https://www.guidedwealth.com.au/articles Articles from Stephen Farrell at Guided Wealthen-au https://www.guidedwealth.com.au/articles/unused-super-contributions-from-2021-22-expire-next-junehttps://www.guidedwealth.com.au/articles/unused-super-contributions-from-2021-22-expire-next-juneThu, 05 Nov 2026 01:55:09 GMTEach financial year there's a limit on how much can be contributed to super at the concessional, or before-tax, rate. For most people that limit works on a use-it-or-lose-it basis, but since 2019 there has been an… https://www.guidedwealth.com.au/articles/quarterly-economic-update-august-to-october-2026https://www.guidedwealth.com.au/articles/quarterly-economic-update-august-to-october-2026Thu, 05 Nov 2026 01:34:17 GMTThe three months to the end of October were shaped by two forces pulling in opposite directions. Inflation, pushed higher by an oil shock stemming from the US-Iran conflict, forced the Reserve Bank of Australia back… https://www.guidedwealth.com.au/articles/made-redundant-in-your-late-50s-decide-what-the-payout-is-for-before-you-spend-ithttps://www.guidedwealth.com.au/articles/made-redundant-in-your-late-50s-decide-what-the-payout-is-for-before-you-spend-itThu, 05 Nov 2026 01:28:03 GMTA couple I worked with last year were both 58 when the husband's role was abolished in a restructure. He'd been with the same engineering firm for more than twenty years and was the main income earner, while she worked… https://www.guidedwealth.com.au/articles/bonds-are-back-and-why-that-matters-for-retirement-incomehttps://www.guidedwealth.com.au/articles/bonds-are-back-and-why-that-matters-for-retirement-incomeThu, 05 Nov 2026 01:17:03 GMTFor most of the decade to 2021, government bonds paid so little that many retirees stopped thinking about them altogether. The Australian 10-year government bond yield fell below 1% during 2020, which meant lending… https://www.guidedwealth.com.au/articles/what-history-tells-us-about-market-falls-and-why-panic-is-the-expensive-optionhttps://www.guidedwealth.com.au/articles/what-history-tells-us-about-market-falls-and-why-panic-is-the-expensive-optionMon, 05 Oct 2026 07:41:57 GMTAnyone who has invested for a while will know the feeling of opening a statement after a rough few months and seeing a smaller number than they expected. It is natural to wonder whether something has gone wrong, and… https://www.guidedwealth.com.au/articles/support-at-home-what-the-new-aged-care-system-means-for-your-parents-and-eventually-for-youhttps://www.guidedwealth.com.au/articles/support-at-home-what-the-new-aged-care-system-means-for-your-parents-and-eventually-for-youMon, 05 Oct 2026 07:41:49 GMTFor most families, aged care becomes a topic suddenly. A parent has a fall, a hospital stay runs longer than expected, or the house and garden quietly become too much. At that point, families find themselves learning a… https://www.guidedwealth.com.au/articles/the-money-conversation-many-families-keep-putting-offhttps://www.guidedwealth.com.au/articles/the-money-conversation-many-families-keep-putting-offMon, 05 Oct 2026 07:41:39 GMTA couple in their early sixties came to see me after a family lunch had gone slightly off script. Their daughter, recently married and saving for her first home, had asked, half joking, whether they were going to be… https://www.guidedwealth.com.au/articles/grey-nomads-and-the-true-cost-of-the-big-laphttps://www.guidedwealth.com.au/articles/grey-nomads-and-the-true-cost-of-the-big-lapMon, 05 Oct 2026 07:41:28 GMTFor many grey nomads leaving Melbourne, the big lap begins with a run west to Adelaide, the first leg of a loop around the coast that follows the better weather and the services along the way. Some take the Great Ocean… https://www.guidedwealth.com.au/articles/spring-clean-your-financial-lifehttps://www.guidedwealth.com.au/articles/spring-clean-your-financial-lifeTue, 01 Sep 2026 23:24:41 GMTSpring is when many households turn their attention to the parts of life that accumulate clutter unnoticed: the garage, the wardrobe, the pantry. A financial life accumulates a version of the same clutter, in the form… https://www.guidedwealth.com.au/articles/what-spring-racing-carnival-odds-can-teach-you-about-investment-riskhttps://www.guidedwealth.com.au/articles/what-spring-racing-carnival-odds-can-teach-you-about-investment-riskTue, 01 Sep 2026 23:24:39 GMTThe spring racing carnival is well underway, and by the time the Melbourne Cup field jumps from the barriers in November, most of Australia will have had an opinion on it. Racegoers pore over form guides for weeks… https://www.guidedwealth.com.au/articles/division-296-what-the-new-3-million-super-tax-actually-doeshttps://www.guidedwealth.com.au/articles/division-296-what-the-new-3-million-super-tax-actually-doesTue, 01 Sep 2026 23:24:37 GMTDivision 296 tax came into effect on 1 July 2026, adding an extra layer of tax on superannuation earnings for the small number of Australians with a Total Superannuation Balance above $3 million. It was legislated in… https://www.guidedwealth.com.au/articles/the-professionals-trap-why-high-earners-often-under-plan-for-retirementhttps://www.guidedwealth.com.au/articles/the-professionals-trap-why-high-earners-often-under-plan-for-retirementTue, 01 Sep 2026 23:24:32 GMTA senior manager and a specialist consultant couple sat with me recently, both in their late fifties, to work out what retirement might look like for them. Between them they earned well into six figures, had paid off… https://www.guidedwealth.com.au/articles/saving-more-paying-more-is-your-cash-costing-you-taxhttps://www.guidedwealth.com.au/articles/saving-more-paying-more-is-your-cash-costing-you-taxMon, 03 Aug 2026 23:57:48 GMTMany couples approaching retirement hold a significant cash buffer in a joint bank account or term deposit, often without ever turning their mind to how the interest on that balance is actually taxed. It seems a natural… https://www.guidedwealth.com.au/articles/whats-your-retirement-numberhttps://www.guidedwealth.com.au/articles/whats-your-retirement-numberMon, 03 Aug 2026 23:53:31 GMTMost people within a decade of retirement know their bank balance and their superannuation balance fairly precisely. Far fewer know their retirement number: the amount they actually need to have saved by the time they… https://www.guidedwealth.com.au/articles/your-default-super-fund-was-built-for-accumulation-is-this-still-right-for-youhttps://www.guidedwealth.com.au/articles/your-default-super-fund-was-built-for-accumulation-is-this-still-right-for-youMon, 03 Aug 2026 23:49:56 GMTMost Australians in a default MySuper product have never actively chosen that arrangement. It’s often just the option their employer's default fund uses when no election is made, and for many people it simply becomes… https://www.guidedwealth.com.au/articles/quarterly-economic-update-april-to-july-2026https://www.guidedwealth.com.au/articles/quarterly-economic-update-april-to-july-2026Mon, 03 Aug 2026 23:08:16 GMTThe quarter opened with hopes of peace in the Middle East and closed with the conflict reignited. Combined with a Reserve Bank on hold, a Federal Budget that rewrote the tax rules for property investors, and sharp… https://www.guidedwealth.com.au/articles/renting-or-owning-in-retirement-how-housing-status-affects-the-age-pension-and-superannuationhttps://www.guidedwealth.com.au/articles/renting-or-owning-in-retirement-how-housing-status-affects-the-age-pension-and-superannuationFri, 03 Jul 2026 06:17:54 GMTHousing status does not change a person's superannuation balance directly, but it materially affects retirement income, primarily through Age Pension means testing and through the ongoing cost of maintaining a household… https://www.guidedwealth.com.au/articles/budgeting-is-a-cash-flow-exercise-not-a-cost-cutting-exercisehttps://www.guidedwealth.com.au/articles/budgeting-is-a-cash-flow-exercise-not-a-cost-cutting-exerciseFri, 03 Jul 2026 06:11:54 GMTThe purpose of a budget is to manage the relationship between income, expenses and the surplus that remains once the two have been reconciled. Cost cutting is one lever within that process, but it is not the process… https://www.guidedwealth.com.au/articles/blended-families-and-money-protecting-assets-fairlyhttps://www.guidedwealth.com.au/articles/blended-families-and-money-protecting-assets-fairlyFri, 03 Jul 2026 05:58:45 GMTJust over one in ten Australian couple families with dependent children are now step or blended families, and that proportion has been trending upward for some years, according to the Australian Institute of Family… https://www.guidedwealth.com.au/articles/the-retirement-question-that-money-cannot-answerhttps://www.guidedwealth.com.au/articles/the-retirement-question-that-money-cannot-answerFri, 03 Jul 2026 05:54:34 GMTThe financial planning conversation about retirement tends to focus on a single question: can you afford it? That question matters, and answering it carefully is part of my job. But it is not the question that keeps… https://www.guidedwealth.com.au/articles/helping-the-next-generation-into-propertyhttps://www.guidedwealth.com.au/articles/helping-the-next-generation-into-propertyMon, 01 Jun 2026 04:05:04 GMTThe so-called Bank of Mum and Dad has become one of the more significant, if informal, forces in the Australian property market. The role parents and grandparents play in getting adult children into property has shifted… https://www.guidedwealth.com.au/articles/the-retirement-planning-window-is-shorter-than-it-lookshttps://www.guidedwealth.com.au/articles/the-retirement-planning-window-is-shorter-than-it-looksMon, 01 Jun 2026 04:02:53 GMTMost people I sit down with in their late fifties or early sixties have not come to see me because they spotted an opportunity. They have come because they have run out of patience with work, and they want to know how… https://www.guidedwealth.com.au/articles/binding-death-benefit-nominations-the-document-most-super-members-get-wronghttps://www.guidedwealth.com.au/articles/binding-death-benefit-nominations-the-document-most-super-members-get-wrongMon, 01 Jun 2026 04:00:39 GMTWhen I review the superannuation arrangements of a new client, the death benefit nomination is almost always the first thing I examine. What I find, more often than not, is a nomination that has lapsed, names someone… https://www.guidedwealth.com.au/articles/higher-for-longer-what-a-sustained-rate-environment-means-for-your-retirement-strategyhttps://www.guidedwealth.com.au/articles/higher-for-longer-what-a-sustained-rate-environment-means-for-your-retirement-strategyMon, 01 Jun 2026 03:55:40 GMTMost of the financial commentary over the past two years has been built around one central assumption: that interest rates would fall steadily, mortgage holders would get relief, and investors in defensive positions… https://www.guidedwealth.com.au/articles/what-the-2026-budget-means-for-your-investments-and-propertyhttps://www.guidedwealth.com.au/articles/what-the-2026-budget-means-for-your-investments-and-propertyWed, 13 May 2026 01:06:47 GMTMost of the commentary following budget night centred on whether the capital gains tax and negative gearing reforms amounted to real reform or political maneuvering. That debate will run for some time. For anyone… https://www.guidedwealth.com.au/articles/passive-income-in-australia-what-actually-workshttps://www.guidedwealth.com.au/articles/passive-income-in-australia-what-actually-worksMon, 23 Mar 2026 07:29:47 GMTPassive income is real, but it probably doesn’t look the way you think The idea of earning income while you sleep has obvious appeal. For most people approaching or already in retirement, it’s not just appealing, it’s… https://www.guidedwealth.com.au/articles/a-smarter-way-to-respond-to-super-volatilityhttps://www.guidedwealth.com.au/articles/a-smarter-way-to-respond-to-super-volatilityMon, 23 Mar 2026 07:23:10 GMTWhen markets fall, your super decisions matter more than you think There’s a predictable sequence that plays out every time markets turn volatile. Super balances fall, people check their accounts more frequently than… https://www.guidedwealth.com.au/articles/making-sense-of-age-pension-ruleshttps://www.guidedwealth.com.au/articles/making-sense-of-age-pension-rulesMon, 23 Mar 2026 07:08:52 GMTThe Age Pension probably affects your retirement more than you think There’s a tendency among people who have saved diligently for retirement to mentally file the Age Pension under “not relevant to me.” It’s… https://www.guidedwealth.com.au/articles/financial-advice-its-not-just-for-the-younghttps://www.guidedwealth.com.au/articles/financial-advice-its-not-just-for-the-youngMon, 23 Mar 2026 07:02:54 GMTFinancial advice — it's not just for the young A client came to me not long ago, let's call her Sandra, with a familiar story. She was a year or two from retirement, her home was paid off, her children were independent,… https://www.guidedwealth.com.au/articles/financial-considerations-for-grey-divorce-or-late-life-separationhttps://www.guidedwealth.com.au/articles/financial-considerations-for-grey-divorce-or-late-life-separationFri, 06 Feb 2026 08:06:30 GMTWhen members of a long-established couple are contemplating divorce or permanent separation, there’s more than the emotional toll to take into account. Ensure you are aware of the potential financial consequences before…