Retirement planning covers how much superannuation is enough, planning for retirement, starting an income stream, claiming the Age Pension, making contributions while receiving a pension from a super fund, estate planning and looking after your family.
Q: I am 53 years old. I do not contribute to super and I have never been a saver. I have just paid off my unit. My question is: I earn only $37,000 a year, so I have never had a highly paid job. Is it too late for me [...]
Q: Hi I am 58 years old. Apparently you can get a lump sum of super before 60 if you have permanently retired. Can you still later look for work again? How do you prove you have permanently retired?
The question that you ask is in the top 10 questions that [...]
Q: Under the 2-year bring-forward of non-concessional contributions, if a person makes a contribution of $150,001 when age 64, he can continue to contribute the balance of the $450,000 anytime during the next 2 years without having to satisfying the work test, is that right?
The short answer is no, even [...]
Q: I am an Australian citizen living in the UK and I have an Australian super fund accumulated from 1986-1992 and now growing with investment earnings over time. Additionally, I continue to hold bank accounts in Australia. I am 52 and I intend retiring at age 60. When I [...]
Q: I am 41 years old and my partner is 56 years old. We have a very big mortgage as we are both the casualties of wealth destroying divorces and single parenthood! Thus we intend to pay off our mortgage before putting more into our superannuation which will therefore be after [...]
Q: I will be 60 in January 2011. Is the compulsory 4% drawdown from my super pension treated on a pro rata basis for my tax return 2010/2011 year, or can I draw it down after January 2011 rendering my super income after 60, tax-free? Thank you also for [...]
In November 2009, I wrote an article, (Updated life tables: Is the tide shifting for Australian life expectancies?), reporting that average life expectancies have increased, except for women in their eighties and nineties, based on the latest life tables released by the Australian Government Actuary.
I invited Bernau Hadyn, an Actuary from [...]
Here’s a suggestion: use this list as a kick-start for your super New Year resolutions. You may not keep all of your resolutions, but if you do just a handful of the tasks listed in the checklist below, you can strengthen the chances of a financially secure retirement.
If you do nothing [...]
Q: My parents are 70 years old and still working. Can they get the Mature Age Worker Tax Offset (MAWTO), and the Senior Australians Tax Offset (SATO)?
Trish’s response: The MAWTO and the SATO are subject to different tests, and individual eligibility will need to be confirmed with the ATO.
Subject to satisfying [...]
This article is periodically updated with new rates, or to highlight changes to the Senior Australians Tax Offset rules. The latest article update, adding commentary on ‘rebate income’, occurred on 11 December 2009.
The superannuation tax rules are not the only tax benefits that you can take advantage of in retirement. If [...]
You’re thinking about your retirement and worried about whether you’ll have enough money to live the life you want, or perhaps you’re more worried about not having enough money to even live the life you don’t want!
Uncertainty can create a lot of stress, and doing some research (see article Retirement planning [...]
Now that super funds, fund managers and other financial service providers have (nearly) survived the GFC, the next big issue concerning the super industry is ‘adequacy’, that is, the worry that Australians will outlive their retirement savings. Okay, the industry is pretty obsessed with the current Government reviews into super, [...]
Hi - I'm Trish Power and I am the author of Superannuation For Dummies and many other books on super and investing.And guess what! This site, SuperGuide, is the only INDEPENDENT website for consumers on superannuation in Australia. Read more
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