CRAZY THING, I have had a tab open for about 6 months on my mac. It is a bank tab from Australia. About 6 months ago, I wanted to transfer the remaining AUS dollar to USD. In Australia when you get a job, the government makes you start a superannuation fund. It is basically a pre-taxed retirement fund that has heavy penalties if you withdraw before a set retirement period.
For Australian residence, it helps promote savings. Any over the table job requires it. Whether you are working as a waiter, laborer or white collar businessman, this holds true. I like it, I think the US should have a required retirement fund like this. It makes sense, people are morons. They spend way above their means.
For the traveller on a working holiday visa, this is bullshit. You have to open an Australian retirement fund, and if you take the money out, you will have heavy penalties. My account has about a grand in it. So probably 800 USD.
Those tabs are filled with all the information regarding this topic. You first have to alert the Australian government of your departure so that they can grant you the ability to access the money. It is pretty insane. There is like a bunch of crazy to steps to close it. Again this is good for Australian residences. It make the application for withdrawal long and tedious. The fee is also a great deterrent for withdrawal. Australians have a no-nsense way of doing things.
Before I got a job, I had to apply for a TFN number (tax filing number). They wouldn’t hire you if you didn’t have one. I literally had to take a 5 hour safety class in order to work construction. It was insane, but they do it right. Everything is by the book there. I love it but hate the fact that I won’t be able to get all my money back from the Australian government. Those bastards.
I guess I have it open because I don’t know if I actually want to close it. Maybe I’ll go back some day. I just looked at Amazon jobs in Melbourne…. Melbourne is a pretty nice place….
I’m out, I got to work tonight.
ChiricoChronicles 