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22 January 2025
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Retirement solutions uniting the three pillars of retirement funding - the age pension, mandatory super and voluntary savings - are essential. Global experts discuss solutions that might work for Australia.
It's often overlooked how wealthier couples can fall back on the age pension if a market loss hits their portfolio. The reassurance is never greater than in a financial (and now epidemic) crisis.
A study of actual spending habits shows retirees have a faster-than-expected drop-off in spending in later years, casting doubts on financial plans that assume increasing expenditure over time.
There is much disagreement over the 'safe' withdrawal rate in retirement to ensure savings do not run out. Unfortunately, drawing only 2.5% from a nestegg will leave many retirees living a life on unnecessary austerity.
Questions asked by financial advisers on how changes to social security means testing will affect their clients mostly centre around the assets test, rent exemptions, and income streams.
The problem with successful long-term investing is the constant availability of financial data, media commentary, and the ease with which a portfolio can be traded. That’s where a change in perception can help.
Increasing longevity is good news, but it poses difficulties as society and our retirement system adjust, particularly for those who outlive their money and have to rely on the uncertain future of the age pension.
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 housing market was subdued in 2024, and pessimism abounds as we start the new year. 2025 is likely to be a tale of two halves, with interest rate cuts fuelling a resurgence in buyer demand in the second half of the year.
The renowned investor has penned his first investor letter for 2025 and it’s a ripper. He runs through what bubbles are, which ones he’s experienced, and whether today’s markets qualify as the third major bubble of this century.
This examines the performance of key asset classes and sub-sectors in 2024 and over longer timeframes, and the lessons that can be drawn for constructing an investment portfolio for the next decade.
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.
Check out the most-read Firstlinks articles from 2024. From '16 ASX stocks to buy and hold forever', to 'The best strategy to build income for life', and 'Where baby boomer wealth will end up', there's something for all.