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20 March 2025
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Most people would prefer to have more money than less of it. But at what point do the trappings of wealth and success start to outweigh the benefits of striving for more?
Retirement can last more than 30 years, necessitating thoughtful planning. Many miss workplace friendships, identity, status, expertise, and routine, but these can be replaced with renewed activities and purpose.
Despite being richer, surveyed measures of happiness have been flat to falling in Australia. Some suggest we should focus less on GDP and more on broader measures of wellbeing, though there are pros and cons to that approach.
Money can bolster our joy in real ways. However, if we relentlessly chase wealth at the expense of other facets of well-being, history and science both teach us that it will lead to a hollowing out of life.
Debates about retirement tend to focus on the financial aspects: income, tax, estates, wills, and the like. Less attention is paid to the psychological challenges of retirement, which can often be more demanding.
Retirement planning invariably focuses on money. Yet other matters such as health and career are important too, and a new study has found a more holistic planning approach can better equip people as they prepare for retirement.
The Australian welfare system, including the Age Pension, was designed on the assumption that older people own their home and can age there. But new research shows this to be far from true for many of us.
The rules to age successfully include, 'the unexamined life lasts longer', 'change no more than one-eighth of your life at a time', 'nobody is thinking about you', and 'pursue virtue but don’t sweat it'.
Managing retirement is as important as building a superannuation balance. Leaving work can lead to a loss of identify if there is a failure to craft a new life and it is a big shock for many retirees.
For decades, it's been thought that investors focus more on limiting losses than making gains. New research suggests that as we age, the reverse may be true, which has significant implications for the investment industry.
Did you know the happiest group of retirees is women who get divorced between 60-65 years of age? Or that the best investment a man might make is in a classic car? Find out more about the science behind a happy retirement.
Benjamin Graham wrote that everyone should hold between 25% and 75% in equities, with the rest in bonds. That's a big range, but equities give the best long-term returns. The right level is the point where you sleep easy.
This time last year, I highlighted 16 ASX stocks that investors could own indefinitely. One year on, I look at whether there should be any changes to the list of stocks as well as which companies are worth buying now.
The CIO of Australia’s fourth largest super fund by assets, John Pearce, suggests the odds favour a flat year for markets, with the possibility of a correction of 10% or more. However, he’ll use any dip as a buying opportunity.
With the arrival of the new year, the first members of ‘Generation X’ turned 60, marking the start of the MTV generation’s collective journey towards retirement. Are Gen Xers and our retirement system ready for the transition?
The ABS recently released figures which are used to determine key superannuation rates and thresholds that will apply from 1 July 2025. This outlines the rates and thresholds that are changing and those that aren’t.
The intergenerational wealth transfer, largely driven by a housing boom, exacerbates economic inequality, stifles productivity, and impedes social mobility. Solutions lie in addressing the housing problem, not taxing wealth.
Warren Buffett's annual shareholder letter has been fixture for avid investors for decades. In his latest letter, Buffett is reticent on many key topics, but his actions rather than words are sending clear signals to investors.