by James Coyle | Jan 30, 2023 | Planning for Retirement
Surprise survey results Retirement Pulse question: If you had $100,000 to invest which of the following would best describe your approach to the money? I would invest aggressively to achieve a high return, even if it involved a high level of risk. 5% I would...
by James Coyle | Jan 17, 2023 | Planning for Retirement
Sharon Sheehan has more than 20 years’ experience in financial planning, including six years during which she ran her own business. For a while she worked in the more technical paraplanning area, but quickly realised it was helping people that was the most...
by James Coyle | Jan 17, 2023 | Commonwealth Seniors Health Card
30% cut on PBS As announced in the October 2022 Federal Budget, from January 1 this year, Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) medications now cost $30 per prescription, down from $42.50. This is the first time in its 75-year history that the maximum amount...
by James Coyle | Jan 17, 2023 | Centrelink Age Pension
Centrelink rules in action Disappointing scorecard We often mention the 80/80 rule of retirement income. For a good reason. This is a reminder that, by their eighth decade, 80% of Australians will be on at least a part Age Pension. A significant majority (67%)...
by James Coyle | Jan 10, 2023 | Centrelink Age Pension
PART TWO Your home, your retirement:1 January changes to deeming and downsizing Last week we covered the new 1 January rules for downsizing and super.This week we are looking at the way downsizing is treated within the Centrelink means test.This is a very...
by James Coyle | Jan 10, 2023 | Centrelink Age Pension
An easy win We don’t know what we don’t know. And this can seem really unfair if we miss out on something purely because we had no idea it was available.This can happen if Centrelink counts your land as an asset, but there is the possibility that it should be exempt....
by James Coyle | Jan 10, 2023 | Centrelink Age Pension
Is the Age Pension fair? Do the rules work for you? What seems fair to one person may seem the opposite to someone else. So when the national government is the major source of retirement income for those aged over 66 there are often varying perceptions of how...
by James Coyle | Dec 23, 2022 | Planning for Retirement
Your home, your retirement: Making the numbers work The family home is the largest asset most people have in retirement. About 80% of retirees live in their own home and have access to the equity. Policymakers are reacting to this pool of wealth by making such access...
by James Coyle | Dec 23, 2022 | Centrelink Age Pension
Energy Rebates update: How they will be applied? Two weeks ago we reported on the new Energy Rebates for retirees. At the time, they had yet to pass both houses of Parliament, but this has now happened. Whilst we loved being thanked for this information by Chris (who...
by James Coyle | Dec 22, 2022 | Planning for Retirement
Ages and stage of retirement: What do you need to do and when? The question we posed to our team was: “How are you thinking about or planning for retirement?’ We also said, ‘There is no right or wrong response and some of you might not be thinking about it at all...
