Decumulation in the retirement income context is the using up of retirement savings by way of drawing out regular income – for example, a fixed amount each month. It’s the converse of accumulating retirement savings while in paid work by regularly putting money aside. And return on investment plays its part in both: in the...

New Zealanders don’t realise that they are regularly regarded in other countries as world leaders, not just in sport. Inaugural New Zealander of the year in 2010, Ray Avery, points to the ‘never say it can’t be done’ attitude that has produced many astonishing results in science. In social policy too we have often been...

While child poverty remains a critical issue, ageing is a critical factor in the demographic changes are taking place in New Zealand. It is assumed in policy circles that belief that home ownership and New Zealand Superannuation (NZS) is a protective factor., but there is a trend towards declining home ownership and increases in poverty...

Using proprietary Australian Tax Office (ATO) data, we document the size, asset allocation and expenses for a sample of 209,420 Australian self-managed superannuation funds (SMSFs) for the three years to June 2010. Two recent Government reviews have highlighted a lack of basic knowledge of the costs associated with running an SMSF. Our study aims to...

This paper summarizes views on the superannuation system and its regulation collected through interviews of fund executives.