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Mystery surrounds the identity of the Australian bachelor with a staggering $544 MILLION in his retirement account as the Treasurer sets his sights on the nation’s richest.
- Chart shows superfunds with more than $1 million
- A mysterious Australian has $544 million in his account
Millions of Australians moving ever closer to retirement are petrified by their super balance, but a mystery Aussie with a staggering $544 million in his account has nothing to worry about.
Data from the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) listed the nation’s top super balances as of 2019 and revealed that 411,128 people had more than $1 million in their super funds.
The average Australian has a super balance of around $150,000.
According to the data, some 400,000 Australians had between $1 million and $2 million in their superfunds, while 100 people had more than $50 million.
The ATO reduced the number of Australians in each super fund pool until it reached $544 million with just one mystery person listed as having the sizable account balance.
The graph showed a total of 411,128 retirement funds with a balance of more than $1 million. A retirement fund accumulated a staggering $544 million (pictured)
Social media users speculated which wealthy Australian was behind the huge account, with many suggesting it was Australia’s richest person and mining magnate Gina Rinehart (left). Others believe that Atlassian co-founder Mike Cannon-Brookes (right) is behind the fund.
Social media users were shocked at the huge figure and many wondered which rich Australian could be behind the mammoth account.
Some suggested that Australia’s richest person and mining magnate, Gina Rinehart, was the face behind the fund.
Others claimed the account belonged to Australia’s seventh richest person, Clive Palmer.
More names were thrown around, including Harvey Norman Holdings chief executive Gerry Harvey, former ASX 300 richest executive Kerry Stokes, Qantas Airways chief executive Alan Joyce and Atlassian co-founder Mike Cannon-Brookes.
There are quite a few candidates. There are 49 billionaires in Australia according to Forbes’, one person wrote.
“I’d love to know how much ‘said person’ thinks they need to be able to enjoy their retirement,” another commented.
“Someone has been making coffee at home and avoiding avocado toast,” a third person quipped.
It comes after the federal government announced plans to change the retirement system, making it more difficult for Australians to withdraw their pension before retirement.
It comes after the federal government proposed a superannuation shakeup, which would make it harder for Australians to take out their superannuation early and would impose a higher tax on multi-million dollar accounts.
On February 20, Treasurer Jim Chalmers declared a crackdown on super early access after the pandemic ‘debacle’.
The coalition government of former Prime Minister Scott Morrison allowed workers to withdraw up to $20,000 from their supermarket, through two installments of $10,000 in 2020, during the first months of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers (pictured with his wife Laura) revealed plans to review the retirement tax benefits available to high-income earners.
Outside of the pandemic, super early release is only allowed in very limited circumstances, including if someone is permanently incapacitated.
This is known as a ‘super disability benefit’.
A super fund must be satisfied that someone has a permanent physical or mental medical impairment that is likely to prevent this person from returning to work in a job for which they were qualified.
Chalmers also revealed plans to review retirement tax benefits with a focus on funds with more than $3 million, which is less than one percent of taxpayers.
He wants to scrap laws that allow workers to deposit up to $27,500 into their supermarket each financial year at a low rate of 15 percent, if they earn up to $250,000.
The current regime means high earners with $180,000 are taxed much less than their 45 percent income tax rate.