A couple of weeks ago I came across a Retirement Happiness Index.  This index, launched by Challenger on 4 April 2024 makes for interesting reading. It indicates Australian retirees have plenty to keep us busy and engaged, we feel mentally healthy, but we are a bit worried about our physical health and don’t feel financially secure.  Why not add your own insights to our version of this survey here. The index was based on research conducted with over 1000 Australians aged over 60.  It identified six key areas which affect happiness in retirement.   They are:  Phy ..read more

Last week we revealed a little known fact about the Age Pension – and that is, how very unfair the asset test rules are for renters and single renters in particular. We had a lot of media attention following the publication of this Age Pension anomaly. Our team has also had a lot of feedback on how this works. We’ve read your comments and had discussions about whether this inequity needs urgent attention.   Our conclusion is that yes, the Age Pension rules do need to be altered – urgently – to ensure that all older Australians who apply for the Age Pension are treated equitably. Her ..read more

When it comes to retirement, forewarned is forearmed. This is definitely the case as we approach the End of Financial Year (EOFY) when many rules will change. Today we are sharing updates on five different super rules that may affect your own financial planning. We also share the minimum withdrawals you will have needed to make before 30 June 2024. Super Guarantee This is the mandatory amount your employer must put into your nominated super fund. On 1 July 2024 it will increase from 11% of your salary to 11.5%. If you are still working and making additional concessional or non-concessional co ..read more

There are many ways of saving for your retirement.  You can pay off your home, put money into super, an investment property or managed funds. Perhaps invest in art, cars or fine wine.  I’m not a big fan of those last three, unless you have real expertise in the field, but some people do it.  There are pros and cons to each of these and many people combine them to help ensure a financially secure retirement.  Owning your own home and having money in super is a really good combination as both have tax advantages. But what happens if you decide to put all your savings effort ..read more

Your retirement journey is likely to be as quirky and individual as you are. But whilst most of us love fun and adventure, volatile cash flow is not the type of adventure we would embrace. Predictable income becomes even more important in retirement when you can’t make up shortfalls by working harder or earning more. Today we consider the ways to successfully budget for your entire retirement journey which, for many Australians could be a 20-30 year life stage. Just as you change, so do your needs If you were to chart your expenditure over the next 20 or more years, you would see some peaks ..read more

Federal Budgets can seem a long way removed from our day-to-day lives. Telephone book number expenditure is often quoted on some very abstract projects (infrastructure? cyber safety? border security?) which are hard to relate to. But the money that is allocated in the annual budget will eventually have a major tangible impact on your quality of life; your health, wellbeing and retirement affordability. That’s why the team at Retirement Essentials has strong views on the things we think could be done to make a huge difference for older Australians. Yes, budget spending is current account (spen ..read more

Most of us are open to doing the maths and setting goals if we believe those goals are achievable. Resistance can set in, however, if we think that the targets are unrealistic. It could be that this has become the case with the commonly accepted quarterly ‘Retirement Standards’. These Retirement Standards (published by the Association of Super Funds Australia or ASFA) were updated late last month, to reflect price changes through to 31 December 2023. The Retirement Standard suggests two levels of retirement lifestyle; modest and comfortable.  The table below contains the suggested amount ..read more

Do you, too, find the Work Bonus credit as clear as mud? We suspect this may be the case because of the volume of questions we receive on this top. It seems that many Retirement Essentials’ members are simply bamboozled by what should be a straightforward calculation. The following explainer of the Work Bonus is possible because our Head of Customer Services, Steven Sadler, has taken the time to step us patiently through the rules. Again! Someone send this man some chocolates now! So here is an overview of the Work Bonus which includes: A brief definition A summary of the main rules, and Ste ..read more

With the footy season underway, I thought I’d share a favorite story:  I was lucky to spend a few moments alone with Geelong Captain Joel Selwood, at a 2013 Grand Final Day event. He was pretty subdued as Geelong had missed the big game due to a memorable 5 point Preliminary Final loss to the Hawks.  The Cats had been ahead 20 points at three quarter time but faced a resurgent Hawks to lag by six points with seconds to go. Geelong’s Travis Varcoe had the opportunity to tie the score when he kicked from 30 metres in front.  The kick sailed right to record a minor score..and the ..read more

This week one of our team, Mikahil Walden, pointed out an anomaly in the Age Pension thresholds that really disadvantages one group of people.  And in the midst of a national housing crisis it’s renters that are missing out. So what’s going on? The recent release of the new Age Pension rates and thresholds has highlighted yet again a major inequity in our system.  Many that don’t own their own home, particularly singles, are being disadvantaged by income and asset thresholds. Services Australia says a single nonhomeowner can have $544k in assets and still get the Full Age Pension. M ..read more