Is your spouse younger than you?

Is your spouse younger than you?

How can this increase your income? In any couple one of the partners by nature will be younger. That’s a given. What is less well known is the radical difference it can make to use the rules of retirement income to your advantage if one of you decides to leave full...
Good debt, bad debt:

Good debt, bad debt:

How to manage debt in retirement A common view of retirees is that of people who live in their own  (fully paid-off) homes, with no debt and the ability to do whatever they want, whenever they please. Those who have already retired may find this amusing, annoying or...
Tackling financial stress:

Tackling financial stress:

Five steps to peace of mind The final report of the Retirement Income Review ( July 2020) found that 28% of early retirees are in financial stress. This report was tabled two years ago, before interest rates and the Consumer Price Index began to increase so rapidly....
The pros and cons of downsizing

The pros and cons of downsizing

Is it right for you? Downsizing is frequently a major turning point in retirement. It’s not for everybody, but it does offer a rewarding and potentially lucrative strategy for many older Australians. In fact, access to home equity can mean the difference between a...
Beware Centrelink rules

Beware Centrelink rules

Why did I lose my income? This week we received a distraught call from someone who has just lost nearly all their part-Age Pension. Let’s call her Susan. She contacted us to see if we could help reverse this loss of income and agreed that we could share this situation...
Lump sum decision-making: 

Lump sum decision-making: 

What could possibly go wrong? Lump sums can come and go in diverse ways. When it comes to retirement, it used to be much simpler to work out how to handle them. Over time, the many ways of contributing to, or withdrawing from, your superannuation have increased. The...
How much will be left when I die?

How much will be left when I die?

How much will be left when I die? It helps to know One of the most common fears for retirees is that they don’t have enough savings and they will run out of money.  This is understandable as most of us would like to have something in addition to the Age Pension in our...
Age Pension Explainer

Age Pension Explainer

Just the facts you need to know Australia’s most secure form of retirement income is the Age Pension. It is government guaranteed, delivered to your bank account fortnightly, and eventually (when you reach your 80s), paid to a whopping 80% of this cohort. So you would...