‘If I were to withdraw most of my super to loan or gift to my children to buy a property, how would that affect my pension?’
From new rates to increased eligibility: Upcoming changes to the Age Pension you need to know
Do you have a question for our money expert?
“Transition to retirement” is a strategy often promoted to seniors approaching retirement. Source: Getty
The house you transferred to the trust will be assessed under the asset test now and, more importantly, into the foreseeable future. Source: Getty
Tax returns lodged through the ATO's Tax Help service are completely free of charge. Source: Getty
In March 2020, the ASX 200 hit an 11-year low point when it collapsed to about 4,400. Over the past couple of weeks of August 2021, it passed the 7,500 mark, representing a staggering 70 per cent improvement. Source: Getty
We would like to assume that your ability to holiday some time in the future is unquestionable. Source: Getty
Even though the transfer of shares is a gift, the Australian Tax Office (ATO) will attach a value to the shares based on the closing price on the date the transfer takes place. Source: Getty

About Nick Bruining

Nick Bruining has always taken a frank, no-nonsense approach to money, back when he started out in 1989 as a certified financial planner – he was Money Management’s Financial Planner of the Year in 2003 – and in his current life as a personal finance correspondent for the Seven Network and writer for The West Australian. He specialises in understanding the money worries and providing practical guidance to real people through his newspaper columns, on-air reports and his hit 2015 book Don’t Panic: Why You Don’t Need $1 Million To Retire Well. He says the myth that it’s impossible to retire on far less than $1 million is perpetuated by vested interests and that the truth is, a couple can retire on an income of $48,000 a year created from the Age Pension and just $270,000 in super. Nick qualified as an economist and is a former lecturer on financial planning at Curtin University. In between filing newspaper and TV financial reports and working on a recently released update of his book, which you can purchase here, Nick tries his luck catching crabs and lobsters in Perth’s Mandurah Estuary.