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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.

Latest Updates

Exchange traded products

It’s time for LICs to die

A high-profile dividend cut and a prominent fund manager’s apology have reignited a long-running debate. If investors can access similar exposures more cheaply and efficiently elsewhere, what exactly is keeping LICs alive?

Taxation

Will investors be better or worse off under new housing tax changes?

Housing tax reforms have sparked warnings of market turmoil and promises of greater fairness. But after modelling nearly two decades of property data, the results suggest winners and losers may not be who many investors expect.

Retirement

Three considerations before reshaping your legacy plan

Many retirees hope to leave a legacy. Proposed trust tax reforms could force families to rethink. The question is not how much to leave behind, but whether today's inheritance plans will still make sense as circumstances change.

Investment strategies

Why experienced investors still get markets wrong

Retirement is approaching. Markets are noisy. And every headline seems to demand action. The biggest investment risk isn't fear, greed or market volatility, it often arrives disguised as research and sensible risk management.

Shares

Why pay more for less?

Conditions were stacked in favour of professional investors in 2026. Most still fell short, raising questions about where investors should look for value. Meanwhile, an alternative strategy continued to make its case.

Investment strategies

Bleeding air out of the bubble

Equity valuations have fallen sharply over the past year, yet investors have largely been spared the volatility and losses that typically accompany a de-rating. What explains this unusually orderly reset? Here are five key drivers.

Strategy

Has AI gone rogue?

We worry about AI becoming conscious. But what if consciousness isn't the issue? The more unsettling possibility is a machine capable of pursuing objectives relentlessly, without motives, emotions, or awareness of any kind.

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