Kaye Fallick, Author at Retirement Essentials

Is inflation ruining your retirement?

The hottest topics in the news right now seem to be the twin challenges of cost-of-living and inflation. It’s not just a talking point either, with many elections occurring across the globe this year, data indicates that any government in power during a time of rising cost-of-living is likely to be removed at the ballot box. Interestingly, as we’ve reported, many of the pressures that are causing the current increased cost-of-living are external factors. But that’s not our topic today. What matters most to Australian retirees is how to best respond to challenging economic conditions. Today we share a five-step approach to tackling this challenge, which suggests you: Understand the fundamentals

Understand the broader context

Learn how retiree spending is affected

Review your own key indicators, and …

Take action!

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.