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Doug McBirnie

Protect retirement savings from longevity risk by pooling

A feature of life expectancy is that over half the people of a certain age will live longer than their life expectancy. Retirees using these estimates may run out of money, but there are benefits of pooling.

How SMSFs should plan for $1.6m pension cap

Anyone with large super balances should know their choices well before 1 July 2017, although they no longer have to decide how to segregate between accumulation and pension.

SMSF assets will not need segregating

SMSFs transferring funds to a tax-free pension account under the proposed cap of $1.6 million will not need to sell or segregate assets from an accumulation account for the same member.

SMSF trustees have longer lives and more certainty

More wealth and better education levels mean SMSF trustees have a longer life expectancy by 2-3 years. They should be financially prepared and save for for those extra retirement years and beyond.

How much can SMSF trustees really afford in retirement?

The ASFA 'comfortable retirement standard' for a couple is only $58,128 per annum, below the average full-time wage. SMSF trustees should check these numbers as an estimate of how much and at what age before they retire.

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Retirement

The retirement account that Australia should have

Our retirement system asks one account to do two very different jobs. A dedicated "rainy day" account separating income from emergency savings could deliver better outcomes and greater peace of mind for retirees.

Investing

What the US midterm results mean for investors

Democrats have regained control of Congress, changing the equation in Washington. Whether that proves positive for investors will depend less on the result itself and more on what happens next for growth and markets.

Taxation

Should the capital gains tax reward risk?

A reader query on the recent CGT reforms has revealed a bigger issue. One overlooked feature of the old system may have done more than compensate for inflation. As we move to indexation, are we forgetting to reward risk?

Investment strategies

Bonds: The income and diversification trade-off

Rising yields have made bonds attractive again, but that does not mean they will behave as expected. As inflation, fiscal pressures and geopolitical risks reshape markets, the role of bonds may be more complicated than it appears.

Investment strategies

Why high-dividend investing deserves another look

Income investors have endured several lean years, but signs of a recovery are emerging. As opportunities improve, investors face an important choice between chasing headline yields and building a reliable source of income.

Investment strategies

Why 'overvalued' has been such an expensive word

Investors love simple rules, especially when markets appear stretched. Yet some of the strongest returns have arrived when the outlook seemed least attractive. This leaves an important question that history struggles to answer.

Investment strategies

AI – A good kind of bubble or just a bubble?

Investor obsession with AI is attracting unprecedented amounts of capital and confidence. But beneath the excitement lies uncertainties about returns, funding and risks that enthusiasts may not be paying enough attention to.

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