Beef up consumer protection in the finance industry. Ban banks from wealth management activities. Make product disclosure statements less confusing. These are some of the messages from top economists to David Murray, the former bank boss who is now in charge of the Abbott Government inquiry into Australia’s financial system. Fairfax Media’s BusinessDay asked a panel of experts to nominate […]

The swinging sixties are back, but this time it’s people in their 60s, 70s and beyond who are embracing free love – with potentially dangerous consequences. Older singles must have missed the lecture about safe sex, according to American oncologist Ezekiel Emanuel, who wrote in an op-ed for The New York Times recently: “Combine retirement communities, longer life, unfamiliarity with […]

After a spate of stories about whether the pension could be targeted to find savings for the federal budget, Federal Age Discrimination Commissioner Susan Ryan had a radical suggestion. How about reducing the cost of the pension by keeping older people in the workforce, if they’d prefer to work longer? So we asked Ms Ryan for 10 practical ways we can cut the […]

Raising kids is an expensive business, especially if they don’t move out of home until they’re sprouting grey hairs themselves. But payback for these KIPPERS (Kids In Parents’ Pockets Eroding Retirement Savings) could be on the cards if Australia follows the lead of Germany, where children can be held liable for their parents’ healthcare if their parents can’t cover the […]

Should the full value of your family home be included in the age-pension asset test? That’s one of the options being considered by a Senate committee investigating cost-savings in the federal budget. The Business Council of Australia’s president, Tony Shepherd (pictured), who also chairs the committee established by the Abbott Government, submitted the proposal to scrap the long-standing exemption to […]