by Amanda Hardy Lai | Jan 30, 2025 | Centrelink Age Pension
Over the holidays, did you host a family gathering and wonder ‘Do we really need a home this large when we only use all the rooms once a year?’. Or did you daydream about what your ideal retirement home could look like? Closer to the grandkids, easier to maintain, or...
by Kaye Fallick | Jan 30, 2025 | Retirement Advice
If there’s one thing that’s guaranteed to put a smile on Jeremy Duffield’s face, it’s time with his grandkids. But getting together is tricky, as half are based in far-off Scandinavia. Which makes family holidays all the more precious. What’s that got to do with...
by Kaye Fallick | Jan 29, 2025 | Retirement Advice
If so, could these solutions help? A recent report claims Australian retirees are stressed and that a government product would solve this problem. That’s a big statement, so today we are digging a bit deeper to see what the claimed problem is – and whether the...
by Amanda Hardy Lai | Jan 24, 2025 | Retirement Advice
Geopolitical events, such as wars or global pandemics, can disrupt and cause significant volatility in markets. While these events are beyond our control, understanding their impact on your investments —and how to manage risk effectively—can protect your long-term...
by Kaye Fallick | Jan 24, 2025 | Superannuation
Are you optimising your super? Last week research house, SuperRatings, released the annual returns for Australian super funds in Calendar Year 2024. The funds posted positive returns in 10 of the 12 months in 2024. The results are very positive and are good news for...
by David Kennedy | Jan 24, 2025 | Retirement Advice
Steve and Jenny had recently retired, but had a nagging feeling that they could have organised their super better. Their balance was substantial, but they wanted a second opinion on whether they had missed anything that mattered when it came to accessing this money....
by Kaye Fallick | Jan 17, 2025 | Retirement Spending
What if you had a crystal ball? Would that help you eliminate your FORO – the fear of running out? I’ve been writing about retirement income for nearly 25 years now (yes, let’s agree that I started when I was a teenager, NOT!). But all jokes aside, there are two...
by Amanda Hardy Lai | Jan 17, 2025 | Retirement Advice
Your questions on gifting answered When we wrote about the basics of gifting in late December, we thought Amanda Hardy Lai’s article, Gifting gone wrong, had covered most of the detail. But the thing the team at Retirement Essentials loves most about our members is...
by Amanda Hardy Lai | Jan 17, 2025 | Planning for Retirement
Your superannuation strategy doesn’t end when you begin drawing your savings in an Account-Based Pension. It’s common for retirees to keep accumulating super through part-time work or lump sum contributions from windfalls like property sales or inheritance. And...
by Jeremy Duffield | Jan 9, 2025 | Retirement Advice
I remember presenting to an investors’ association and talking about long-term investing. It was a fun group, mostly retirees. One guy quipped: “What’s long term? We’re so old we don’t even buy green bananas any more.” Well, that certainly put a...
