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5 January 2025
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Any discussion on annuities needs to address the credit risk associated with relying on the solvency of a single insurer. Here's a guide on the regulation of annuities and the best ways to assess solvency risk.
Retirement is a time of great excitement but it is also one of uncertainty. This is hardly surprising given the daunting move from receiving a steady outcome to relying on savings and investments.
Should you give your children their inheritance before you die? It's a thorny question asked more often as Baby Boomers in Australia grow older and die richer. Do they leave larger bequests or help buy the kids a home?
Until recently, there have been two major forms of retirement income streams available: account-based pensions and lifetime annuities. AMP may have broken new ground with a product that combines both streams.
Most people in retirement will have three financial goals in the decumulation stage to take account of the uncertainty of health, longevity and markets, and here's a framework to help.
Loss aversion means some people avoid annuities because a premature death may lead to a loss of capital, but lifetime annuities with death benefits aim to address this problem.
Annuities now come in different structures, overcoming many of the past objections. Despite low interest rates, they have become more popular with senior investors based on cash flow, social security and tax needs.
The superannuation industry has grappled with how to offer attractive retirement solutions, but lessons from overseas suggest some form of risk sharing to cover variable life expectancy will be needed.
The FSI's Interim Report observed that the retirement phase of super-annuation is underdeveloped and does not meet the risk management needs of many retirees. The most difficult of these risks to manage is longevity.
A reader sent in an excellent question on the merits of lifetime annuities versus long term indexed bonds for post-retirement income. Jeremy Cooper and Elizabeth Moran make the case for each.
The super industry has struggled to develop suitable post-retirement products to cater for increases in life expectancy. How would your own investing change if you knew you would live another 30 years after retiring?
Jeremy Cooper answers a question from one of our subscribers about the risk profile, regulatory standards and track record of lifetime annuities. If you have something to add, we invite you to join the debate.
Last year, I wrote an article suggesting returns from ASX stocks would trample those from housing over the next decade. One year later, this is an update on how that forecast is going and what's changed since.
The Future Fund's original purpose was to meet the unfunded liabilities of Commonwealth defined benefit schemes. These liabilities have ballooned to an estimated $290 billion and taxpayers continue to be treated like fools.
ASFA provides a key guide for how much you will need to live on in retirement. Unfortunately it has many deficiencies, and the averages don't tell the full story of the growing gender superannuation gap.
Unlike family trusts, testamentary trusts are activated posthumously, empowering you to exert post-death control over your assets. Learn how testamentary trusts offer unique benefits and protective measures.
Key lessons include expensive stocks can always get more expensive, Bitcoin is our tulip mania, follow the smart money, the young are coming with pitchforks on housing, and the importance of staying invested.
While the performance of the largest super funds has been admirable, they’ve become so big that it will make it difficult for them to outperform their benchmarks in future. It will be important for you to pick your fund wisely.