Kaye Fallick

Kaye is a retirement commentator and coach, with 25 years’ experience writing about retirement income. She has authored two books on life stage changes – Get a New Life and What Next? – and enjoys regular radio and podcast appearances. Her favourite mission is to offer plain English explanations of complex rules so that all retirees can benefit. She is based in Melbourne but enjoys escaping to Italy whenever possible.
Three ways to reach your retirement sweet spot

Three ways to reach your retirement sweet spot

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There’s no such thing as a perfect job, marriage or retirement life. We can always aim for perfection, but most mature adults soon realise that a ‘good enough’ situation usually suits them just fine. 

When it comes to retirement, the ‘good enough’ framework means hitting your own particular ‘sweet spot’. This involves 

having enough income to feel comfortable

knowing that you are continuing to live within your means, and

having peace of mind that there are no nasty financial surprises around the corner.

If this sounds like your sort of sweet spot, too, then how can this goal be achieved? One useful way to plan or review your retirement income options is to concentrate on a series of three very different, but related, actions.

Planning to retire in June or July?

Planning to retire in June or July?

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Make sure you read this first The end of one financial year or the beginning of another is a very popular time to step back from full-time work. Of course some people are ‘age’ driven and respond to a very specific birthdate trigger such as Preservation Age (usually...

How interest rates affect retirees

How interest rates affect retirees

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The Reserve Bank meets on Tuesday 20 May. This is one of eight scheduled meetings each year. The decision the Monetary Policy Board takes may affect your retirement income. We spoke with respected independent financial commentator, Saul Eslake, before the meeting was held, for a plain English explanation of how interest rates work – and how they can affect retirees. But first, here’s a brief backgrounder on Australia’s Central Bank.

What does the Reserve Bank do?

According to the bank itself, it is responsible for Australia’s monetary policy. This primarily involves setting a target for the cash rate, but the bank has other tools at its disposal as well.

What is the Reserve Bank’s goal?

By setting monetary policy, its aim is to maintain price stability as well as full employment. To this end the Reserve Bank has a target inflation rate (measured by CPI), to remain between 2 and 3%. 

How is this achieved?

The bank sets a cash rate (currently 4.10%) which is the interest rate that banks pay when they borrow from other banks in the overnight money market. This amount then influences other interest rates for loans and deposits which, in turn, influence overall economic activity, including employment and inflation.