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25 October 2026
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Super reviews aggregate retirees into an impersonal number on a chart, but the 2,700 Australians who retire each week are undergoing a major change in their lives. Why and when do they retire and then what?
Australians don't need dodgy schemes in Caribbean islands to hide their wealth. There are plenty of legal ways to avoid paying tax but they will leave personal income tax carrying a heavy burden for future generations.
An actuary warns of the frustrations he experienced as executor of his brother's will, a role he expected to be straightforward. He knew super does not automatically form part of an estate but there are traps for all to learn.
With the best will in the world, family disputes often occur on the death of a family member. SMSFs often hold substantial assets, and the role of trustees and death benefit nominations is tricky.
The $1.6 million Transfer Balance Cap (TBC) on pension accounts affects only capital balances. It’s not affected by income earned and pensions paid, and there are ways to maximise the remaining tax-free status.
It’s crucial for super fund or SMSF members to understand the law as it relates to death benefit nominations to ensure desired outcomes are achieved. Don't leave a mess for others to fix.
If proposed super changes are enacted, the lifetime cap on non-concessional contributions will confine the re-contribution strategy and significantly increase the tax payable on death benefits. Was that intended?
A warning not to take short cuts when settling a death benefit from a deceased SMSF member. Even if the payment is being transferred within the same fund, you still need to follow the law.
The benefits received from super if premature death, terminal illness or permanent injury prevent you or your spouse from working to retirement age vary in their conditions and taxation, so it's good to be informed early.
Technical but important - recent amendments allow the income on investments supporting a non-reversionary pension to continue as exempt current pension income after the death of the member.
Protecting your wealth and standard of living is just as important as building it in the first place. You are gambling with your financial future if you do not have adequate insurance.
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?
The fight over testamentary trusts looked settled. Then the draft legislation arrived. Hidden in a technical detail is a question that could force many families to rethink wills they thought were already future-proof.
Investors have long accepted one portfolio rule without much question. A major tax shift could change that calculation entirely, forcing difficult trade-offs between risk, discipline and an overlooked cost lurking beneath.
From the maths of retirement, estimating spending and picking the right asset allocation to survive a poor decade, here are the questions every retiree – current or future – should be able to answer for themselves.
The value of a testamentary trust is not determined by wealth alone. Depending on circumstances, it can reduce the tax burden on inherited income, create efficiencies and help build intergenerational wealth.
House prices are sliding across Australia, yet the most dangerous ingredient for a housing crash is still missing. If job losses surge amid growing economic risks, today's correction could become a historic property downturn.