You may be starting to think about your retirement and whether you have enough super. Australians are living longer than ever before. So while many of you may have planned for 20 years in retirement, there's a good chance your retirement will last 30 years or longer.

Add to this the impact of the GFC and it becomes clear many investors need to continue growing their super for much longer than they used to. But how do you keep growing your super without the risk of losing your nest egg?

There are solutions that allow to get the certainty you need to stay invested in the market by protecting your super from poor market performance and you can lock in your market gains along the way

Contact us to help you with your retirement savings strategy, we'd be happy to help

You may be starting to think about your retirement and how you'll pay for your living expenses and other costs.

When you retire you'll rely on your savings to fund your lifestyle and for most people this means drawing an income from their super.

You can access income from your super in a number of ways:

Lump Sum

When you retire you can take a lump sum payment from your super. You'll pay low (or no) tax on lump sums up to certain limits if you're aged 60 or over. However if you then invest the money you've taken as a lump sum in your own name, tax may be payable on any earnings at your marginal rate.

Account Based Pension

An account based pension invests your super and pays you a regular income. After the age of 60 you won't pay any tax on this income and your pension balance will increase with any earnings from your investments.

You'll also get a 15% offset for any payments you receive before you turn 60. If you've already turned 60, you payments will be tax free and you don't have to declare them in your annual income tax return. So choosing to have your super paid through an account based pension can help cut down on the amount of tax you pay on your other investments.

Taking your super as an income stream could help you qualify for (or increase your entitlement to) age pension payments

Age Pension

The government provides retirees with income through the age pension and other allowances. The amount you're eligible for will depend on how much income you receive from other sources and what your assets are worth.

Over time your super will grow to be one of your biggest assets and by now your super balance could be quite large.

But what would happen to that money if you passed away? Unlike some assets you own, your super isn't automatically an estate asset. Also, unless you make certain arrangements, the fund Trustees get to decide who receives the money and this may not reflect your wishes.

One way to achieve greater certainty is to nominate which of your dependants will receive your super. Your choices include your spouse, children or someone that's financially dependent or inter-dependent on you or your estate (where the money will be distributed as per your Will)

The amount of tax payable will depend on which beneficiaries receive the money. A lump sum death benefit paid to your dependents will generally be tax-free. But tax due on lump sum death benefits paid to a non-dependent depends on a number of factors.

It's important you consider completing a beneficiary nomination and keeping it up to date, especially if your family or lifestyle circumstances change.

Contact us to ask us a question or make an appointment to meet with one of our advisers

We'd be happy to help you