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29 January 2026
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Despite three years under the retirement income covenant, regulators warn a growing gap between leading and lagging super funds, driven by poor member insights and patchy outcomes measurement.
What are the implications of ‘Big Super’ for our economy, financial markets and population? New research looks at the beneficial, detrimental and debatable aspects, spanning current impacts and potential future developments.
Retirement is a time of great excitement but it is also one of uncertainty. This is hardly surprising given the daunting move from receiving a steady outcome to relying on savings and investments.
Why is only half of our retirement income system based on compulsion? From an economic point of view, it simply may not make sense to have a compulsory retirement system that switches to voluntary at retirement.
Despite the alarm sounded by six Intergenerational Reports, Australia is unprepared to meet the needs of its ageing population. Older people need help to get work if needed, access community care, and better connect with others.
Economic surprises like an inflationary spike, slow growth and recession can lead to a swift market downturn, further complicating the ability of retirees to preserve capital while taking income.
The way home ownership relates to retirement income is rated a 'D', as in Distortion, Decumulation and Denial. For many, their home is their largest asset but it's least likely to be used for retirement income.
The Government should fix the problems in the pension phase that are leaving gaps for vulnerable groups. Unless these problems are resolved, 9.5% will not deliver adequate retirement incomes.
Super counts for only 20% of the wealth of Australians. For retirement incomes, most younger people today will still receive most of their income from the age pension when they retire in three decades’ time.
Australia has an opportunity to build a world-class decumulation system that gives individuals security and flexibility in retirement, but it's different from the accumulation phase (republished from 2013).
Retirement planning will become increasingly complex in the face of trends in home ownership, wealth dispersion, life expectancy, health and aged care costs, work patterns and pension dependency.
We don’t know what the world will look like in 2050, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't think about it and plan for different scenarios. Demographic change and growth in emerging markets are major themes.
What are the best ways to build a simple portfolio from scratch? I’ve addressed this issue before but think it’s worth revisiting given markets and the world have since changed, throwing up new challenges and things to consider.
At this time last year, I forecast that 2025 would likely be a positive year given strong economic prospects and disinflation. The outlook for this year is less clear cut and here is what investors should do.
Treasury has released draft legislation for a new version of the controversial $3 million super tax. It's a significant improvement on the original proposal but there are some stings in the tail.
The renowned investor says 2025’s real story wasn’t AI or US stocks but the shift away from American assets and a collapse in the value of money. And he outlines how to best position portfolios for what’s ahead.
The predictions include dividends will outstrip growth as a source of Australian equity returns, US market performance will be underwhelming, while US government bonds will beat gold.
We don’t have a housing shortage; we have housing misallocation. This explores why so many bedrooms go unused, what’s been tried before, and five things to unlock housing capacity – no new building required.