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26 April 2024
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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.
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.
Money withdrawn from super after age 60 is tax-free but less understood are arrangements that allows a couple over the age of 67 to earn up to $57,948 per year outside super and pay no tax with LITO and SAPTO.
The Intergenerational Report features an ageing population and rising aged care demand as key long-term themes. These trends reinforce the need for Australians to consider their aged care needs rather than wait for a crisis.
The number of financial planners is shrinking, the price is increasing, and trust is still low. With increasing numbers of Baby Boomers heading into retirement, the need for advice has arguably never been greater.
When it comes to retirement planning, a good financial adviser can be a helpful partner but not until you know your own situation inside out. Here are five tips to help you better manage your retirement savings.
It’s great to see the age pension increase recently, but there are now additional challenges and opportunities. One is a change in aged care costs, and another is what the pension rise means for your own situation.
Additional investment in the family home to maximise the age pension becomes a straitjacket. To voluntarily plan this outcome comes at a high price in terms of reduced income and loss of discretion over your own affairs.
Recent media articles mocked a couple with $1 million in assets who asked whether they would qualify for the Age Pension. The ridicule hid an important debate about whether the Age Pension system is still fit for purpose.
It feels like financial planning for retirement has been running up and down on the spot for 20 years. We still struggle with the difference between general and personal advice. What happened to the worthwhile schemes?
The Pension Loans Scheme has generated little interest but Budget improvements may change that, including the introduction of lump-sum payments. It is also available to non-pensioners but the rate remains too high.
Every week, 2,500 Australians retire, or at least, reach the age of 65, and 2021-2027 will represent the peak years of the baby boom retirement surge. Longevity of life comes with dangers and opportunities.
The ATO has released all the superannuation rates and thresholds that will apply from 1 July 2024. Here's what’s changing and what’s not, and some key considerations and opportunities in the lead up to 30 June and beyond.
Life has radically shifted with my brain cancer, and I don’t know if it will ever be the same again. After decades of writing and a dozen years with Firstlinks, I still want to contribute, but exactly how and when I do that is unclear.
Australia will have 3.7 million more people in a decade's time, though the growth won't be evenly distributed. Over 85s will see the fastest growth, while the number of younger people will barely rise.
Being rich is having a high-paying job and accumulating fancy houses and cars, while being wealthy is owning assets that provide passive income, as well as freedom and flexibility. Knowing the difference can reframe your life.
Investor disgust, consolidation, de-listings, price discounts, activist investors entering - it’s what typically happens at business cycle troughs, and it’s happening to LICs now. That may present a potential opportunity.
The $3 million super tax will capture retired, and soon to retire, public servants and politicians who are members of defined benefit superannuation schemes. Lobbying efforts for exemptions to the tax are intensifying.