How to get your hands on a retirement bonus with Anne Fuchs

About 40% of Aussie super funds are handing out cash bonuses at retirement, but each fund is handling it differently and it's important to understand how they really work.

Today we’re talking about retirement bonuses — the one-off and quite large payments offered by an increasing number of superannuation funds to their members at retirement that almost no one seems to know about.

Last week, I covered them extensively in my Epic Retirement newsletter, and in The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald and lots of people wanted me to explain them in person. 

It’s complex stuff, so I’ve invited Anne Fuchs, Executive General Manager of Advice, Guidance and Education Australian Retirement Trust, one of Australia’s largest superannuation funds, to chat with me about how they calculate theirs and how it really works.

LISTEN TO THIS EPISODE OF THE PODCAST HERE:

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Anne explains what retirement bonuses are and how they work.

We discuss the way the retirement bonus is calculated at Australian Retirement Trust - which is calculated using a pooled provision process.

When the retirement bonus arrives in your account.

How much are they paying? And are they reviewed annually or is the amount defined by the fund and not changed.

We discuss what you need to be invested in, to access a retirement bonus.

How can someone understand and assess what they might be able to access from their fund - and what’s the fineprint.

Why are some funds are not offering a retirement bonus? And what happens to the money if you are not paid a bonus.

What are the eligibility criteria for members at ART - so we can get a picture of how they work.

But are these bonuses the be all and end all? We talk about what we really need to be monitoring holistically about our fund - so we don’t necessarily get hung up on the bonus alone.

Will more funds get retirement bonuses? We discuss the process of setting up a retirement bonus for a fund.

Anne gives some sensible advice for people thinking about switching funds for a retirement bonus.

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From Bec’s Desk

Hey Primetimers!

The Retirement Bonus really has been a mystical little secret, hiding under the hood of the retirement industry. And now, thanks to Anne, I hope we can all say we understand them a little better.

This week has been delicious. I’ve been writing that next book, and having so many ideas I can’t tell you about… yet! But they’ll all be nicely organised when you read them in months to come.

In other news, the How to Have an Epic Retirement Flaship Course for Winter is now coming to an end. The sixth week of dripped (on-demand) education videos went out today 😅. On Monday evening we hosted two wonderful events, back-to-back. A live Q&A with Rowena Millward the author of Uncomfortable Growth, and an Executive Coach on finding our sense of purpose; and a live coaching session hosted by me, where everyone came along and spoke on-camera themselves about how they feel about the big changes ahead, and the process of finding their purpose. Such an honest, soulful conversation. And I’ve had so many emails since about the meaning people find in that lessons.

This week I’ve properly launched the earlybird 25% off deal for our How to Have an Epic Retirement Flagship Course - The Spring Edition and bookings are flowing in. It’s not long until the Spring Edition starts now. It begins on the 8th August. So if you want to take advantage of the 25% off deal, lock it in soon so I can get the books and workbooks mailed out to you in time for the start date.

You can download a detailed brochure about the course, which is designed for pre-retirees and early-retirees here. Or you can just book your place here.

Here’s some great feedback from our first programs, in case you’re wondering what people who did the course really thought of it:
”I so enjoyed the presentations, content and accompanying resources, including your guest speakers. I found the course was easily understood with bite size modules and clear introductions. I appreciated your references to the current industry standard research and benchmarking. On the whole I found the course a complete revelation that I feel so lucky to have stumbled onto. I can't imagine where I would find this depth of knowledge in one place, so easily accessible and enlightening.”

“I thought the content and structure were excellent. Covered lots of non-financial aspects of retirement planning which are crucial to approaching this task from a holistic view. As you mentioned somewhere, finances are really only the enabler of a great retirement. The rest, the other 90% is the social involvement, community, enjoyment of life, family etc.”

Finally, please keep sending in your letters. I am loving reading them and responding where I can more personally if they aren’t right to share. And, if I can, I will share them.

Cheers, and until next week ‘Make your Prime Time count!’