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Retirement FAQs
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It depends on your loan rate compared with your expected super returns, and on your tax position. Paying off the mortgage gives a return equal to the interest you no longer pay, with no market risk. It also lowers the income you need each month, and money in your home stops counting in the Age Pension assets test. But money taken out of super leaves the tax-free environment, so I model both options first.
At least once a year. Changes to inflation (opens in a new tab), your health, or the Federal Budget (opens in a new tab) can each change how much you should draw or how your money is invested. I review sooner if something changes.
The bucket strategy splits your money into three parts. Cash covers the next year or two of income. Defensive assets such as bonds cover the medium term. Growth assets such as shares cover the long term. That way you don’t have to sell shares in a market fall to pay your living costs.
Yes, within age and balance limits. If you’re under 75 and your total super balance is below $2.1 million, you can make non-concessional contributions (opens in a new tab) of up to $130,000 a year from 1 July 2026. You may also be able to bring forward two future years of caps, up to $390,000. A downsizer contribution doesn’t count towards these caps. I time contributions so they stay within the rules.
I project your balance against two budgets: what you need to spend and what you’d like to spend. The model includes inflation and conservative return assumptions. You see how long your money lasts at each spending level, and what changes if markets have a poor year.
You can lodge a claim up to 13 weeks before you reach Age Pension age, which is 67. The planning starts years earlier. I review how your family home, super, and investments are assessed under the means test before you apply.
It’s the lifetime limit on how much super you can move into tax-free retirement phase. The general cap rose to $2.1 million on 1 July 2026. Your personal cap depends on when you first started a retirement income stream. I track your cap so you don’t exceed it and pay excess transfer balance tax.
Transition to retirement advice is for people still working who draw on super while they reduce their hours. Retirement advice is for people who have stopped work and met a condition of release. It covers moving super into retirement phase, setting your drawdowns, and making the money last.