Retirement

Australians buying their first home or downsizing in retirement are about to receive a helping hand thanks to new superannuation rules which come into effect on July 1. From that date, first home buyers will be able to contribute up to $30,000 into their super fund towards a home deposit while downsizers can put up to $300,000 of the proceeds of selling the family home into super. This new measure has been devised to assist first home buyers, many of whom have struggled to save a deposit as rising prices put even entry level properties out of reach. At the other end of the scale, the change is envisaged to help older homeowners who frequently find themselves in large houses while trying to survive on a modest super balance or the aged pension. Here’s how the Federal Government hopes to improve the situation...

Parents with adult children still living at home have the best of intentions to help their kids get ahead, but they might be putting their own financial futures at risk. At the time of the 2016 census, almost 400,000 non-dependent children aged 25 to 34 were living at home1, an increase of 20 percent from five years earlier.2 Why the increase? Record high levels of house prices and rents3 and a challenging job market4 are two factors keeping kids in the parental home longer. Also contributing are the trends for young people to participate more in higher education, marry and have children later.5 Kids paying their way Gold Coast solicitor, Ashley Bennett and his retail merchandiser wife, Julie have two daughters, Hayley, 24 and Lauren, 22. Both daughters have paid around $100 per week board since they left school and started in their first jobs. In the...