Superannuation and Teeth? By James Reed
I read this story about a guy who had bad teeth, who used an emergency withdrawal of superannuation to get his entire mouth decked out in shining white pearlies. The before and after pictures are mighty impressive. If I had any super left, I might do that too. I suppose the teeth are implants. Well, better than the mouth of false teeth that I have now; but I further guess that I will not have too much time left on this once green Earth, destroyed by mass immigration, before the good Lord takes me, the way I feel nowadays, so teeth will be for me, a luxury. There are other bits and pieces that need treatment, but I won't go into that now. I wonder if I could set up a "please repair me" page to get the funds for surgery? I have looked into do-it-your-self surgery, but dropped the idea like a hot kidney.
Anyway, given these hard economic times and cost of living crisis, I know that people are putting up with dental problems. While I offer no financial advice here, or any recommendations, and jokes, if you can call them that aside, the story below could be a help to some people. Seek independent financial advice. I seek mine from a mystical white-robed guru, who lives in the misty twirls of the Blue Mountains. His name is John Steele.
"Tully Denahy destroyed his teeth through years of hard living – and fixed them at age 36 by draining his superannuation account dry.
His new teeth cost $53,800. He says they are worth every cent.
"It wasn't a very difficult choice to make," Mr Denahy told 7.30.
"Not being able to eat, not being able to be taken seriously in business or relationships, versus having to put some extra hard work in to restore my super."
He says his teeth were damaged through a lack of care after he lived on the streets as a teenager, existed on sweets, used drugs, and did not own a toothbrush until he was 26.
His bright new smile reflects a growing trend as Australians take money out of their retirement savings to pay for dental treatment.
But whether they should be able to in record numbers and the method in which the access to super is approved bears scrutiny.
Australian Tax Office (ATO) statistics show that in 2022-23 more than $313 million was removed from superannuation to pay for dental care, up from $108.2 million just two years earlier.
It's allowed under the ATO's Compassionate Release of Superannuation program.
There's been little growth in other categories of compassionate release, like weight loss, IVF and preventing foreclosure of a house.
The Australian Dental Association's Scott Davis says the trend may be due to the rising cost of living, or a hangover from COVID, when people delayed essential dental work.
Lasting consequencesA related industry also plays a role.
They're facilitators who, for a fee, help dental patients navigate the paperwork to access their super.
One of these companies, Access My Super, boasts that it partners with 5,783 clinics and has a 100 per cent success rate with 53,286 applications to access super under the compassionate release program.
Yarra Capital Management's Tim Toohey has analysed the figures.
"It seems as though all you need is two medical practitioners to help fill in the forms, and as long as you meet the criteria, the ATO is essentially approving these applications," he said.
He says there are lasting consequences for those who withdraw their super decades early.
"If you're a 30-year-old and you withdraw $20,000, by the time you're set for retirement, that'd be worth over $150,000 of future savings," he said.
"If that same individual came back, say five years later, and withdrew another $20,000, you're talking north of $260,000 of their future savings."
Under the ATO's rules, super can be accessed only if two medical reports say treatment is required to treat a life-threatening illness, to alleviate acute or chronic pain, or mental illness.
In the case of dental surgery, one of these reports can be from the treating dentist.
Concerns over accessIn a statement to 7.30, the ATO said: "The process appropriately and necessarily relies on the professional ethics of medical providers to prepare accurate reports.
"ATO staff are not equipped, nor required, to question a patient's diagnosis or the required treatment strategy or to otherwise interfere in the relationship between a patient and their medical professional in relation to their medical diagnosis or treatment."
Zain Merhebe runs Supercare, another company that helps people access their super for a fee of between $480 to $580.
"Every single patient that comes to us, we ask them to seek independent financial advice. We make it clear: it will affect your retirement planning."
He says Supercare assists only with mainstream medical procedures like weight loss surgery, dental, or orthopaedic surgery.
Tim Toohey says it appears that other companies facilitate access for cosmetic purposes.
One firm, Super Health Care, says it will help clients access their super to pay for hair transplants.
In its online advice, Super Health Care posts some Frequently Asked Questions:
Will this affect me later in life?
Negative! There are no penalties or fees for using your Super early, as long as you go through approved health providers with a treatment plan.
Super Health Co and Access My Super did not respond to interview requests.
The Australian Dental Association's Dr Scott Davis says the compassionate scheme should not be used for superficial purposes.
"As a specialist prosthodontist I've been dealing with this for many years, and how I look at it is, you need acute or chronic pain, or significant functional disability, you know, can't eat properly," he said.
"That doesn't mean you get veneers on your front teeth, you straighten your teeth, you get fancy dental treatment; you just get basic care, really, through this scheme."
'Felt like I couldn't get any help'Tully spent a decade building a civil construction company – but his teeth remained as a legacy of those rough early years.
He had chronic pain, couldn't eat properly, was acutely self-conscious in business meetings, and couldn't afford to pay to replace his wrecked teeth.
"I'd wake in pain, I wasn't able to eat in the morning, I'd have to be very selective with what I had for lunch," he said.
"It would have to be room temperature, soft, and I couldn't have large portions … it gave me depression and anxiety.
"I felt hopeless. I felt like there was no way to access any funding. Medicare wouldn't help. My private health insurer deemed it to be a pre-existing problem. And honestly, it felt like I couldn't get help."
Dentist Ben Hargreave said Tully's options were to have all his teeth taken out and replaced with either dentures or implants.
He says Tully was guided through the funding options, which included accessing his super.
"We'll develop a treatment plan and then it's handed off to a third party agent which uses the information, and then they see if super is even an option for those patients," Dr Hargreave said.
"Once we've done our job as medical professionals, then it's up to the third party agents to decide whether or not the patient is applicable for super."
Tully was aware of the impact on his superannuation and was determined to proceed. So determined, in fact, that when he had all his teeth knocked out and replaced with implants, he remained awake.
He did not have enough money left in his super account to pay for an anaesthesiologist.
"I've had a hard run in life," he said.
"I've been through some things that would make having your teeth pulled out of your head pale in comparison.""
Comments