Kaye Fallick, Author at Retirement Essentials

Does Centrelink pay its way? Or is it time for a change?

by Kaye Fallick | Centrelink Age Pension

The good news about Centrelink is that, as an agency of Services Australia, it is held accountable. The mechanism by which this occurs is through frequent Senate Estimates Committees which scrutinise Centrelink performance and its key indicators. This scrutiny is important as Services Australia receives $5.6 billion to manage the timely payment of support to many millions of Australians in need.

Here’s a brief snapshot of the magnitude of the task it faces, from its most recent annual report (for the financial year 2022-2023):

$5.6 billion budget

$140.3 billion in Centrelink payments made

9.5 million (Centrelink) customers

41.3 million calls received

10 million face-to-face interactions

12-month super fund returns: And they are buoyant!

by Kaye Fallick | Superannuation

It’s a very human need to want to know how you are doing compared with other people of your age and stage. It’s not the same as ‘keeping up with the Joneses’ which is a more competitive, status-driven urge. Knowing where you sit in the pecking order is very useful. This knowledge might be associated with aspects of health, wealth, education or work achievements. Humans love to know how they are performing and it’s no different when it comes to investment performance. Many retirees keenly track stock exchange information so they know how their investments are performing. Homeowners usually have a keen interest in their neighbourhood’s property prices. Even vintage car owners like to know what their make and model is now worth.

But what about super?

The funny thing about superannuation is that many people simply do not know, from year to year, how their super savings are performing. What’s so different about super you might well ask? It’s a question that many financial services experts have also pondered. We know that engagement is low because the data tells us that only about 44% or Australians with super bother to open, let alone read, their annual super statement.

If this is you and you are retired or planning to be so soon, this is not good practice. With most Australians holding more than $210,000 in super savings as they approach retirement, not understanding your super’s earning capacity, fees charged or relative performance amounts to really taking your eye off the ball.

Super funds performance Financial Year 2023-24Today we are sharing a ‘scoop’, a projection by independent ratings agency, SuperRatings, on the expected returns for both pension and accumulation funds for the 2023-2024 financial year. The final results will not be published until July 20, as some funds take a little longer to finalise valuations. But the following table reveals up to 25 June 2024, how the different sectors have performed over the 12-months period.

Managing retirement risk: Finding your sweet spot

by Kaye Fallick | Retirement Advice

Last week we explored the topic of risk and how a better understanding of investment risk can boost your retirement income. We received a lot of follow-on questions on this topic, particularly the Retirement Essentials Market Risk Levels, so today we are sharing how we work with our members to increase their understanding of risk and assist them to explore ways that different settings can help increase income across their retirement journeys.

In a sense, the work our qualified advisers are doing is a Masterclass in understanding retirement income investment. As Alison Squire, Head of Advice at Retirement Essentials notes, our financial wellbeing can be as important as our physical and mental wellbeing. But financial wellbeing is not just dependent on how much money you have. It’s more closely aligned with a sense of security and confidence that you can cover your expenses today, tomorrow and beyond. And that you can do so in a way that ensures you are living a comfortable, rather than constrained, lifestyle.