by Amanda Hardy Lai | Jul 10, 2025 | Centrelink Age Pension
There’s a lot to think about when someone considers moving in with family or giving money to help build a granny flat or home extension. For older Australians, these decisions often involve a deep mix of personal, financial, and practical factors – but the...
by Amanda Hardy Lai | Jul 10, 2025 | Superannuation
Whether you’re approaching retirement or already there, consolidating your super can be one of the simplest and most powerful steps to strengthen your financial position. But surprisingly, many Australians either delay it or aren’t sure where to begin. Why it matters...
by Kaye Fallick | Jul 10, 2025 | Superannuation
Better than you thought? The Australian Tax Office (ATO) quietly released some statistics end June. I say quietly because this data is really interesting. And useful for individual retirees keen to understand their overall financial standing. The data is somewhat...
by Kaye Fallick | Jul 4, 2025 | Superannuation
How did your savings perform? In news just in, Australian super funds have had a third strong year with double digit returns. The financial year-on-year returns were published by superannuation research house SuperRatings late last week. SuperRatings estimates...
by Amanda Hardy Lai | Jul 4, 2025 | Retirement Income
Your retirement income could come from one or more of many different sources. Perhaps it’s made up from a super drawdown, or part Age Pension entitlement, work income, share dividends, franking credits, interest on investments, rent from an investment property … the...
by Jeremy Duffield | Jul 4, 2025 | Investing
How to maximise your life savings I have a bit of a shoemaker’s children problem. Happily, my grownup kids all have shoes, but while their dad has spent 45 years in the investment field, they (and their partners) have very little interest in – or knowledge of...
by Amanda Hardy Lai | Jun 27, 2025 | Retirement Advice
Retirement offers an exciting new chapter in life — but it also often brings a range of financial decisions that aren’t always straightforward. Daniel and Emma recently reached out to Retirement Essentials for much-needed assistance. Their meeting with adviser Andrew...
by Kaye Fallick | Jun 26, 2025 | Retirement Income
They say you can’t teach an old dog new tricks. But I think that’s rubbish – and slightly ageist as well. I don’t know about you, but the older I get, the more interest I have in challenging myself with new habits and ideas. We realise that, if we do the same thing...
by Amanda Hardy Lai | Jun 19, 2025 | Superannuation
As the end of the financial year approaches, it’s a timely reminder for anyone drawing an income from an Account-Based Pension (ABP) to double-check they’ve met their minimum annual withdrawal requirement. ABPs are a key tool for providing tax-effective income in...
by Amanda Hardy Lai | Jun 19, 2025 | Planning for Retirement
Practical steps to understanding Retirement is a major life milestone—often exciting, but sometimes uncertain. Superannuation, Account-Based Pensions (ABPs), investments and spending plans all have moving parts, and working out how they fit together can feel...