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Thursday, 29 July 2021
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1997 Nobel Laureate Robert Merton wants greater focus on the income that will sustain a retirement, and even Jane Austen understood this. And he has a surprising proposal to help with longevity risk.
The traditional asset based pension is not usually sufficient to provide a total income that keeps pace with inflation, even with the help of the age pension. A real lifetime pension is one way to preserve old age dignity.
Transition to Retirement Income Streams are no longer tax-free, but you can still access your super before retirement if you meet certain conditions, and there are strategies to reduce the tax paid.
Defined benefit pensions once meant sitting back and enjoying the guaranteed income flow for life, but their treatment under the new pension rules is a potential minefield.
Nobel laureate Robert Merton wants us to focus on the income that will sustain us in retirement, even Jane Austen understood this. And he has a surprising proposal to help with longevity risk.
A unique feature of SMSFs is the concept of 'superannuation interests' which must be monitored to keep track of the taxable components in a super fund. Good records can avoid problems later.
Many factors contribute to a lump sum bias among investors, and it might be one reason why they significantly overestimate how much a lump sum is worth in annual income for life.
Get ready for more pension-related changes: from 1 January 2015 the way account-based income streams (including account-based pensions) are assessed under the income test for Centrelink purposes will be changing.
Less than 15% of Australians will enjoy a 'comfortable' standard of retirement with just their super. The age pension doubles the numbers, but there’s an even larger increase if other savings are included.
A reader sent in an excellent question on the merits of lifetime annuities versus long term indexed bonds for post-retirement income. Jeremy Cooper and Elizabeth Moran make the case for each.
Australian research on retirement withdrawal rates challenges the long-accepted ‘4% Rule’ used by many planning professionals when advising self-funded retirees. The optimal rate? Well, let's start a conversation.
It's highly likely that the age pension will experience future reforms. A useful financial plan should model a reduction in pensions, rather than making an assumption that it'll be there when the money runs out.
What happens when a superannuation expert sets up his own retirement portfolio using decades of knowledge? He finds he can afford much more investment risk in his portfolio than conventional thinking suggests.
There is a small universe of companies on the ASX which are reliable dividend payers over five years, are fairly valued and are classified as ‘negligible’ or ‘low’ on both ESG risk and carbon risk.
The Big Four banks look similar but they are at fundamentally different stages as they move to simpler business models. Amid challenges from operating systems, loan growth and neobank threats, one factor stands tall.
A comprehensive study of the impact of inflation on returns from different assets over the past 120 years. The high returns in recent years are due to low inflation and falling rates but this ‘sweet spot’ is ending.
They are six of the greatest businesses ever and should form part of the global portfolios of all investors. The market sees risk in inflation and valuations but the companies are positioned for outstanding growth.
The first of five articles on modern retirement income products that aim for an increasing pension that lasts for life and on average should not decline in real terms. They are not silver bullets but worth a look.