Eureka Correspondence

Paying a pension

My husband and I are of an age when we have to pay ourselves a pension from our super fund, calculated as a percentage of the total, rising as we get older. Our super fund consists of money in accumulation phase and pension phase.

Is the percentage calculated against the total value of the fund (i.e. all money, whether in accumulation or in pension phase) OR only the amount which is in pension phase?

Penny

Editor's response: Thanks for your letter. The pension that must be paid is only calculated based on the amount of funds in pension phase.

The pension is also calculated for each member of the fund separately. Client A will have a certain balance in pension phase, and the minimum percentage that must be paid from that balance is calculated based on Client A's age. Meanwhile, Client B will calculate the percentage that must be paid from their own balance based on their own age.

Reclaiming tax on dividends from the US

I tried to get the W-8BEN form right (see Buying shares offshore: Tax issues you need to know, January 21) but Computershare and Vanguard were not helpful at all, so I have ended up having the tax withheld. How do I get it back?

Roger Pape

KPMG tax partner Dan Hodgson's response: Thanks for your letter. The only way to get US withholding tax back is to file a US personal tax return. Taxpayers should seek advice that is specific to their personal circumstances.

Offshore investing in pension mode

Thanks for this article (Buying shares offshore: Tax issues you need to know, January 21). A comment on SMSFs in pension mode and therefore not paying tax would be welcome. For instance, how do they retrieve the minimum 15% withheld?

Steve

KPMG tax partner Dan Hodgson's response: Thanks for your letter. Generally in this situation the US withholding applies and cannot be refunded. Australian superannuation is generally not recognised as a tax-exempt vehicle. Taxpayers should seek advice that is specific to their personal circumstances.

Analysing Apple

I am interested in reading any recent Eureka Report articles on Apple Inc shares (AAPL) and Netflix if you could kindly refer them to me.

The recent results of Apple are impressive and I would like to investigate the worthiness of currently buying some shares in these companies if their valuations stack up as some people say they are undervalued.

Even if the AUD/USD is dropping would it still be viable to buy US shares? Perhaps an ETF in US shares may be a better approach also.

Does Eureka have any comments on these subjects in any articles that I could read?

Thank you for your assistance and worthy report.

Phillip

Editor's response: Thanks for your letter. Our international equities analyst Clay Carter has published his thoughts on Apple here: Analysing Apple, September 22, 2014. He has not published any work on Netflix and is unlikely to do so.

Recent articles touching on the exchange rate include The true cost of a rate cut (February 4), A falling dollar can be your friend (December 22, 2014) and Buying overseas stocks: A Eureka guide (July 28, 2014). In terms of exchange-traded funds, you might be interested in Has your SMSF been missing out on offshore gains? (January 28), Markets in 2015: Winning by not losing (January 12) and the archive of Percy Allan's columns.

Azure

Will Simon Dumaresq ever have more to say on Azure Health?

Kevin Meagher

Editor's response: Thanks for your letter. Azure is scheduled to report its financial results on February 20 and Simon Dumaresq expects to write more about the company after that.