Articles by
Barbara Drury
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My retirement diary (Part 6): Light at the end of the tunnel
In the final instalment of my retirement diary, I review my progress and set the date.
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What age should I retire?
There are no hard and fast rules around when you can retire, but there are practical issues to consider and money is just one of them.
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How to plan your spending through the 3 stages of retirement
Far from being one long holiday, retirement tends to be a tale in three acts, with different spending patterns along the way.
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Financial advice: What are the risks and benefits?
Quality, affordable advice can make an enormous difference to your retirement outcomes, but it pays to know how to sort the good from the bad and downright ugly practices.
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My retirement diary (Part 5): The psychology of retirement
With so much focus on having enough savings to retire, it’s easy to forget what it’s all for – living!
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Super fund mergers: What does it mean for members?
If your fund is involved in a merger, don’t panic. You could end up better off, but you do need to make sure your new fund is still a good fit.
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8 warning signs of a dodgy financial adviser
Bad financial advisers are thankfully the exception rather than the rule, but they do exist so it pays to be aware of some common red flags.
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Pension fund performance: Monthly returns to June 2025
Despite rising trade and geopolitical tensions, pension funds finished the financial year with another positive performance in June.
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Pension fund performance to June 2025
Pension fund members enjoyed robust returns in the latest financial year, with many retirees growing their balance even after making withdrawals.
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Super fund performance: Annual returns to June 2025
Against all expectations and a backdrop of escalating trade and geopolitical tensions, super funds continued their three-year winning streak in 2025 financial year.
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Super fund performance: Monthly returns to June 2025
Super funds navigated wave after wave of uncertainty to deliver an extraordinary return of 10.5% in the year to June 30.
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Super fund performance reckoner: Monthly returns for 5 investment categories
In our reckoner below you can view the median monthly investment returns for 5 superannuation investment options going back to January 2016.
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What on earth is an in specie transfer?
If you’ve ever wondered if you can transfer shares or a business property into your SMSF, the answer is yes but strict rules apply.
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My retirement planning diary (Part 4): Crunching the numbers
Now that I have a retirement income target in mind, it’s time to buckle up and test drive some retirement income calculators to see if my target is achievable.
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Key superannuation rates and thresholds for 2025-26
A new financial year brings updated thresholds for a range of super measures. Take a look at the new numbers to check for opportunities.
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Deeming rates (2025-26) and calculator for the Age Pension income test
Under the deeming rules, you are ‘deemed’ to earn a certain annual rate of return on your financial assets, regardless of the rate of return you actually earn.
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How a transition-to-retirement (TTR) pension works
If you are looking to wind back working hours or boost your super in the lead-up to retirement, a transition-to-retirement (TTR) pension may be the answer.
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Minimum pension drawdown rates (2025–26) and calculator
There’s no limit on the amount you can withdraw each year from an account-based super pension, but there are age-based minimum annual withdrawal rates. Here’s how they are calculated.
