At 60 you can usually get at your super; at 67 the age pension becomes possible. This looks honestly at what seven more working years does to your balance, your pension, and the parts of the decision no spreadsheet can answer.
Noel Whittaker's latest Firstlinks column proposes three low-cost reforms: stopping surprise bank account freezes, making lenders mortgage insurance portable, and easing the age pension income test for older workers. Here is what each one would mean if you are in your 40s or 50s.
Selling the family home turns an asset Centrelink ignores into money it counts, and that scares a lot of people out of a move that would suit them better. Here's how the assets test, the 24-month exemption and the downsizer contribution actually work.
Noel Whittaker's assessment of the May 2026 Budget is worth a second look, because the changes don't start until 1 July 2027. He shows how a working age pensioner can face an effective tax rate of 54% while wealthier couples keep the full CGT discount.
A reader's letter in Noel Whittaker's September newsletter reveals a common and costly assumption: that working rules you out of the age pension. It doesn't — and the Work Bonus is why.
