Latest News

Rising life expectancies combined with increasing house prices and cost of living pressures means that more retirees are finding themselves asset rich and cash flow poor. A simple solution can be to downsize, freeing up capital to invest and repaying any debt to reduce expenses. For those who don’t want to downsize (and those who …

Thinking about using the Home Equity Access Scheme? Here’s what you need to know. Read More »

Maria is working on a plan to subdivide her parents’ property and wants to know about the pension implications. — Q. Maria Both my parents are on an Age Pension and we are looking at subdividing the double block they live on so that we can build a granny flat for me to be closer …

How does subdividing a block affect the Age Pension? Read More »

The good, the bad and the ugly of downsizing to save your retirement. Almost 40 per cent of respondents to our Financial Literacy Survey said they would consider downsizing to free up income for their retirement. We explore the good, the bad and the ugly about this tactic. The term ‘downsizing’ has become synonymous with …

Downsizing: the good, bad and ugly Read More »

Ellivo Architects would like to better understand the downsizing preferences of Australians aged 50 and over. This is not about a retirement living facility, but about designing the type of home that considers your future needs and wants, and provides you with a better retirement lifestyle. Ellivo Architects understand that most retirees are not interested …

Design your own downsize Read More »

‘It will be the death of a spouse or ill health that forces them to downsize’, says research institute. Government incentives to downsize are not hitting the mark, with older Australians who reach retirement age preferring to stay in the family home unless declining health forces them to leave, new Australian Housing and Urban Research …

Why older Aussies refuse to downsize Read More »

More than half of Australians over the age of 55 are open to downsizing, according to a new report based on a survey of 2400 households. The main barrier to moving to a smaller home is a lack of housing that matches their needs and preferences. The rapid growth in the number of older Australians …

What stops you from downsizing? Read More »

Queensland has introduced new laws to protect the elderly from financial abuse. Significant changes in Queensland’s guardianship legislation, aimed at reducing the financial abuse suffered by the elderly, came into effect on Monday, and there are calls for the rest of Australia to follow suit. One of the biggest changes relates to power of attorney …

Calls to Change Carer Laws Read More »

This campaign provides information about concessions and will fight for fairer concessions for you. About the issue Whether you are a pensioner or a self-funded retiree, we all continue to pay bills as we get older. Older Australians often need a bit help with doctor’s fees, medicines, private health insurance, aged care, transport, housing, energy …

Fairer Concessions Read More »

Services Australia chief explains how lump sum withdrawals affect the Age Pension. For many of us, other than the family home, superannuation is the biggest investment we will make in our lifetime. The purpose of superannuation is compulsory savings. You save money while you’re working so it can be invested and grow to help look …

How your superannuation affects the Age Pension Read More »