May 2017 Statement by Philip Lowe, Governor: Monetary Policy Decision
At its meeting today, the Board decided to leave the cash rate unchanged at 1.50 per cent. There has been a broad-based pick-up in the global economy since last year. Labour markets have tightened further in many countries and forecasts for global growth have been revised up. Above-trend growth is expected in a number of advanced economies, although uncertainties remain. In China, growth is being supported by increased spending on infrastructure and property construction, with the high level of...
Save early, save often
One of the underlying attributes of Australia's superannuation system is that it starts young adults saving for retirement as soon as they join the workforce. Without compulsory super contributions, many millennials – aged in their twenties to thirties and also known as members of Generation Y – may have second thoughts about saving for retirement early in their working lives. Any reluctance to begin saving for retirement at a relatively early age is understandable given that their...
Explaining the upcoming $1.6m transfer balance cap
Of all the major changes to superannuation coming this year, probably the most confusing is the new “transfer balance cap”. In this article we’ve answered the most common questions to help you understand how it will work and to plan ahead. What is the transfer balance cap? The transfer balance cap is a new limit on the total amount of superannuation savings that can be transferred from an accumulation account to a tax-free retirement account. It’s a lifetime cap that applies on a per...
Dollar-cost averaging for millennial investors
It's hardly surprisingly that a personal finance article in Forbes magazine places the classic and straightforward investment practice of dollar-cost averaging high among a list of tips to help millennials become better, more disciplined investors in 2017. Dollar-cost averaging simply involves investing the same amount of money into shares or other securities at regular intervals – whether prices are up or down. Investors practising dollar-cost averaging automatically buy more, say, shares...