20 August 2026

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Home / Author: Brendan Coates

Brendan Coates

How much do you need to retire?

Australians are used to hearing dire warnings that they don't have enough saved for a comfortable retirement. Yet most people need to save a lot less than you might think — as long as they meet an important condition.

Brendan Coates, Joey Moloney
22 January 2025
49

Cut tax breaks to make super fairer and the budget stronger

The Grattan Institute argues that superannuation has moved so far beyond the purpose of providing income in retirement that the super tax breaks will do little more than boost the inheritances of wealthy people.

There’s a lot more to retirement incomes than super

Super counts for only 20% of the wealth of Australians. For retirement incomes, most younger people today will still receive most of their income from the age pension when they retire in three decades’ time.

Brendan Coates, Matt Cowgill
12 August 2020
44

Housing cost is biggest threat to a comfortable retirement

Most Australians are comfortable in retirement provided they own their homes. We’re failing retirees who rent but we also need to include more of the family home in the pension assets test.

Brendan Coates
17 June 2020
14

Off target: Mercer misses the mark on our retirement modelling

Grattan has released a response to the above Mercer critique, with this short summary of their position and the longer paper attached. The coming retirement review will need to cope with such diversity of opinions.

Brendan Coates
20 August 2019
1

How investment property returns depend on politics

Economic growth and interest rates affect housing prices, but political decisions around zoning, migration, and taxes are also strong influences. Overall, the current climate suggests a much slower growth in house prices.

John Daley, Brendan Coates, Trent Wiltshire
5 April 2018
8

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Testamentary trusts have secured the CGT exemption

Treasury’s latest CGT reform draft delivers a win for testamentary trusts and deceased estates, exempting estate-derived gains from the 30% floor. However, questions on death and divorce rollovers remain unresolved.

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Property

Are these assets the missing piece in Australian portfolios?

Many investors remain concentrated in shares, cash and property. Despite their popularity among institutional investors, real assets remain underrepresented in many SMSF portfolios. Could they be the missing piece?

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The biggest risk that buy-and-hold investors ignore

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Larry Swedroe
19 August 2026

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