by Kaye Fallick | Oct 31, 2024 | Retirement Income
Recent findings about the Australian retirement income system show it has taken a small hit in world rankings. A small hit is not a catastrophe, but it does offer a cautionary warning that there may be better ways of helping retirees to help themselves. What are these...
by James Coyle | Oct 31, 2024 | Centrelink Age Pension
Is this assessable? Two weeks ago we explained how the assets test works and how different assets can be treated very differently by Centrelink. At the end of this article, we asked if you find these rules confusing and you certainly answered – in the 70 comments...
by James Coyle | Oct 31, 2024 | Planning for Retirement
Picking the perfect retirement age Your retirement age is a very personal thing. Sometimes retirement is thrust upon us. We might lose our job or be forced to leave work due to ill health or caring responsibilities. Most people, however, are in the...
by Kaye Fallick | Oct 24, 2024 | Planning for Retirement
Don’t make these classic errors A recent article (How fair is the Age Pension) prompted quite a few Retirement Essentials members to share their (not-so-good) experiences of downsizing. Here’s what you told us (edited for reasons of space): Helly says no way!...
by James Coyle | Oct 24, 2024 | Retirement Advice
It depends on how you use it Linda and Helen are sisters in their early 70s. They both live in their own separate homes and receive the full Age Pension entitlement. Neither has a mortgage. Their uncle died recently and they were both surprised to receive $200,000...
by James Coyle | Oct 24, 2024 | Centrelink Age Pension
All the rules you need to know Ever since the Robodebt debacle many of our readers have been understandably anxious about what they do, and don’t, need to tell Centrelink. There are times when you must tell Centrelink and times when you don’t have to, but...
by Jeremy Duffield | Oct 17, 2024 | Retirement Advice
It’s simpler than you think Can you find the acres of diamonds in your own backyard? About 150 years ago, a famous American author and orator began touring the country with a speech called Acres of Diamonds, which enthralled huge audiences. Russell Conwell gave...
by James Coyle | Oct 17, 2024 | Planning for Retirement
Discount and concession cards Most of us love a discount. And when the cost of living is persistently high, concession cards are worth their weight in gold. There are a range of discount and concession cards available to older Australians. But the rules change all too...
by Kaye Fallick | Oct 17, 2024 | Centrelink Age Pension
Last week we went back to basics by explaining how the assets test works. This week we share the ‘second-part’ of this important retirement income update – an explanation of the way the income test is used to assess Age Pension eligibility. What is the income...
by James Coyle | Oct 11, 2024 | Centrelink Age Pension
How the rules work for you In our recent article on the fairness of the Age Pension we received a few questions as to why the family home was listed in the comparison between three different retirement households. These questions highlighted the need for clearer...
