Insights
Perspectives for the
retirement you’ve earned.
Plain-spoken thinking on planning, super, investing and the life that comes after work — from the advisers who do this every day.
Monthly economic update — July 2026: oil surges, long bond yields hit multi-year highs, rates hold steady
Inflation eased in the US and Australia through June — but oil jumped 23% in a month, the US 30-year Treasury yield hit a 19-year high, and four live risks sit underneath the calm surface.
Read article →Latest articles
Talk to an adviser →Prepare for the Age Pension
An interactive preparation guide — eligibility, lodgement timing, a 33-document checklist you can tick off, the July 2026 means tests and a live deeming calculator.
What is a power of attorney, and do I need one? The types explained
Only an enduring power of attorney protects you if you lose capacity.
Account-based pensions and the Age Pension: how Centrelink treats your super balance
The full ABP balance is assessable and deemed for income — actual drawdowns don't count.
Salary sacrifice in the pre-retirement window: how it works, what it saves, and where the limits sit
Salary sacrifice in the pre-retirement years delivers the largest tax saving when marginal rates peak.
The Division 296 tax on super balances over $3 million: what high-balance members need to know
Division 296 is now law: two tiers, realised earnings only, indexed thresholds.
End-of-financial-year super contributions: the 30 June timing trap
A super contribution counts when the fund receives it, not when you send it.
When amending your family trust becomes a tax event: the resettlement risk for retiree trustees
Some trust deed amendments trigger CGT on all assets at market value.
Inheriting cryptocurrency: the digital asset estate planning gap
Without the private key, inherited cryptocurrency is permanently lost, not just delayed.
JobSeeker for older Australians: the bridge to Age Pension when work ends early
JobSeeker bridges the gap for older Australians whose work ends before Age Pension age.
When you're in hospital for months: how the Age Pension treats long-term admission
The Age Pension keeps paying during hospitalisation, but couples must request illness-separated rates.
Lost super and the pre-retirement audit: the check that often pays for itself
A pre-retirement lost-super audit is one of the cheapest, highest-payoff checks a retiree can do.
The lump sum in arrears tax offset: how retirees avoid bracket creep on back-payments
The LSIA offset stops bunched back-payments from pushing retirees into higher tax brackets.
Defined benefit super and the hidden cap eater: notional taxed contributions explained
Defined benefit members can breach the concessional cap without making a single cash contribution.
Age Pension and personal bankruptcy: what's protected and what's not
The Age Pension and super are protected in bankruptcy, but the family home usually isn't.
Aged care and the family home: the "protected person" rules that preserve the asset exemption
A qualifying carer's continued residence can exempt the family home from aged care fees indefinitely.
Behavioural finance in retirement: the cognitive biases that affect decisions and how to counter them
Loss aversion and recency bias cost retirees money — structural processes counter them, not willpower.
The Financial Information Service: the free government service most retirees don't know about
The Financial Information Service gives free, independent Centrelink guidance to anyone, with no commercial agenda.
The Common Reporting Standard: how the ATO automatically learns of your overseas bank accounts
The Common Reporting Standard means the ATO now automatically learns about your overseas bank accounts.
The $131,250 defined benefit income cap: when more pension means more tax
The defined benefit income cap, now $131,250, taxes senior DB pensioners' income above the line.
Downsizing in retirement: the friction costs that don't show up in the brochure
Downsizing friction costs typically eat 15-25% of the headline equity release retirees expect.
International shares for Australian retirees: why diversification beyond ASX matters
The ASX is only 2% of global markets — franking credits don't justify full concentration.
Telling Centrelink when things change: the 14-day rule that prevents most pension debts
Most Age Pension debts come from not reporting a change within 14 days, not fraud.
The Age Pension preparation checklist: everything to do before you claim
A step-by-step checklist to get eligibility, digital access and every document ready before you lodge.
Land lease communities: owning the home but leasing the land — the downsizing option that confuses everyone
Land lease communities mean owning the home, leasing the land, paying site fees for life.
Markets just crashed — should I switch my super to cash? The downturn decision that can make or break your retirement
Panic-switching super to cash after a crash locks in losses and misses the rebound.
Whose name should the investments be in? A quiet but valuable retiree question
Whose name investments are held in can quietly save thousands in tax each year.
The Work Bonus: how to earn without losing your Age Pension
The Work Bonus excludes the first $300 a fortnight of employment income from the Age Pension test, with unused credit banking up to $11,800.
CGT event E4: tax-deferred distributions from managed funds and the cost base reduction trap
Tax-deferred trust distributions quietly erode your cost base until gains become immediate.
The $10,000 rule: how gifting affects your Age Pension — and the trap most retirees miss
Gifts above $10,000 a year stay counted against your Age Pension for five years.
Service entity arrangements for retiring professionals: structural unwinding at retirement
Retiring professionals must unwind service entity trusts carefully to avoid Division 7A and CGT traps.
Binding death benefit nominations and the 3-year expiry trap: keeping super nominations current
A standard BDBN lapses after three years, silently handing control back to the trustee.
Reportable fringe benefits, adjusted taxable income, and the Commonwealth Seniors Health Card
Salary packaging before retiring can push your income over the CSHC limit.
The small business CGT 15-year exemption: timing the sale of your business for retirement
Selling a 15-year-old business at 55+ in connection with retirement can mean zero CGT.
Mutual wills for blended-family retirees: how to bind your surviving partner's will after you're gone
Mutual wills legally bind a surviving spouse to agreed inheritance shares for both families.
Corporate trustee vs individual trustees: the SMSF setup decision that compounds for decades
A corporate SMSF trustee simplifies membership changes, death events, and penalty exposure.
When your binding death benefit nomination lapses: the 3-year rule and the renewal discipline
Most public-offer fund BDBNs lapse after three years unless deliberately renewed.
Why the notice of intent has to come first: the sequence that decides whether a personal super contribution is deductible
Commencing a pension before lodging a notice of intent permanently kills the deduction.
Age Pension assets test 2026: thresholds, taper & cut-off limits
Couples in the $500,000 to $1.1 million range sit in the pension taper zone.
Home Equity Access Scheme: the government reverse mortgage at 3.95%
HEAS offers government-rate reverse mortgage access to home equity at 3.95% p.a.
ETFs in retirement portfolios: low-cost diversification for Australian retirees
Index ETFs deliver broad market exposure at a fraction of actively managed fund costs.
Age Pension for refugees and humanitarian visa holders: the QRE exemption and what it means
The Qualifying Residence Exemption lets refugees access the Age Pension without the 10-year waiting period.
Blended family estate planning: structures that provide for spouse and prior children
Life interest trusts, mutual wills, and BDBNs protect spouse and prior children simultaneously.
Contribution splitting: how couples can equalise super between spouses
Splitting up to 85% of concessional contributions to a spouse's fund equalises super between partners.
The re-contribution strategy: converting taxable super to tax-free for adult-child beneficiaries
Converting taxable super to tax-free through re-contribution reduces death benefit tax for adult-child beneficiaries.
The Single Assessment System for aged care: one workforce, one tool, one front door
The Single Assessment System replaces two separate aged care assessment workforces with one integrated team.
The 2026 tax reforms: CGT, trusts and SMSF borrowing — the dates that matter
When the 50% CGT discount ends, when SMSF residential borrowing stops, and why pre-Budget testamentary trusts still work — a plain-English date map.
Family business succession at retirement: your options explained
Family business succession involves tax, family, and retirement income choices that reward multi-year preparation.
Franking credits for retirees: why refundable imputation matters most for low-tax investors
Retirees in pension-phase super receive franking credits as cash refunds — boosting the effective yield.
Investment platform choice in retirement: super pension, wrap, broker, or SMSF?
Most retirees benefit from a combination of super pension, wrap, and broker accounts.
Super fund mergers: what they mean for members and what to do
Super fund mergers are largely administrative, but insurance, fees, and investment options all need checking.
The financial handover: preparing the partner who hasn't been the financial decision-maker
Advance financial handover preparation supports the non-financial partner when the decision-maker dies or loses capacity.
The "member of a couple" test for Centrelink: how relationship status is assessed
Centrelink's member-of-couple test uses five factors to determine relationship status and pension rates.
Scams targeting older Australians: recognising the patterns
Sophisticated scams catch sophisticated people — the defence is pattern recognition, not intelligence.
The principal home and aged care entry: the 2-year exemption window and what comes next
The principal home is exempt for 2 years after entering aged care, then becomes assessable.
Director Identification Number: a compliance requirement many retiree directors missed
Retirees with company directorships needed a Director ID by November 2022 — here's what to do now.
Made redundant in your 50s or 60s: the tax treatment, the super opportunity, and what to plan for
Genuine redundancy triggers tax-free thresholds and super contribution windows worth planning carefully.
Age Pension asset categories: how Centrelink values different types of assets
Centrelink values different asset types in different ways — knowing the rules prevents backdated debts.
Age Pension and class action settlements: refund, damages, and interest are all treated differently
Class action distributions are treated differently depending on whether they represent refunds, damages, or interest.
Age Pension and cryptocurrency yield: staking, lending, and DeFi produce actual income on top of deeming
Crypto holdings are deemed, but staking and yield rewards also count as separate assessable income.
Age Pension and disaster relief: bushfire, flood, and cyclone recovery payments are generally exempt
Government disaster relief payments are generally exempt from the Age Pension income test.
You've been named executor: what the job actually involves
Executor is a legal job with real personal liability — understand the duties before agreeing.
From DSP to Age Pension: a choice at 67, not an automatic transfer
At 67, DSP recipients choose whether to transfer to Age Pension — it is not automatic.
Elder financial abuse: recognising it, preventing it, and where to turn
Most elder financial abuse is perpetrated by family — protection comes from structure, not trust.
Margin loans approaching retirement: when leverage stops earning its keep, and how to unwind cleanly
Leverage that served you well in accumulation becomes a structural liability as retirement approaches.
Mortgage offset accounts in retirement: keep, close, or repurpose?
Most retirees keep their offset account by inertia — the decision deserves an explicit answer.
Your SMSF in retirement: what continues, what changes, and what's worth reconsidering
An SMSF in retirement offers control but compliance obligations don't stop — two risks need planning.
Transition to retirement: what a TRIS actually does — and doesn't — in 2026
TRIS fund earnings are taxed at 15% since 2017 — know what the strategy still delivers.
Trauma insurance at retirement: keep, modify, or cancel?
Trauma premiums peak at retirement just as the original need — mortgage, income — has often passed.
Withdrawal sequencing in retirement: which pot to draw from first
Tax efficiency is the default sequencing rule — but death benefit intentions often reverse it.
You've been named executor: what the job actually involves
Being named executor is a months-long legal role with real duties and personal liability — here's what it actually entails.
How much do you really need to retire in Australia?
The honest answer isn’t a single magic number — it’s a conversation about the life you actually want to live.
Turning your super into an income you can count on
The shift from building a nest egg to drawing from it is the most important transition in retirement — and the least discussed.
The first five years of retirement — and why they matter most
How you spend the early, active years quietly shapes the comfort and meaning of every year that follows.
Estate planning is about more than a will
A will is the floor, not the ceiling. The gaps it leaves are where families most often come unstuck.
Understanding aged care costs before you need to
Aged care decisions are almost always made under pressure. A little planning beforehand changes everything.
Market volatility and the retired investor
When you’re drawing an income rather than earning one, market falls feel different. Here’s how to keep your head — and your plan.