The latest edition of our fortnightly email newsletter was sent to subscribers on the 16th of September.
In this edition we take a look at the problem with investing using managed funds, provide a summary of the movements in markets over the past fortnight and look at whether you are able to time your entry into and out of risk premiums.
We have included our fascinating financial fact for the fortnight that was included in the newsletter.
If you would like to be added to the mailing list please click the following link to be taken to the sign up page - The Financial Fortnight That Was Sign Up Page.
Fascinating Financial Fact
Westpac ASFA Retirement Standard
One of the difficult questions faced by everyone is how much will be enough to live comfortably in retirement. If you can answer this question you can quickly determine the approximate level of investments that will be able to sustain that cost of living.
The Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia Limited in conjunction with Westpac release quarterly Retirement Standard updates. The updates provide a guide to how much people will need to live on in retirement. They separate their analysis into singles and couples and then provide a possible budget for someone to live modestly or comfortably in retirement.
The latest release of data relates to the period up to the end of March 2008 and points out that food and petrol are driving up retirement costs. In summary the annual expenditures for each category were:
|
Comfortable couple |
Modest Couple |
Comfortable Single Female |
Modest Single Female |
|
$49,502 |
$26,851 |
$37,002 |
$19,141 |
Of course each person has individual needs that are not taken into account but it does provide a good starting point.
The detailed budgets can be found at - http://www.superannuation.asn.au/RS/default.aspx
