The No-Regrets Retirement Newsletter

While there is always lots to discuss in this newsletter, I would like to begin by drawing everyone's attention to the new, upgraded company website, Patriciahoward.com.au

For existing clients, it now includes a new log-in portal so you can access your investment accounts, both super and non-super, by simply logging onto my website and then accessing your information via the client login section.

For those readers who are not yet clients, I would urge you to visit the site and particularly, to listen to the client testimonial videos as well as my own that are now included.

These are real clients, who I would like to thank for giving up their time  to be involved, and who I wanted to showcase because I think they really tell how I can help many Australians better manage their affairs in retirement.

It also provides an easy way to buy a copy of my book, subscribe to full access to this newsletter if you are not a client and importantly how you can arrange a on line meeting with myself to dis cuss your situation. I hope you find it useful.

News earlier this week that Australia’s rate of inflation appears to be easing, will be welcomed news by many, easing pressure as it does on the Reserve Bank to hike interest rates even higher and so push the economy into recession.

In fact, it seems the economy has taken a breather from all the doom and gloom and the outlook is not as dark as perhaps it was earlier in the year.

Australia’s biggest bank, the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, announced a massive record profit of $10.16 billion for the 2023 financial year, up some 6 per cent compared to the same period previously.

Perhaps more importantly, it announced a 17 per cent lift in its annual dividend payment, reporting its final dividend for this year, to be paid on September 27, will be $2.40 a share, taking the full year dividend to $4.50, which is a hefty reward for shareholders.

The fear that higher interest rates would put pressure on all companies through higher borrowing costs and that there would also be a sudden and sharp fall in consumer spending across the board as home buyers tightened their belts in response to higher mortgage rates appears misplaced.

Overall, this year’s company results suggest the key market indicator, the S&P/ASX 200 Index is on track to show a 1.8 per cent growth rate in earnings on a per share basis for the 2023 financial year. So that’s even more good news for shareholders.

The Federal Government’s Intergenerational report is a refreshing look at what lies ahead and as a result, gives us some clues as to how we can prepare for the future. In my article on the IGR, I outline the seven key findings in the report.

Now that the pandemic has by and large passed, and the financial markets are returning to normal, the Federal Government has decided that it is appropriate to lift the minimum pension rates back to where they were pre-pandemic.

For those who have the minimum payment as the default setting on their pension accounts, these changes will occur seamlessly and for many, it has created a pleasant surprise when they received double their usual payment last month.

While there is so much focus on the housing crisis at the moment, I think there is too little being said about the advantages of downsizing, of selling the family home once you move into retirement and buying something smaller and more appropriate to an older couple or person’s needs.

In this article, I outline the key reasons many older Australians choose not to downsize and some simple steps the Government might take to encourage more Australians to look at this option.