Articles — 7 August, 2026
The Wattle Retirement Guides
Retirement is the longest and least-rehearsed chapter of most people’s lives. Over twenty years advising Australian retirees, the same questions come up again and again, and the answers rarely fit into a single conversation. So we have written them down.
These thirteen guides cover the ground we walk with clients: when to retire, how much you need, what to do with the family home, how the contribution rules actually work, what happens when markets fall, and the two conversations almost nobody has early enough — aged care, and what happens after a partner dies.
They are free, there is nothing to fill in, and none of them are a sales pitch. Start wherever you actually are.
Still working
The five year countdown to retirement
Getting the last five years before retirement right
Read this if you are roughly five years out and want to know which decisions still compound. The window where consolidating a fund, redirecting a finished mortgage payment or fixing an unnecessary insurance policy still changes the shape of what follows.
Is now a good time to retire?
Seven considerations before you hand in your notice
Read this if you are weighing up going now against working one more year. Covers the conditions that actually matter — rates, returns, product options and cost of living — rather than the gut call.
Superannuation contributions explained
Every type of contribution, every cap, and the rules that decide which apply to you
Read this if you are planning a large contribution and want the caps straight. Written as a reference, with the 2026-27 figures, the bring-forward thresholds, the downsizer rules, and Division 296 — which commenced on 1 July 2026 and changes the calculation for larger balances.
Seven tax strategies for pre-retirees
Plus one estate planning move that could save your children a fortune
Read this if you are still earning and want to know which levers are worth pulling before you stop. Salary sacrifice, carry-forward contributions, spouse strategies, transition to retirement, and the recontribution strategy most people meet too late.
Making the move
The first 12 months of retirement
What nobody tells you about the year after you stop work
Read this if you have just stopped work, or are about to. The spending spike nobody budgets for, the paperwork that has to happen in the first weeks, and why watching your balance fall is usually the plan working rather than failing.
Retirement conversation starters
Fifty questions to ask yourself, and your partner, before you retire
Read this if you and your partner have not actually talked about it yet. Fifty questions across goals, money, work, relationships and how you will fill the week. Answer them separately first — the gaps between your two sets of answers are the useful part.
The downsizing mistakes retirees make
How to release equity without releasing regret
Read this if you are thinking about selling the family home. The Age Pension consequences, the downsizer contribution rules, and the timing decisions that are cheap to get right and expensive to reverse.
Retired and living it
What we tell families when markets fall
Read this before you need it, so you have a plan when you do
Read this if you are invested and quietly worried about a downturn. What actually happens in a fall, what a 20 per cent decline takes to recover, what missing ten days costs over twenty years, and the checklist we ask clients to keep somewhere they will find it.
The biggest mistakes retirees make
Five errors that derail an otherwise well-planned retirement
Read this if you want to know what actually goes wrong, rather than what the brochures say. Sequencing risk, concentration, and the assumptions that quietly undo a decent plan.
The biggest SMSF mistakes retirees make
How to avoid self-managed super fund disasters
Read this if you run an SMSF, or are wondering whether to keep one. Direct property, the sole purpose test, minimum pension payments, in-house assets, and the honest break-even question: what are you doing in this fund that you could not do on a platform for less?
The Wattle golden rules for a fulfilling retirement
Ten principles from twenty years of sitting with retired families
Read this if the money is sorted and you are working out what the years are for. Drawn from the closing chapter of our book, The Golden Years, with questions and actions for each rule.
Download the guide →
The later years
Aged care: the conversation you need to have
How the system works, what it costs, and what to do long before you need it
Read this if care is on the horizon for you or a parent. Updated for the Aged Care Act that commenced in November 2025, including Support at Home, the new fee structure, the deposit retention rule, and why you almost certainly do not need to sell the house.
After loss: the first 90 days
What happens, what can wait, and what to organise while you still can
Read this if you have lost a partner, or want to spare your family the experience. What freezes and when, why superannuation does not pass under your will, how long funds actually take to pay, and the short list of things worth arranging while you both still can.
Download the guide →
Every guide is free and none of them require anything from you. Figures are current to July 2026 and we revise them as the rules change.
If something in one of them raised a question about your own situation, get in touch. There is no cost and no obligation, and a short conversation will usually tell you whether there is anything worth acting on.
These guides have been prepared by Wattle Partners Pty Ltd ABN 89 145 903 840, Australian Financial Services Licence 383169. They contain general information only and do not take into account your objectives, financial situation or needs. Before acting on anything in them, consider whether it is appropriate for your circumstances and seek advice from a licensed financial adviser.