935 super september: calculators, fees, fund selection & SMSF with financial journalist James Kirby

**Glen James** (0:06)
Well, everyone, it is the start of September. We're calling it Super September. If you are a long-time listener of the show, many years ago, we did this Super September where we talked about superannuation pretty much every episode for the month of September and killed half the audience. So we're not going to do that. But what we are going to do is have a discussion here today and chew the fad a little bit about superannuation, the current state in Australia, and a couple of things. What to consider, some editorial thoughts about superannuation, what to look for if you want to review or, I don't know, change your super funds, fees, performance, all the stuff. This is a different Tuesday episode because today I am interviewing maybe some financial journalist royalty.
My guest today is James Kirby. He's at The Australian and he's got a podcast, The Australian's Money Puzzle. I listen to this podcast myself sometimes and it is great to have James Kirby on the show with me today to chew the fad about all things superannuation. You are in great hands.
If you are new to the show, welcome. And you know the deal. If you're an old hand, sit down, shut up, get back to it. So we're going to get into it right now. And yeah, let me know in the comments what you think about the Laverland with your own superannuation or anything that we discuss. I want to know your thoughts in the comments on Spotify or YouTube. My name is Glen James. I'm going to talk with James Kirby from The Australian's Money Puzzle Podcast right now.
Before we get into it, this show is general advice only. I've got a license to provide that advice. Full details can be found in the show description. My name is Glen James, former financial advisor. I host this show and a show called Retireite. I've got some books, the award-winning Quick-Start Guide to Investing and The Quick-Start Guide to Your First Property available where good books are sold or in the description. If you're new here, welcome. If you're in old hand, welcome to M3. Let's get into it right now.
James Kirby, welcome to Money Money Money.

**James Kirby** (2:32)
Thank you, Glen. Delighted to be on the show with you.

**Glen James** (2:35)
Well, let's have a bit of a chat about this super stuff. Hey, why, you know, we've got a bit of financial journal royalty with us.
Can you just maybe put a flag on the hill with what your vibe is around the topic of superannuation? Anything that you've seen out there in the wild recently or over the years?

**James Kirby** (2:57)
Yeah.

**Glen James** (2:57)
I don't know, just just wet our whistle with a bit of your vibe.

**James Kirby** (3:02)
Well, look, I think most people, the way it works, it is, we have an exceptional super system and people hear about it. They may not necessarily know how it really works, but very, very simply, whether you like it or not, by law, 12% of your salary is put in for your benefit to super, to finance your retirement when you retire.
And if it was not done that way, it would be very, very difficult to put that amount of money into your super. And before it existed, once upon a time, when it was created by Paul Keating way back when, when people retired, there was two things. One, they didn't have great retirement funding or finance or much to depend on. A lot of them were on the pension. The pension is very small. And the second thing is that we all live way longer than our parents.
And so, though it is, it seems a bit distance. And obviously, the younger you are, the more distant it seems. So when you're in your 20s or 30s, your concept of retirement is just a million zillion miles away. But it's amazing. Once people hit, I don't know, 50 perhaps, they suddenly go, gee, gosh, how much do I have in Super? And how will I pay for myself? Or if I wanted to leave my job today and have that idea of fire, financial independence, retire early, can I do it? Well, that will depend on how much you have in Super. So for all its faults, and it has many faults, it is a very strong system and ensures that most people, most of the time save for their retirement and they probably wouldn't have, certainly not in the disciplined manner that's enforced legally, mandatory by what they call the Superannuation Guarantee Charge, which is now 12%.

**Glen James** (4:52)
Yeah, so what I want to do, thanks for setting the scene there, James. I've got a variety of different topics around the topic of superannuation. And I want to start with online calculators, because a lot of people first go, well, how much do I need to retire?