This Month
So, you want to retire to Tuscany?
The idea of moving to Italy is alluring for retirees – la dolce vita, the food, the wine, the beauty, the prices. Just check these practicalities first.
- Sian Powell
Palisade Impact in $300m retirement living JV with Zig Inge Group
Palisade Impact is building a $300 million retirement living platform with Zig Inge Group, whose founder pioneered retirement living in Australia in the 70s.
- Sarah Thompson, Kanika Sood and Emma Rapaport
November
‘Out of order’ applies to all of ailing Victoria
Readers’ letters on the southern state’s economic malaise; the IPA’s infuence; Australia’s cricket defeat; fighting back against “battery boosters”; social media bans; retirement tips; and potential power blackouts.
Big Super’s reckoning has arrived
After 32 years of guaranteed inflows from workers and scant scrutiny, the $3.9 trillion industry faces customer fury over service, unclear investment practices and questionable governance.
- Hannah Wootton
- Exclusive
- Superannuation
AustralianSuper pays members back $4.2m over claims handling delays
The industry super giant is voluntarily compensating the loved ones of deceased members after an overhaul of its claims handling processes imposed tough new timelines.
- Hannah Wootton
- Sponsored
- Keyton
How retirement communities forge friendships and boost health
The importance of ensuring people stay healthier, more engaged, and better connected for longer is becoming clearer.
Sponsored
by Keyton
ASIC sues Cbus for ‘inordinate delays’ in claims worth millions
The super fund headed by former treasurer Wayne Swan has admitted that failing to process payments cost members $20 million. Past payouts suggest the figure could be closer to $1 billion.
- Updated
- Hannah Wootton
How Aware Super beat the sector’s reputation for bad customer service
The $180 billion super fund invested in service and advice before regulators forced it to. As the rest of the industry now scrambles to catch up, it’s eyeing bigger plans.
- Hannah Wootton
- Opinion
- Financial planners
A family road trip upended my thinking about how we advise retirees
Spending 130 hours in the car with my wife and daughters made me realise how easily we lose sight of what truly matters.
- Renato Mota
October
Super funds fork out $423m in marketing blitz
Superannuation funds spent millions of members’ retirement savings on marketing, including sponsorships of AFL and NRL clubs.
- Hannah Wootton
Why using your super to help pay your mortgage is the 'rational' choice
Grattan Institute's Brendan Coates says he expects to use some super to pay off his mortgage and that is the rational choice for many Australians.
- Updated
Super funds told bigger must be better for customers, too
The $3.9 trillion sector needs to start making good on its promise that scale would lead to better customer service and financial outcomes for members, ASIC says.
- Hannah Wootton
How to make a six-figure salary writing newsletters
Inside the colourful, sometimes niche and wacky world of newsletter publishing. Some, like James Check and Alec Dejanovic, have made a full-time job of it.
- Sam Buckingham-Jones
APRA to ‘test the limits’ of law on super funds that fudge expenses
The warning is part of a broad crackdown on funds’ spending big on things that may not be in their members’ best financial interests, such as travel and entertainment.
- Hannah Wootton
Super bosses warned on travel and entertainment spending
APRA says it has observed questionable expenditure by funds where the benefit to members was not immediately apparent.
- Hannah Wootton
Super funds return 8.6pc in less than 10 months
Australians have benefited from the US rate cut and China’s stimulus measures as super funds make their best start to a financial year in more than a decade.
- Hannah Wootton
The five numbers that determine whether you’ll pay more for aged care
Well-off families will pay more under new rules for funding residential aged care. Here are five key numbers you need to know to navigate the additional expense.
- Joanna Mather
‘No excuse’: ASIC seeks $27m fine against super giant for customer care fail
The corporate watchdog asked the Federal Court for a penalty with “real sting and burden” against AustralianSuper as a warning to the wider sector.
- Hannah Wootton
September
The best and worst retirement calculators revealed
Wildly different answers emerged when the same scenario was plugged into dozens of super funds’ retirement calculators. Now a consumer group is demanding higher standards.
- Hannah Wootton
August
CFMEU directors depart in Cbus board cleanout
The lawbreaking construction union’s three directors have left the board of Cbus, but it is unclear who the CFMEU administrator will replace them with.
- Hannah Wootton
