Retirement
Why the Government will continue to target super and the pension

An aging population will drive policy decisions.
Read more | 6 min read
Retirement
The challenges of retirement aren’t just financial
Moynes, a former educator and financial adviser, wrote the short book after his own struggles in retirement and subsequent interviews with other retirees. He believes that there’s a predictable and identifiable pattern to retirement, and it involves four phases:
Read more | 5 min read
Retirement
The when and why of four million Australian retirees
The many reports and reviews issued recently are giving greater understanding about retirement and attempting to improve the outcomes for Australians living on their savings.
Read more | 6 min read
Retirement
What the Federal Budget means for retirees

The budget includes cost-of-living support for retirees yet indicates the Government won't change the way it calculates the new super tax.
Read more | 4 min read
Retirement
Should you give your children their inheritance before you die?

The issue is likely to be aired more often as Baby Boomers in Australia get older, die richer and leave behind larger bequests.
Read more | 5 min read
Retirement
How the new super tax will hit large balances
Although holders of large super balances will be hit by the higher tax, the fears of a hard cap forcing the removal of money from super, or the imposition of tax at the top personal marginal rate, have not been realised. The delay until after the next election also gives time for consultation and modification.
Read more | 5 min read
Retirement
What to Pay for Future Income
Magellan is the latest provider to unsuccessfully attempt to solve one of finance’s perpetual challenges: income in retirement.
Read more | 6 min read
Retirement
Should you personalise your withdrawal rate in retirement?
No single Australian’s retirement is the same—the notion of the “average” client simply doesn’t exist. But advisers know that. After all, the advice industry has been providing personalised strategies for years and helping retirees answer the big question: How much should I spend each year? But if personalisation is the way forward, is it time to consider the role of minimum drawdown rates in superannuation?
Read more | 5 min read
Retirement
Allocating to Private Markets in the Post-Retirement Phase
Many Australian investors, including the large superannuation funds, are allocating assets to private markets such as private equity, unlisted infrastructure and private debt. In the right  structure, private markets have positively contributed to portfolio return outcomes. However, financial advisers often cite liquidity and transparency of the underlying investments as the biggest challenge to allocating more to private markets. But is it the Australian retail platform infrastructure that constrains advisers from allocating private assets to client portfolios? Or is liquidity more crucial for investor needs when constructing portfolios for the retirement income phase?
Read more | 4 min read
Retirement
4 dangerous assumptions that could ruin your retirement
By the time retirement savers realise the error of their ways, it may be too late
Read more | 6 min read
Retirement
10 little-known pension traps prove the value of advice
The age pension is a major source of income for the majority of Australian retirees. But the system is complex, and many people find it hard to work their way through the labyrinth of regulations. As a result, they may fail to qualify for a pension, lose their pension, or receive less than they would if they took advice.
Read more | 7 min read
Retirement
The good news about retirement income
When it comes to in-retirement income—and specifically the amount you can safely withdraw from your portfolio without running out—Christine Benz has got good news and bad news.
Read more | 5 min read
Retirement
Why Advisers Should Understand the Insourcing Trend of Large Superannuation Funds
Large superannuation funds are increasingly insourcing investment management responsibilities. And many of these funds now feature on many advisers’ approved product lists.
Read more | 7 min read
Retirement
Retirement income promise relies on spending capital
Everyone needs to rethink what income means in retirement. That's the message from the Government, and it will soon impose obligations on all super funds, including SMSFs, to provide a plan to maximise this form of income.
Read more | 7 min read
Retirement
What I learned from my faux-retirement
I'm not ready to retire any time soon, but my recent sabbatical from Morningstar--a six-week break totally free from work obligations, available to Morningstar's US employees every four years--gave me a chance to noodle on what retirement would feel like for me.
Read more | 5 min read
Retirement
Three steps to planning your spending in retirement
How to make your retirement savings last is an age-old conundrum. Bill Sharpe, the US economist and Nobel Prize winner, called it “the hardest, nastiest problem in finance”. How much can you sustainably withdraw from your pension pot? And what’s a sensible way to allocate assets in it?
Read more | 6 min read
Retirement
How long will my retirement savings last?
The Retirement Income Review (RIR) noted that many retirees leave large bequests and they would have enjoyed a higher standard of living in retirement if only they had spent some of their capital, not just the income from their investments. Planning cash flow in retirement is extremely difficult because of the uncertainties about expenditure, doubts about investment returns and unpredictability about how long we are going to live.
Read more | 7 min read
Retirement
The risks lurking in your 60/40 portfolio
Most Australians hold their superannuation in a balanced fund, often 60 per cent growth/40 per cent defensive or 70 per cent/30 per cent. Lifecycle funds are also popular, where the amount in defensive assets increases with age. Employees who are not engaged with their super (and that’s most people when they start full-time work) simply tick a box for the default fund selected on their behalf by the employer.
Read more | 6 min read
Back to top
Subscribe