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22 October 2025
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You can’t freely withdraw your super before 65. You need to meet certain legal conditions tied to your age, whether you’ve retired, or if you're using a transition to retirement option.
The Compensation Scheme of Last Resort fails families hit by First Guardian and Shield losses, as well as advisers who are being wrongly blamed for the saga. It’s time for a fair, faster, universal super levy solution.
ASFA’s latest estimates reveal that home-owning couples need at least $690,000 in super for a ‘comfortable’ retirement, yet only around 30% of people meet these thresholds, and the shortfall may deepen.
The $3 million super tax has many rethinking their super strategies, especially issues of wealth transfer on death. This reviews the taxes on super benefits and offers investment alternatives.
Subdividing can offer a lucrative first step into property development. Yet it comes with legal, planning and unexpected tax considerations that should be understood from an early stage to avoid surprises.
Lately, there's been a push by Government for lifetime income streams as a solution to retirement income challenges. We run the numbers on these products to see whether they deliver on what they promise.
Australia is in the early throes of an intergenerational wealth transfer worth an estimated $3.5 trillion. Here's a case study highlighting some of the challenges with transferring wealth between generations.
Nominating beneficiaries with your super fund is the only way to direct your death benefits to the people you want to receive it. The steps you take will depend on your circumstances and who your intended beneficiaries are.
Life expectancy statistics are often interpreted as the likely maximum age of a person, but that's not right. The odds favor people outliving life expectancy estimates - an important consideration for financial planning.
Facing up to a terminal diagnosis can also lead to worries regarding financial stability. People in this situation could have a number of options regarding their super assets.
The financial advice sector is experiencing a form of market failure where demand for the type of advice now favoured by the industry is limited by the cost of supplying it. Here's how the industry can best move forward.
Few of us will reach 80 years old without some kind of mental impairment that will cloud our financial decision-making. It's wise to take such decision-making out of our hands while we have the mental capacity to do so.
LICs are continuing to struggle with large discounts and frustrated investors are wondering whether it’s worth holding onto them. This explains why the next 6-12 months will be make or break for many LICs.
Younger Australians think they’ll need $100k a year in retirement - nearly double what current retirees spend. Expectations are rising fast, but are they realistic or just another case of lifestyle inflation?
In any year since 1875, if you'd invested in the ASX, turned away and come back eight years later, your average return would be 120% with no negative periods. It's just one of the must-have stats that all investors should know.
Retirement can be daunting for Australians facing financial uncertainty. Understand your goals, longevity challenges, inflation impacts, market risks, and components of retirement income with these crucial charts.
Five mega trends point to risks of a more inflation prone and lower growth environment. This, along with rich market valuations, should constrain medium term superannuation returns to around 5% per annum.
With rising home prices and falling affordability, political leaders preach reform. But asset disclosures show many are heavily invested in property - raising doubts about whose interests housing policy really protects.