Best looking weekly chart, page-3044

I have some spare time and I'm feeling in a philosophical mode, so I offer this post for contemplation of one's naval or whatever. Especially for you naive posters and upvoters.. doh!

Superannuation is not an investment.

Superannuation is an investment vehicle. That means one hands over money to somebody else to make investments. At a cost of course! SMSF alleviates the somebody else to a certain extent, but doesn't remove all the 'somebodies', or passengers if you like, from the vehicle. Because the superannuation system is also the following:
It is an accounting standard.
It is a tax regime.
It is a regulatory framework.

Superannuation is at the mercy of government whims and bureaucratic meddling because it is embodied in a complex regulatory framework .

The pretext for introducing compulsory superannuation was based on 2 politically acceptable concepts at the time.
1. Providing a tax advantaged incentive for citizens to save for their retirement.
2. The need to ease the future burden on welfare due to the ageing population syndrome projected by demographic studies.

In reality it is a gravy train for the financial services industry. Plus it adds some financial muscle to the bones of the Trade Union movement. It also gives political lobbying muscle to elite groups in society that enjoy following their own self serving agenda.

Furthermore, it creates a safety net for Government. Superannuation provides a large pool of funds that can be used by future governments. Governments can use the regulatory framework to access the financial power of these funds without confiscating assets per se. They can use various means under the guise of taking care of citizens, but really serving the political purposes of the powers that be. That is a real and likely danger yet to come.

No doubt superannuation has its advantages, but that is really based upon timing and stage of life. Even those advantages can be meddled with at any stage by introducing new laws without a grandfather clause.

The only true and safe way to become independently wealthy (without windfalls), and to self fund retirement;
is to work hard,
learn financial management,
learn how to invest,
learn to manage risk in order to not be risk adverse, and
use the system to set up the best private or corporate business structures.

That also means minimising the contributions to superannuation to the absolute legal limit. Money is power. That is the way of the world. Why hand over more power for somebody else to use than the law forces you too? The performance and long term returns of so many fund managers seems to be pretty weak as well.

Contrary to the theme of recent mainstream media it is not dishonourable to minimise tax. One should strive to learn and understand the important parts of the taxation regulations. There are many good and legal ways to minimise tax without relying on the tax regime of superannuation. It is not tax avoidance and ignorance is not bliss in this regard.

If one relies on somebody else to tell them about this stuff then they are exposed to loss and failure. If it can be found, then trustworthy and competent advice might often be needed for the finer detail; but failure to DYOR first just sets one up to be duped. Often this means seeking further education, gaining additional knowledge, and applying new found skills to real life and personal situations. That takes a bit of effort and often some personal compromises and sacrifice.

Many don't care. Many don't try. Many want others to do it for them. Many are too lazy, unwilling, or plain stupid to do anything. Sadly, many are just disadvantaged or unlucky in life and will never get the opportunity or chances like others.

IMHO a good philosophy to adopt is one that plans to minimise the amount of interference or reliance that Government actions can impact one's life style. This philosophy sort of underpins the innate human need called freedom. One should pay their way and pay their tax but strive to avoid being a charity for any government. Charity starts at home then work you way out from there.

Cheers