Philippa asked us an interesting question last week. She’s divorced, aged 67, and in July this year she stepped back from full-time work to help with her grandchildren and volunteer. She receives a part Age Pension ($18,000 per annum) and is topping this up...
Are you a shareholder? If so, you’re part of a growing club according to key findings from the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX). In 1986 just 9% of Australians owned shares. Now it’s 35%, with a median portfolio size of $130,000. And these statistics refer to...
Recently we surveyed some of our readers to better understand the reasons why people retire. Many reasons were expected such as when they could afford to retire, health concerns,or job loss. What we didn’t expect was the number of people that mentioned...
There are about 3.9m retirees in Australia today so it’s not surprising that their reasons for retiring are many and varied. Some retire through choice and others find they have retirement forced upon them. We hear lots of reasons when we are helping our...
We recently asked you to tell us more about the sort of help and advice you would like to receive. Well this is what you told us. How much will I need? Nearly 39% of people ranked “How much will I need” highest among the financial issues on their mind....
Improving your income in retirement is a bit like renovating a home. You may have a home already but it's not everything you want it to be. So you start work to build something better. Just like with a renovation there will be a number of steps to go...
By Dr Deborah Ralston* The 2020 Retirement Income Review examined the three pillars of the Australian retirement system - the age pension, compulsory superannuation and voluntary savings – and concluded that: The home is the most important component of...
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...