Are you a mortgage prisoner? Facing up to (difficult) facts Like Jodie and Steve, it’s easy to feel trapped. Many of us often feel this way when facing the seemingly relentless need to service a home loan. But some borrowers are literally trapped. These...

Those that receive advice rate it very highly. Despite this the financial planning industry has been through a difficult few years, as evidenced by the reduction in the number of licensed advisers from a peak of nearly 30,000 in 2018 to the current level of...

October 2022 Federal Budget Was there anything in it for older Australians? The Treasurer Jim Chalmers delivered his first budget last night. The first budget for a new Government is a time to establish its economic credentials.  This was certainly a focus...

Are you scam-proof? Probably not An alarming new superannuation scam was revealed by ABC TV this past week. Unsurprisingly many retirees are shocked and concerned they might be next on the list. How likely is this to happen to you? Here are the facts and...

Preservation Age: What you need to know Preservation age is a term that is used to denote the age at which you can access your superannuation funds without penalty. It is one of the conditions of release set by the Australian Tax Office (ATO) in relation to...

Are retirees now better off? ‘Inflation’ is a word very likely to jump into sight as you read your morning news. It’s also reported on the nightly TV news, a frequent topic in discussion in our federal parliament and a regularly reported source of concern in...

The sad fact about most retirement savings predictions is how woefully out of touch they are with reality. There’s a reason for this. Firstly the people offering these projections are generally not living in retirement. Most are still working, earning more...

Running out of money - But does it really happen? They say the secret to a happy life is to only worry about the things within our control. This is an even more interesting concept when applied to funding your retirement. What can you control? And what is...

When lack of confidence costs you money When it comes to retirement income, there is no better way to learn what retirees want and need than to ask them directly. And this is exactly what Retirement Essentials did in a recent survey designed to better...