Introduction

While it's easy to be discouraged by superannuation and fear you will never have enough money saved to stop working, remember even a modest superannuation balance can make a big difference in retirement.

For every $100,000 saved in superannuation, you can expect these funds to generate a return of 6%, or $6,000, a year. When this is paid out as a pension, it equates to $500 a month tax-free. Of course, this is doubled if both you and your partner have $100,000 each in super. Depending on your overall financial situation, this can be paid in addition to you receiving a full age pension.

Here are six super hacks to help you maximise your super balance:

Introduction

As any experienced investor knows, all investment markets have their ups and downs. Regardless of investor experience, turbulent times are a cause of anxiety, and that can lead to poor decision-making.  So if turbulent markets are inevitable, even if their timing is not predictable, how should portfolios be positioned in anticipation of, and in response to market volatility?

What’s your objective?

First up, it’s important to go back to your investment objective. Is it to grow wealth over the medium to long term? Or are you more concerned with preserving capital? Your objective also needs to take account of your risk profile. How would you feel if, for example, the value of your portfolio dropped by 20%? Would it lead to you dumping volatile investments such as shares, or would you see it as an opportunity to pick up some quality shares at a discount?

Introduction

Ask any woman juggling career, home and family and she’ll tell you it’s a hard slog. Yet as retirement looms, dreams of enjoying the rewards of all that work are shattered as the retirement savings don’t support the vision.

According to an inquiry into Women’s Economic Security in Retirement entitled “A husband is not a retirement plan: Achieving economic security for women in retirement”, on average, women retire with approximately half the retirement savings as men. The inquiry also found that the majority of Australians on the age pension are women. Of that number, the majority are single, meaning that these women are struggling alone on an income that the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) defines as poverty.

What about super?

Introduction

Picture this... when you were 21 years old your well-meaning but financially inept uncle put $1,000 into an ordinary bank account for you with instructions to leave it there and “let the bank’s interest turn it into a fortune”. You followed his directions only to discover 30 years later the balance of your ‘fortune’ was a paltry $6,023! What went wrong? Well, to put it frankly, you didn’t give it any attention.

This is a classic mistake that many Australians make when it comes to their superannuation.

Introduction

The key to life is living, not retiring, but there may come a time in your life when you want to change what you’ve been doing and either stop working completely, or take a long holiday and work out what’s next.
To be able to have this choice though, it’s imperative that you plan ahead, even if you think retirement is for everyone else.

Introduction

The government regularly reminds us that each Australian must take responsibility for funding their future. Regardless of when you will be able to access your super, or when you choose to stop working, you need to be aware of how your superannuation is being managed and if the final balance will be sufficient when you’re ready to retire… and for the years beyond.