Retirement

The Australian stock market has seen a stagnation in returns since 2006, leaving many questioning the wisdom of long-term equity positions. For retirees, it’s a particularly fraught issue, as their financial security depends on how these investments perform.

Superannuation is a big part of most Australians’ retirement strategies, but many also choose to augment their savings with other income-producing investments. Here’s a look at how these options can help retirees maintain their preferred lifestyle and protect against risk.

The approach of retirement requires a profound change in how investors approach markets and construct portfolios, including arranging their income needs around three distinct periods of retired life, the financial advice firm’s founders said.

Higher mandatory contributions and increased pension assets helped Australia improve on its 2022 score in Mercer and the CFA Institute’s annual index and move up a spot in the 47-country ranking, but the research cited room for improvement.

Investing in property within a self-managed super fund offers the potential for substantial tax savings, but it’s not for those lacking property market experience. Sophisticated investors should consider several key factors, including costs and compliance, to ensure success within their SMSFs.

While retirement conditions are improving around the world, Australians are retiring later than their global peers, as higher inflation and cost-of-living challenges drive fears over longevity risk in retirement, recent surveys show.

Generation Life, which specialises in tax-efficient investment solutions, recently unveiled enhancements to its lifetime annuity product in a bid to help more investors plan for a dignified retirement without a fear of running out.

The Financial Services Council commissioned the Retirement Income Policy Roadmap to help the superannuation system put greater emphasis on the drawdown phase. Industry leaders say the biggest hurdle is a deeply entrenched fear of running out of money.

The popular debate lacks nuance. Neither is foolproof but both can play a crucial role in building portfolio resistance and balancing the risk/reward dynamic.

The four majors along with AMP and Macquarie have paid or offered to pay a total of $4.7 million for charging fees for advice services they did not provide and for noncompliant advice, bringing to a close an eight-year review by ASIC and a key chapter of the advice industry shakeup led by the Hayne commission.

Ever since the GFC, interest rates around the world have been on a trajectory to zero, which acted as a proxy tax on investing for retirement for millions. But the current economic is a whole new ball game, writes Drew Meredith.

The Treasury has released for public consultation draft legislation aimed at closing a tax loophole for off-market share buybacks, prompting renewed fears over the future of franking credits despite assurances that mum-and-dad investors will not be affected.