Why this newspaper column about wealthy retirees has sent everyday Aussies into a rage

An affluent elderly couple with millions in superannuation have come under fire after writing into a newspaper asking for financial help.

A man, 78, and woman, 79, told George Cochrane of the Sun Herald they receive a pension from a Self-Managed Super Fund (SMSF) and needed some advice.

The man’s holdings were $1,599,956 and combined with his wife’s $675,590, the couple held just under $2.3million in July 2017.

But their superannuation total has since grown to well above $3million, placing them in the top 0.5 per cent of Australians and meaning funds placed into the account will be taxed at a higher rate as of July 2025.

The investor asked Cochrane for advice on whether to sell some of his shares to remain below the $3million threshold. 

This angered some everyday Australians, who hit out at the cashed-up couple for looking for ways to keep their pockets deep as others struggle through the cost of living crisis. 

‘What will be the tax implications if my SMSF reaches $4million and my wife’s $1.8 million?’ the man asked .

‘Should we sell some of our shares to stay below the $3million threshold?’

The Albanese government announced changes in February that would double the amount of tax for superannuation accounts with more than $3million.

The tax rate will rise from 15 per cent to 30 percent as of July 1, 2025, and only affects some 80,000 people – the top 0.5 per cent of super savers.

The other 99.5 per cent of Australians would continue to receive the ‘same generous tax breaks’ – meaning the 15 per cent concessional rate will remain unchanged for them.

Cochrane didn’t provide specific advice to the couple, but did say: “If your super benefit is valued at $4million in July 2025, and your wife’s is $1.8million, then 69 per cent of the fund’s income will fall into your account. Of this, 75 per cent of your income will be untaxed and 25 per cent taxed at 30 per cent, including any capital gains tax. Your wife’s benefit remains untaxed.”

The column was posted to Twitter with the caption: ‘Honestly if you want to get your blood up about generational inequality in Australia may I recommended the letters on the Money page of the Sun Herald’.

‘What problems to have,’ the person wrote.

The couple would fall into the top 0.5 per cent of superannuation savers in Australia, and any money that is added to the account after July 2025 will be taxed twice as much (stock image)

Social media users flocked to the post to criticise the couple.

‘Bloody heck the dilemma! Sickens me, not what supper was intended for,’ one user wrote.

‘They’re both nearly 80, getting to spend what they already have will be an achievement, and they’re worrying about generating more,’ a second commented.

A third said: ‘People writing in always have heaps of money. 

‘No student ever writes in to ask how taking a third job will affect their rent subsidy and HECS (student) debt.’

But one person stood up for the couple, describing those leaving negative comments as ‘simply envious’.

‘Others seek to have that much in retirement themselves,’ they wrote.