Account-Based Pensions - Page 4

New and ongoing aged care reforms have increased home care services for older Australians who wish to remain independent in their own homes. What is home care?

Australians prefer to age in place in their own home. Here's how owning your home is treated when assessing eligibility for the Age Pension.

A basic explanation of the aged care options available in Australia how much you can expect to pay, and what the government will contribute.

Suggestion to exempt sale of home from stamp duty for downsizers

For this year’s International Day of Older Persons, pass on your pearls of wisdom to the next generation, and you could change a younger person’s life.

Each year CANSTAR researches and rates account based pension funds across Australia to determine which ones offer outstanding value for money. This year we looked at 66 different products from 59 superannuation providers. The ING DIRECT – Living Super Pension product was a winner, receiving a five star rating for outstanding value across all three profiles assessed.

With age pension eligibility rules being tightened and a low official cash rate, there′s no doubt that income is very much top of mind for many self-funded retirees at the moment. For many retirees account based pensions provide a tax-effective income stream in retirement and each year CANSTAR researches and rates public offer account based pension funds across Australia to determine which ones offer outstanding value for money.

With the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) dropping the official cash rate to a historic low of just 2% at its May meeting, self-funded retirees are struggling to find value.

Retirement incomes are very much top of mind for many self-funded retirees at the moment, with future changes to age pension eligibility on the way. That, combined with Australia′s historically low cash rate, means that making retirement income as tax-effective as possible is critical.

How much will you need in order to have a comfortable retirement? According to the Association of Superannuation Funds (ASFA), those retiring now would require an after-tax income of $42,604 for a single or $58,364 for a couple (after all, there are economies of scale) in order to be comfortable. You can check ASFA′s most recent Retirement Standard calculations here.

Account-based pensions are a way of accessing superannuation for the retired and retiring population, and CANSTAR has rated them to help you find the best

Mercer wins CANSTAR Innovation Award for LifetimePlus

A reversionary pension can significantly reduce the likelihood of a challenge compared to an ordinary pension. Find out more today at Canstar

The superannuation preservation age is staying at 60 for now, but looks likely to rise in the future

There is wide speculation that the government will announce changes to the eligibility criteria and/or calculation of benefits for the age pension in the upcoming federal budget.

Challenger Care Annuity Awarded by Canstar Research on March 2013 Challenger Life Company Limited is helping older Australians to retain more of their retirement nest egg with an innovative new lifetime annuity that pays a current...

Planning for retirement and making the decision about when to retire means some serious thinking about how to actually go about the process. Once you reach your preservation age and are officially a “senior” you can...