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Tag: super pensions

TTR: The secret to not having to work longer

SUMMARY: You don’t have to work longer. Just be smarter with your super. Have a transition-to-retirement pension in your sights. Yet another government manifesto says the nation’s workers are going to have to get used to the idea of working longer. The Intergenerational Report (IGR) last week punted on how much longer we’re going to […]

Federal Budget: Can super tax concessions be saved?

  SUMMARY: Pressure is building for major change on retirement incomes. Which bitter pill will we be asked to swallow? We must be in Budget kite-flying season again. That time when ideas are run up flagpoles to gauge public reaction. The public purse, we are told, is empty. It needs restocking. And one area judged […]

2015: Super changes ahead?

SUMMARY: What’s in store for super in 2015? Hopefully little, but there’s a lot being considered by the Abbott Government. When it comes to predicting investment markets, I’m not a great crystal ball gazer. The riskier the asset class, the more I believe the “gazing” becomes “punting”. It is similarly risky trying to predict how […]

The nine risks for DIY fund operators in 2016

SUMMARY: No time to relax. SMSF trustees need to consider the risks ahead in 2016 and act now. It’s been nicely quiet out there in DIY super regulation land. Occasional jawboning, the odd threat, but little to no action. The lack of big changes in recent years has been welcome, given the turmoil of the period […]

Think twice about taking a super lump sum

SUMMARY: Wondering what to do with your super at retirement? Look harder at the pension option. Sometimes you need an outsider to come in to critique. Rip what you’re doing to shreds. And tell you how to reconstruct it properly. American Professor Robert C Merton has done just that to Australia’s super system. On a […]

Seven weeks left to sort out your super

SUMMARY: Age pension and health care card changes start on 1 January. It’s not too late to shore yours up. Here’s what to do. There’s a deadline silently sneaking up on super pensioners – one which could cost thousands annually to those who don’t take action. From next year, account-based pensions (ABPs) will be deemed […]

Six super strategies for couples

SUMMARY: Couples working together financially can make one plus one equal more than two. It’s an unusual statistic, though it shouldn’t be overly surprising: Surveys show the widowed are generally the least worried about their retirement. The reason is understandable. Most of two lifetimes spent saving to fund a joint retirement is now going to […]

Six ways to get ready for retirement

SUMMARY: Six steps to making sure your run up to retirement is as profitable as possible. There is a fuzzy point in your life when the retirement you have been working towards suddenly starts charging at you. It’s fuzzy because it’s going to be a different age for everyone. For most, it will happen somewhere […]

Australia takes silver in super rankings

SUMMARY: Australia picks up “silver” in global pensions survey – but has probably already lost its chance to defend its position next year. Australia has jumped to second in the global retirement incomes rankings – but could already have tumbled off the podium due to government policy changes. Denmark was the only country to have […]

Telstra shareholders steal a few centimetres

SUMMARY: Telstra’s buy back winners are a limited few. But in the investing game, every few centimetres count. The billion-dollar Telstra buyback ended up being a bit of a fizzer, even for those who were amost assured of being winners. Everything went against investors – the discount maxed out, the share price was depressed and […]