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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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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Fixed interest

Higher yields are creating opportunities in global bonds

Bond markets are adjusting to a new reality, but not in the ways investors expect. With markets repricing and capital competing for attention, investors may need to rethink where resilience and opportunity lie. 

Economy

Are we in a recession?

What if the warning signs are already everywhere? From supermarket aisles to company failures, investors are being bombarded with recession signals. But most face a different risk that can be just as dangerous for portfolios. 

SMSF strategies

Meg on SMSFs - Division 296 actuarial certificates

The tax bill might be yours, but the event that caused it may not be. A key Division 296 calculation can sometimes attribute earnings in ways that many SMSF trustees won't instinctively expect or fully appreciate.

Property

The first impact of negative gearing reform is not the tax bill

Negative gearing changes formally begin in 2027, but the first consequences may already be here. A subtle shift is quietly influencing who can borrow, how much they can access and which property strategies still stack up.

Economy

The oil market is running out of easy answers

The biggest threat to markets may not be what investors are watching. The numbers have stopped adding up and supply is harder to measure, with forecasts becoming simple guesses. A more fragile reality is being masked.

Investment strategies

The state of investor knowledge in Australia

Australians are investing more than ever, yet a surprising divide is emerging between those building wealth effectively and those making costly mistakes. Surprisingly, the gap has little to do with income, age or starting capital.

Taxation

Complexity and capital gains

A case study shows that the ‘30% minimum CGT’ is a poorly conceived tax that adds significant complexity to an already over-complex system. A less complicated model would create a much fairer progressive tax scale.

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