has maintained it is confident the pact will proceed. The defence and foreign ministers of Australia and Britain held talks on Friday in Sydney on boosting cooperation, coinciding with Australia's largest war games. As many as 40,000 troops from 19 countries are taking part in the Talisman Sabre exercises held from July 13 to August 4, which Australia's military has said are a rehearsal for joint warfare to maintain Indo-Pacific stability. Britain has significantly increased its participation in the exercise co-hosted by Australia and the United States, with aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales taking part this year.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Just turned 50? At retirement, investing £500 a month in a Stocks and Shares ISA could be worth…
Building wealth in a Stocks and Shares ISA is a proven strategy for securing a more comfortable retirement. And even those starting late at the age of 50, there's still plenty of time to leverage the tax advantages and grow a sizable nest egg, even with just £500 a month. Please note that tax treatment depends on the individual circumstances of each client and may be subject to change in future. The content in this article is provided for information purposes only. It is not intended to be, neither does it constitute, any form of tax advice. Readers are responsible for carrying out their own due diligence and for obtaining professional advice before making any investment decisions. Exploring the possibilities In 2025, the average retirement age is around 65. And assuming an investor intends to start enjoying retirement at this age, a 50-year-old today has 15 years to financially prepare. When it comes to UK shares, the average long-term return investors have come to expect is around 6-8% a year for the more popular large-caps found in the FTSE 100. And investing at these rates with £500 a month for 15 years is sufficient to build a nest egg worth anywhere between £145,410 and £173,000. That's almost double the total £90,000 in deposits that will have been made during the period. While this sum of money is certainly nothing to scoff at, it's hardly sufficient to live a luxurious lifestyle. After all, the estimated retirement income needed to support just a moderate lifestyle is £31,700 a year in 2025. And due to inflation, that number's likely going to be higher come 2040. Boosting performance One of the easiest ways to ensure a larger nest egg is to simply contribute more. Doubling the monthly contributions to £1,000 is enough to boost a Stocks and Shares ISA to as high as £346,000. However, what if investors could also earn more than an 8% annualised return? By adopting a stock-picking strategy, that might be possible. Investing exclusively in the best and brightest of businesses opens the door to amplified portfolio returns. And that's something the shareholders of Cranswick (LSE:CWK) have experienced first-hand. Through a combination of market leadership alongside consistent and strong financial execution, the food production enterprise has emerged as one of the best-performing companies in its industry. And in just the last 15 years, the stock's gone on to deliver more than a 500% total return, averaging 12.8% on an annualised basis. At this rate, a £500 monthly investment would have grown to £270,000, while a £1,000 monthly investment would now be worth £540,000. Needless to say, these are substantial differences compared to the results achieved by index funds. Taking a step back In 2025, Cranswick continues to be a compelling investment opportunity. Its latest trading update included a welcome upgrade to its medium-term targets with management now targeting underlying operating margins of 7.5%, up from 6%. And as the firm continues to become more cash generative, Cranswick's still slowly expanding its market share through smart capital allocation. With that in mind, it isn't surprising to see overwhelming positive sentiment coming from institutional investors. However, while opinions are bullish, Cranswick still has its weak spots. The firm operates in a highly regulated market with food safety requirements constantly in flux. Cranswick's also highly dependent on UK retail customers, creating concentration risk. And it's recent expansion into pet food through its 2022 acquisition of Grove Pet Foods, there are also strategic execution risks to consider. Nevertheless, given its impressive track record, investors building retirement wealth in a Stocks and Shares ISA may want to take a closer look. The post Just turned 50? At retirement, investing £500 a month in a Stocks and Shares ISA could be worth… appeared first on The Motley Fool UK. More reading 5 Stocks For Trying To Build Wealth After 50 One Top Growth Stock from the Motley Fool Zaven Boyrazian has no position in any of the shares mentioned. The Motley Fool UK has no position in any of the shares mentioned. Views expressed on the companies mentioned in this article are those of the writer and therefore may differ from the official recommendations we make in our subscription services such as Share Advisor, Hidden Winners and Pro. Here at The Motley Fool we believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. Motley Fool UK 2025
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Luckiest spots revealed as $30m up for grabs
Australia's luckiest suburbs for winning the lottery have been revealed ahead of the $30m Saturday Megadraw. More than 533 winners won a collective $1.69bn in the 24-25 financial year, with the most player wins (152) and most prize money ($532.3m) being shared between Victoria and NSW respectively, according to The Lott. Victoria also recorded the highest number of 'millionaires created' with 81, followed by Queensland with 81 and NSW with 76. The biggest individual prize won last year was $100m, which happened three times. Up to a third of Aussie adults are expected to participate in this weekend's draw. The Lott spokesman Matt Hart said winning the lottery was an 'indescribable thrill'. 'While lotteries are games of chance where wins can land any time, we did see some pockets across the country welcome more prizes than others,' he said. These were the luckiest postcodes in each state, according to The Lott data: Queensland: 4870 for Cairns/Earnville - four division one winning entries sold NSW: 2000 in Sydney - four division one winning entries sold Victoria: 3064 for Craigieburn, 3205 for South Melbourne, 3000 for Melbourne, 3105 for Bulleen, 3250 for Colac - two division one winning entries each Tasmania: 7270 for Beaconsfield, 7248 for Mowbray - two winning entries sold South Australia: 5168 for Noarlunga Centre, 5108 for Salisbury/Salisbury Downs, 5000 for Adelaide - two division one winning entries sold Northern Territory: 0812 for Karama sold the biggest winning ticket in the Territory Western Australia: 6062 for Morley - four winning entries sold Mr Hartt said Saturday Megadraws had a reputation for 'creating more millionaires in a single draw than any other game'. 'The big question is whether last financial year's lottery hotspots will continue to live up their reputation this weekend,' he said. 'Some players tell us they deliberately pick lottery outlets that have recently sold a major lottery prize in the hope of continuing the winning streak, while other players choose different outlets believing lightning won't strike twice.' 'As many lottery winners tell us, you've got to be in it for the chance to win it.' Entries into Saturday's $30m megadraw closes at 7.30pm on Saturday night. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data
