Robert's Retirement Blog

AI needs to be used with caution a lot of the time because we know it can get things wrong. It is though getting better at a fast pace. Who knows, maybe one day there will be less errors AI make compared with humans.

At the time of writing in September 2026 – I have seen especially in the last 12 months the accuracy increase. As a younger financial planner in the industry, however still holding over 10 years of industry experience, I am still comfortable and open to adopting new technologies. However, after countless meetings and helping numerous clients with their retirement. The technical side of my job is only one part of the overall advice process (which AI can sometimes be good at).

Helping everyday Australian’s feel comfortable about retirement involves much more, my meetings are generally held face to face in person where I can see people’s emotional response to our conversations (and they can see mine). Then also how they feel about things like working longer, retiring later vs retiring sooner and even conversations around spending or saving. AI can’t pick these emotional responses up and can therefore lack the ability to provide a complete answer that people can rely on and trust. It might be able to give you an OK answer …

Income layering in retirement is used to describe someone’s various sources of income in retirement. Most clients I see usually have more than one source or one layer of income. These layers of income can also change over time. It might start out for example when you are preparing for retirement, you might go from 5 days a week work to 2 days per week, this is your first layer, then you might top up the missed income with a regular fortnightly income stream from your superannuation which is your second layer. Then when you retire, the income sources might change again, you might still continue a fortnightly income stream from your superannuation, add in a layer of the Centrelink pension plus also maybe a small layer of income from an annuity.

Even when I deal with self-funded retirees, the layers still can change overtime in retirement and aren’t often linear. You might start off with some income from your superannuation and rental income from investment properties. Then as your superannuation gets used, you run out of income flexibility for the bigger purchases or holidays which is when it might be time to sell an investment property which stops a source of income but then the proceeds can be used to generate another source of …

Account-based pensions can only be commenced with funds that have come from superannuation. For example, you can’t just have money in the bank and decide to commence one – money has to go into a superannuation fund first. They have generous tax concessions and as a consequence the government would like you to take a “minimum pension payment” each year.

I guess my thoughts are to why this is the case is that they don’t want retirees using account-based pensions as a tool to hold wealth in a tax effective manner and not spend it in their retirement. They are designed to be spent and used to live off of in retirement, not having investments continue to grow in which most cases is a zero tax earning environment.

You can take money from an account-based pension as either a pension payment or a lump sum. Whatever way you take it looks the same in your bank account, however it changes how the account-based pension provider records it and accounts for it on their systems.

The current minimum pension payment requirements are as below.

Age under 65 = 4.0%

Age 65–74 = 5.0%

Age 75–79 = 6.0%

Age 80–84 = 7.0%

Age 85–89 = 9.0%

Age 90–94 = 11.0%

Age 95 or more = 14.0%

In recent years from approximately 2020 to the middle of 2023, these above …

Annuities come in various shapes, forms and sizes. People refer to an annuity in different contexts and variations all the time. In Australia the type of annuities on offer have changed a lot in my almost 10 years in the industry. I like to think of an annuity as giving a lump sum money to an annuity provider in exchange for a regular income for life in retirement. There are also new products called lifetime income streams which to me are just another form of annuity but probably not technically actually an annuity.

Some annuities have a fixed term, such that you invest in them for say a 5 year period, almost like a term deposit. Others can be market-linked so the returns and income aren’t guaranteed, rather they can fluctuate with what happens in the type of investment that has been selected.

A popular one or what I see as a “traditional” annuity, is you give a lump sum of money as mentioned prior, to the annuity provider, then the annuity provider will set the terms agreed upon by you at the start. This can include the annuity provider paying you income for life in exchange for the lump sum of money. This income could potentially be lower if the annuity provider lets you have some level of access to capital during your expected …

In this blog when I refer to pension accounts – I am referring to traditional modern account-based pensions that are available today. Adding extra money to them can be a little more complicated than what meets the eye…

Generally, account-based pensions are setup when someone retires post the age of 60 and uses their accumulated superannuation to purchase one. An account-based pension is where you still choose to have your funds invested how you would like but instead of adding money in, you are drawing money out to live off on in retirement.

Retirees might like to add to them from time to time, such as sometimes in retirement people might find an odd job working a few hours a week. They would then come to me and asking if they can just tell their employer to contribute the super contributions from work to their pension fund. Unfortunately, once these pension accounts are setup, they are setup and although a bit clunky, you will need to open a new accumulation superannuation account to accept the contributions from your employer.

This is the same if you for example, sell an investment property and want to make a contribution to super, it needs to go into a new superannuation fund and can’t be added to the existing pension account. …

Yes maybe, depending on which type of account-based pension you have, it may affect your age pension with how much you withdraw. This usually only happens though for account-based pensions commenced prior to 1st of January 2015 and are “grandfathered”.

Grandfathering provisions can be quite complicated, it is best to check with Centrelink if you already have an account-based pension to see if it is grandfathered, usually for your account-based pension to be “grandfathered”, it needs to have commenced prior to 1st of January 2015 and you must have been receiving a Centrelink payment at the same time and continue to do so.

These “grandfathered” pensions can sometimes be a bit more favourable from a Centrelink eligibility perspective. The balance is asset tested (like a normal account-based pension nowadays) however the balance isn’t “deemed” to earn an income. Rather the income drawn is assessed for Centrelink purposes less a deductible amount (which is calculated based on a formula). So sometimes drawing large amounts of income over and above the deductible amount can potentially have a reduction on your Centrelink Age Pension, likewise, drawing minimal amounts could potentially have a NIL or close to NIL affect.

For normal …

I always see a lot of ads whether that be online / or on the TV encouraging people to consolidate super funds – with the sole purpose being to save on fees……

Although true to a certain extent, when you actually look through your super fund product disclosure statement (PDS) and see what fees are being charged where, a lot of the time the large proportion of fees are actually percentage base. These are often referred to as “investment costs”. Then there is usually a small flat fee which superannuation funds call an “administration fee” – this fee is usually fixed and I generally see ranges from $50 a year to a few hundred dollars a year. Noting these are just some examples of fees and it is important that you look into your individual funds to see what is being charged.

An example below where consolidating may even cost you more fees if you don’t do your proper research:

• Fund A might be your current fund your employer contributes to. It might have a balance of $100,000 and has a fixed administration fee of $70 a year and an investment fee of 1.10% (which equates to $1,100). So total fees are $1,170 p.a.
• You might have Fund B that is an old fund that has a balance of $100,000. Fixed administration fees of $100 p.a. and investment …

Downsizing means something different to each and everyone. When I am talking to someone in their 60’s and we discuss their future plans – they mention it might include selling the large family home and “downsizing” as kids may have all moved out, the house is getting a bit tired/old and it’s time to simplify things.

From what I have seen over the years, downsizing prior to the Australian housing market going up by vast amounts since 2020, it used to involve selling the family home for say $1 million dollars (generally 4 bedroom, on a larger block etc), then buying somewhere smaller but newer for $650,000 - $700,000. Now that won’t immediately free up $300,000 (as you have to consider stamp duty etc). However, it did still leave retirees with a few hundred thousand extra to help fund their retirement.

It is still doable to free up capital now-days and it all depends on what you have and what you are wanting, however I am working with a lot of clients now where downsizing actually might mean spending the same $1 million dollars they sold their home for and having to pay extra on top for stamp duty. Usually this might mean – the retirees are still in the same suburb they like, with a nicer newer home and hopefully less …

As time goes by and if we are lucky enough - we age well and then pass away. When you receive an inheritance from a loved one that has passed, there are many emotional aspects and time taken to arrange things like funerals, selling a home, or it might be keeping a home and supporting other family members. When things settle somewhat – finances are on the list to be considered.

It is hard to plan for everything but sometimes it is good to start preparing your finances whilst the assets are in probate and haven’t reached your name yet. Somethings to consider include:

Tax – Now this can be tax the estate has to pay before it reaches you, or the tax that you may may be obliged to pay in the future moving forward as you inherit assets that may generate income or capital growth.

Centrelink – When receiving funds from an inheritance, the general rule of thumb is if the funds through the deceased person’s Will were intended for you – then they become your asset. I often get questions from clients and prospective clients as this may reduce someone’s Age Pension to nil for example. People then look to offload the inheritance to another family member for example like a child etc. In Australia you can do what you want with your money and …

Superannuation can only be accessed in limited ways. Superannuation has always been designed as a mechanism to assist funding someone’s retirement. The legislation recognises people’s lives don’t always follow a simple path of working until 65 then retiring for example. Some people may not make it there and due to a terminal illness and then legislation allows those who are terminally ill, to access superannuation early.

The ATO’s definition of when you are classified as being terminally ill is “ 2 registered medical practitioners have certified, jointly or separately, that the member suffers from an illness, or has incurred an injury, that is likely to result in the member’s death within 24 months of the date of certification” (see reference here). Noting there are a few other pieces of criteria. This has to do with accessibility of superannuation and sometimes your fund may hold insurance which has a different definition – so it is important that this is looked into.

With SuperSA Triple S scheme here in South Australia, when concessional contributions get paid into the fund (i.e. from your employer) or earnings are accrued in the fund – no tax is taken out, where in the private sector world, this is usually up to 15%. The …