An estimated 59,000 self-managed super funds (SMSFs) have unmet needs for advice on estate planning. Comprehensive surveys for the 2017 Vanguard/Investment Trends Self Managed Super Fund Reports found that estate planning is the area of the highest unmet need for advice. This equated to 10 per cent of SMSFs at the time of the surveys. Further, the research found that 10 per cent of SMSFs had concerns about the ability of other members to manage their super funds following the death or serious illness of the most dominant fund member. The recognition of tens of thousands of SMSF trustees that they need […]

Are you planning to boost your retirement income by doing some part-time work once you eventually retire? Perhaps you have included the expectation of some paid work in your calculations about how much you need to finance your retirement. If so, this leads to another question: How realistic is that expectation? A recent research paper, Retirement transitions in four countries, may help provide some answers. More than 5560 pre-retirees (who are planning to retire within 10 years) and recent retirees (who retired over the past 10 years) age 55-75 took part in the study covering Australia, the United States, United Kingdom and […]