Retirement Income Articles

New Super Laws

New Super Laws

What you will be getting? Don’t you just hate jargon? And when it comes to finance there is a lot of it about. Take the recently legislated Retirement Income Covenant (RIC), known as the Corporate Collective Investment Vehicle Framework and Other Measures...

Home Equity Access Scheme Revamp

Home Equity Access Scheme Revamp

Two significant retirement income changes became law on 1 July. With most of the attention firmly focussed on changes to Age Pension and deeming thresholds, they were easy to overlook. But they could, over the longer term, definitively change the way...

Cutting household costs

Cutting household costs

Ten ways to save on your bills You may already be an enthusiastic budgeter. Or you may be a spendthrift. Either way, as prices head skyward, it’s always helpful to keep your household expenses as low as possible. Today we share how to save money in the ten...

Is it time to rethink cash?

Is it time to rethink cash?

Another rate rise - Is it time to rethink cash? Last Tuesday the Reserve Bank Governor Philip Lowe announced a 50-basis point increase in the official cash rate, raising it from 0.85% to 1.35%. This increase is the third in three months, following those of...

End of Year tax rules for retirees

End of Year tax rules for retirees

Tax rules for retirees Thursday marks the end of financial year 2022. Or the EOFY as it’s now commonly known. Many people assume – incorrectly – that retirees who don’t earn income don’t need to file anything. This is not true. There are two points to make...

Working when retired – Is it worth it?

Working when retired – Is it worth it?

One of the major myths about retirees is that they don’t work. This is the opposite of what’s really happening. Many retirees are still in the paid work force, albeit working fewer hours. Just as many others are beavering away doing volunteer work. In fact...

Private Savings

Private Savings

This week we turn to the fourth pillar of retirement income – private savings. As we reported in our other story this week, a significant proportion of Retirement Essentials members (71%)  reported that they are accessing private savings or investments as...

Can retirees beat inflation?

Can retirees beat inflation?

Can you beat inflation? - Highest price rises in 20 years Last Thursday, the long awaited Consumer Price Index (CPI) update for the March 2022 quarter was released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). The graph below shows it all – a sharp spike in...

Interest rates after a decade of diminishing returns

Interest rates after a decade of diminishing returns

With last week’s headline inflation announcement of 5.1% per annum, it has become a matter of time before the Reserve Bank (RBA) responds by increasing the underlying cash rate of 0.1%. It’s no longer a question of if, but when. Rates will almost certainly...