Click here to jump to the latest returns for lifecycle super funds. Close to 70% of Australians with super in one of the major funds are invested in their fund’s MySuper option, the default option for employees who don’t choose a super fund. If you are a member of a retail fund, this is most likely a lifecycle product ... Read more
Planning for retirement
A Super Guide
People often don’t start thinking about retirement until they are about to stop work or have the decision forced on them. And that’s a wasted opportunity.
Now that we are living longer, retirement may last three decades or more. That’s a long time to regret not doing more to plan and save for a personally fulfilling, financially secure retirement.
With a little planning, you can make a big difference to your retirement outcome.
In our article How to plan for your retirement we outline how to start planning for retirement in seven easy steps. These include thinking about your dream retirement, how long it might last, what it will cost, how much you need to fund it, how much you have now, whether your savings are on track and what you can do to close the gap.
Set out below are key SuperGuide links on Planning for retirement:
- Retirement planning for beginners
- What age can I retire?
- Age-based Super Guide
- How long will I live?
- How much super do I need?
- Retirement Calculators and Reckoners
- $1.6 million transfer balance cap
- Types of super benefits
- Am I eligible for the Age Pension?
- Obtaining financial advice
Set out below are key SuperGuide articles on Planning for retirement:
Set out below are all SuperGuide articles that relate to Planning for retirement.
Super fund performance: Monthly returns to April 2019
In this article you can learn the monthly performance for super funds over 5 investment options going back to July 2015. We’re grateful to Chant West for providing the statistics in this article. For annual and long-term super fund performance see the following SuperGuide articles: Super fund performance: Financial ... Read more
Will the Coalition keep their Royal Commission promises to you?
Now that it has done the impossible by winning the election, will the Coalition do the improbable by keeping its pre-election promises to improve the quality of financial advice? The Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry, over a period of some 18 months, ... Read more
What are the super and Age Pension rules for same-sex couples?
Australia has seen some momentous changes when it comes to the recognition of same-sex relationships in recent years, with the passage of the same-sex marriage legislation in December 2017 marking one of the most significant milestones. The new legislation has had less impact when it comes to super than in many other ... Read more
What are defined benefit super funds?
There’s lots of jargon in the super system and even when it comes to something as simple as the different types of super funds, it can be hard to know what they are and how they work. One of the key differences you need to understand when comparing two super funds is whether the fund is a defined benefit or an ... Read more
Find an Australian independent financial adviser
Note: You can learn more about the importance of independent financial advice in the SuperGuide article: Independent financial advice: Why it’s important, and how to find it. SuperGuide has been tracking Australia’s independent financial advisers since 2010. We have always recognised that financial advice can add ... Read more
How much super do I need to retire?
No doubt you have heard people say you need a million dollars (or some other nice round figure) in superannuation before you can afford to retire. Often they are the same people trying to sell you investment products or advice. Don’t pay attention to them, because there is no magic number. The amount of super YOU need ... Read more
Super to income Reckoner
SuperGuide’s Super to income Reckoner can help you quickly and simply understand approximately how much retirement income your super savings might be able to generate. The figures used in the reckoner have been sourced from the MoneySmart Retirement Planner, a powerful tool that we highly recommend you try for ... Read more
The rules of superannuation: Your guide for 2018/2019
When you mention super, most people shake their head and mutter about the constant rule changes. Looking back over the past few years it’s a fair comment, with many significant changes occurring – and many more proposed but never legislated. If you are wondering how those changes have affected your super and ... Read more
Income from super Reckoner
SuperGuide’s Income from super Reckoner can help you quickly and simply understand the approximate super savings you need to fund your desired retirement income. The figures used in the reckoner have been sourced from the MoneySmart Retirement Planner, a powerful tool that we highly recommend you try for yourself. ... Read more
Definitive guide to the $1.6 million transfer balance cap
One of the most significant changes to superannuation – the introduction of the $1.6 million transfer balance cap – became effective on 1 July 2017. The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) estimates the changes will impact only 1% per cent of Australian superannuants, however that 1% needs to be clearly across the ... Read more
Super funds with the lowest fees for life and TPD insurance
According to the recent Productivity Commission (PC) report on superannuation, approximately 12 million Australians have some type of insurance through their super, and insurance within super accounts for just under half of the total market for life, TPD (total and permanent disability) and Income Protection ... Read more
Best performing pension funds over 5 calendar years (to December 2018)
According to the 10/30/60 rule, 60% of your retirement income comes from the investment returns you achieve during your retirement. While this rule originated from a US study, the principle holds broadly true for Australian retirees and underlines how important it is to continue to earn a good investment return in your ... Read more
Best performing super funds over 5 calendar years (to December 2018)
Being in a good performing super fund is one of the key factors for growing your super balance. The recent Productivity Commission (PC) review of superannuation identified that members of consistently poor performing funds would have substantially lower super balances at retirement. The PC produced an example of a ... Read more
Super funds with the lowest fees for income protection insurance
Income protection (IP) insurance (sometimes called salary continuance insurance) is available through about a third of super funds as default cover. It is one of three kinds of insurance available inside super, the others being life and TPD. Of the three, IP insurance is the least common. Income protection insures ... Read more