Q: I am 61 and have never made contributions to super. My annual income is $96,000 and my employer contributes $369.80 a fortnight to super. I do not own my own home and rent a house. My partner does not work anymore and also has no super. He does have $300,000 invested in a term deposit. I plan to work until I am 65. What should we do? Put the $300,000 into my super? Buy a flat and continue as is? Buy a flat and start contributing as much as possible to my super?
I am unable to assist you with this question because it would constitute advice. What I can say is that retiring and renting when relying primarily on the Age Pension can be very difficult, and home-owners (or flat-owners) fare better in retirement due to the nature of Australia’s rental market.
It may be worth you contacting Centrelink’s Financial Information Service, which is a free advisory service that can assist with retirement planning. It’s free and they’re not selling anything, and you don’t have to be receiving a government benefit.
Home ownership and extra savings or superannuation to supplement the Age Pension is the most popular scenario in retirement.

