The recent Retirement Income Review* examined all aspects of Australia’s retirement system and concluded that it provides well for the needs of the vast majority older Australians, but it is complex and not well understood. In particular, there is a real...
One of the things I like about Noel Whittaker’s latest book, Retirement Made Simple, is his description of retirement as a journey. “I think journey is the perfect word,” he says, “because it has the connotations of a desired destination and all...
Three weeks ago we asked our readers “What advice would you give to others nearing or in retirement?”. Thank you all so much for your contributions. We will share some with you today and over the forthcoming weeks. Have a plan to keep active and...
“Start with the facts.” That was the motto of the government’s recently released review of the Australian retirement system. Don’t come up with policy recommendations; just give us the fact base to think about. A lot of the news media...
The inventor of weather forecasting, Admiral Robert FitzRoy, was motivated by the desire to stop shipwrecks off the coast of Britain. He established the first weather bureau in 1854….but was mocked for his forecasts and eventually took his own life in...
When I’m asked to say something about myself that other people don’t know, I often say: “My brother, Andrew, is in the Aria (rock & roll) Hall of Fame.” It always blows them away, because they think I’m so conservative and they remember my brother...
My mother Anne got me started in investing by buying me 100 shares of some long-forgotten mining company when I was 14 in the late ‘60s. Never made any money out of it but I did learn how to read the share pages. I probably learnt more by...
The benefits of keeping your money in super We often get asked the question,"When can I access my super and should I take it all out of my super fund?". Obviously everyone has different circumstances, so there isn’t one right answer but here are some things...