Superannuation
Hi All, Just venting my frustrations, for two days I have emailed the super I have like many of others have about trying to access some of my super to help out with the incoming house hold bills mortg...
Forum Discussion
I had Trauma/Critical Illness insurance as part of my Life insurance linked to my superannuation. I had forgotten all about it and it was only when I called to cancel an appointment with my financial adviser because I was too busy having surgery that he asked if I had claimed? His office actually did all the work - I just had to sign the documents - and a few weeks later I got my lump sum payment which meant I could afford to pay someone else to do my job for several months (we are self employed), get a cleaner to do my house, pay all my medical bills and even pay out our mortgage.
We have our own business so our insurance and superannuation has always been organised by our financial adviser. I never paid much attention to it all and just followed his advice. Incredibly I had questioned the need for Trauma/Critical illness insurance as I said that we had private health insurance (haha I had no idea how big the gap payments were going to be!) and income protection (forgot about the waiting period) so I didn't know what we would need the money for! I really can't believe how innocent I was. He explained that we would need money to keep our business going if we ever became ill or incapacitated. That was the only reason we got it and even then I still thought he was only recommending it so he got a bigger commission!
I know I am incredibly fortunate to have had this and I can't imagine how difficult it would be to have financial worries in addition to cancer treatment. Like me, most people have no idea how expensive getting cancer is. I know I could have used the public system, our family and friends would have helped clean the house, and our business probably would have survived but our savings would have been totally depleted and our loans would have grown bigger during the time of less income.
But most of all - the extra stress would have been another burden to carry.
I think there needs to be a simple system to help financially while you are undergoing treatment. I think it could be set up like the student loans for university. You get an immediate payment to use for your mortgage, medical bills, etc and then when you are back on your feet again your tax rate increases by 1 or 2% to pay it back if necessary. Most (not all) of us only need assistance for a short time and then we return to working and paying taxes! I would be wonderful to know that everyone had the help they need during this time.
We have our own business so our insurance and superannuation has always been organised by our financial adviser. I never paid much attention to it all and just followed his advice. Incredibly I had questioned the need for Trauma/Critical illness insurance as I said that we had private health insurance (haha I had no idea how big the gap payments were going to be!) and income protection (forgot about the waiting period) so I didn't know what we would need the money for! I really can't believe how innocent I was. He explained that we would need money to keep our business going if we ever became ill or incapacitated. That was the only reason we got it and even then I still thought he was only recommending it so he got a bigger commission!
I know I am incredibly fortunate to have had this and I can't imagine how difficult it would be to have financial worries in addition to cancer treatment. Like me, most people have no idea how expensive getting cancer is. I know I could have used the public system, our family and friends would have helped clean the house, and our business probably would have survived but our savings would have been totally depleted and our loans would have grown bigger during the time of less income.
But most of all - the extra stress would have been another burden to carry.
I think there needs to be a simple system to help financially while you are undergoing treatment. I think it could be set up like the student loans for university. You get an immediate payment to use for your mortgage, medical bills, etc and then when you are back on your feet again your tax rate increases by 1 or 2% to pay it back if necessary. Most (not all) of us only need assistance for a short time and then we return to working and paying taxes! I would be wonderful to know that everyone had the help they need during this time.