Topic
Retirement Planning
69 articles on retirement planning — general-advice insights for Australians.
Can I put my redundancy payment into super?
You can't roll a redundancy payout into super, but you can generally contribute the cash.
Unclaimed money: the free ten-minute search almost nobody does
About $2.7 billion sits unclaimed across three government registers that don't talk to each other.
How to work out your own defined benefit income cap position, step by step
A free ATO tool and one taxed-vs-untaxed question decide your defined benefit income cap position.
Knocked back for a credit card in retirement? It's not you — here's what's going on
Credit assessments test income, not assets, so retirees with valuable homes still get declined.
When an adult child moves back in: how to help without losing your retirement
Board from your own child isn't assessed as income, but drift can quietly cost retirements.
Choosing your attorney: the most important person you'll ever appoint
An attorney acts while you're alive and least able to supervise them.
Sorting your things while you still can: the last kind thing you can do for your family
Sorting your possessions now spares your grieving family the worst fortnight of their lives.
The stick, the frame, the scooter: the equipment that keeps you home — and who pays for it
A walking frame or rail often keeps someone home — get assessed before buying one.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Reportable fringe benefits, adjusted taxable income, and the Commonwealth Seniors Health Card
Salary packaging before retiring can push your income over the CSHC limit.
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.
Age Pension rate indexation: how twice-yearly increases maintain real pension value
The Age Pension is indexed twice yearly to the highest of CPI, PBLCI, or MTAWE.
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.
Family business succession at retirement: your options explained
Family business succession involves tax, family, and retirement income choices that reward multi-year preparation.
Age Pension assets test exemptions: a complete overview
Multiple Age Pension assets test exemptions can combine to shift significant capital and lift entitlement.
Retiree cash flow and budgeting: the practical mechanics of day-to-day finances
A simple multi-account structure resolves the timing mismatch that makes retirement cash flow feel complex.
Cryptocurrency in retirement: tax, Centrelink, and the estate planning challenge
Cryptocurrency holdings in retirement raise distinct tax, Centrelink, and estate planning considerations most retirees underestimate.
Free financial counselling: the service many retirees in financial difficulty don't know about
Free financial counselling via the National Debt Helpline helps retirees in debt or financial crisis.
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.
Group Self-Annuities and pooled-longevity products: the new lifetime income structure emerging in Australian super
Group Self-Annuities pool mortality risk across retirees to deliver longevity-protected income without an insurer guarantee.
Foreign pensions and Australian retirement: the interaction with the Age Pension
Foreign pension income reduces the Australian Age Pension but claiming it is almost always worthwhile.
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.
Family loans and gifts in retirement: the Bank of Mum and Dad, done properly
Family gifts above $10,000 per year trigger deprivation rules — documented loans are treated differently.
The final five years before retirement: an integrated planning window
Five years before retirement — the window for contributions, debt, insurance, super, and estate planning.
Phased retirement: the financial framework for a gradual transition
How employment, super, and the Age Pension combine during a gradual step-down from work.
Asset valuation in late-career divorce: super, business, property, and the methods that determine the split
Late-career divorce splits the largest asset pool of your life — methods determine the outcome.
Living overseas in retirement: Australian tax residency considerations
Australian tax residency is the central financial issue for retirees considering a move overseas.
Working past Age Pension age: the tax, super, and Centrelink picture
The Work Bonus, super contributions, and SAPTO make working past Age Pension age financially attractive.
Leave payouts at retirement: how Centrelink treats the lump sum and why the gap years matter
A leave payout isn't Age Pension income, but becomes a deemed financial asset on receipt.
Lottery and gambling winnings on the Age Pension: tax-free doesn't mean Centrelink-free
A lottery win is tax-free but immediately creates a Centrelink financial asset subject to deeming.
Age Pension notification obligations: what you must report to Centrelink and when
Missing the 14-day reporting obligation creates backdated debt — Centrelink's data matching is extensive.
The bucket strategy for retirement income: three time horizons, and why the structure helps more than the maths alone
The bucket strategy splits retirement savings by time horizon to protect income from market downturns.
The funeral bond exemption: one of the few places the Age Pension assets test has genuine flexibility
A qualifying funeral bond exempts up to $15,750 from the Age Pension assets test, per person.
Asset-rich, cash-poor: when the Age Pension assets test says no but hardship provisions may say yes
Illiquid assets blocking your Age Pension? Hardship provisions and HEAS offer two different solutions.
Income protection, Age Pension, and the gap years: what pre-retirees with active IP claims need to plan for
IP benefits count as ordinary income — and age-65 benefit periods create a two-year pension gap.
Cooling-off periods on financial products: the 14-day window most retirees forget they have
Most retail financial products include a 14-day cooling-off right — know before the window closes.
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.
Employee share schemes and retirement: the cessation-of-employment taxing point and the 30-day rule
Retirement triggers the deferred taxing point on unvested ESS interests — timing matters enormously.
Pre-retirement charitable giving: why your final working years are the most tax-efficient time to give
Charitable deductions are worth far more in your final high-income years than in retirement.
Pay down the mortgage or invest the surplus? The pre-retirement decision worth getting right
Most pre-retirees default to one extreme or the other — the right answer is a structured mix.
Professional indemnity run-off cover at retirement: the tail policy retiring professionals can't afford to miss
PI insurance is claims-made — retiring professionals need run-off cover or face personal tail exposure.
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.
Sequencing risk: why a market downturn in year one of retirement is far worse than the same crash in year twenty
Sequencing risk means early retirement market crashes destroy far more wealth than later ones.
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.
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.
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.
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.