Prepare for early exit from work
New military policy sniffs out cultural sensitivity risks
Two out of five Australians are being forced into retirement years earlier than planned, a new analysis has found, prompting warnings for people to prepare back-up plans for their super and wealth.
Aware Super says the phenomenon could affect 1.4 million of the 3.5 million Aussies set to retire in the next decade. Its analysis of Investment Trends retirement income data found that 42 per cent of retirees in 2023 said they stopped full-time work earlier than expected, while 10 per cent retired later than planned.
Employment changes, burn out, redundancy, health and lifestyle issues are among the factors forcing an end to fulltime work.
Aware Super head of retirement Jacki Ellis said people retiring earlier “could find themselves in a situation of even more unknowns”.
Ms Ellis said many older Australians moved to parttime work, while others assessed that they were more prepared than they thought and could afford to retire early.
It was important for people to engage as early as possible with their finances and their super fund, which could help with things such as pension eligibility, retirement income streams and lump sum withdrawals, she said.
“Making personal contributions or salary sacrificing, even if it’s a really small amount, can significantly help if there are unexpected costs that need to be dealt with.
“Contacting your fund to seek help and guidance, often at no extra cost, can really help plan for your lifestyle in retirement and ensure that unexpected costs like injuries or changes in health conditions can be accommodated.”
CreationWealth senior financial adviser Andrew Zbik said corporate cultures and management changes were prompting more people in their 60s to retire early.
“A lot of people are burnt out and need a break,” he said.
He said people facing redundancy this year should try to have it happen after July 1, so payments and unused leave would not be added to their current year’s income.
Military dog handlers will be retrained to limit “cultural sensitivity risks” when confronting enemy fighters or terrorists, in an extension of the ADF’s special forces overhaul.
The bizarre edict from Chief of the Defence Force Angus Campbell is among 48 newly completed culture directives stemming from the damming Afghanistan Inquiry.
The updated directives list also includes strategies to address “exceptionalism” and “ethical drift” among elite soldiers and tighter accountability laws.
The ADF Military Working Dogs (MWD) edict mandates they must only be used now in “reasonable circumstances” and not as a tool to elicit information from a captured person or under control during tactical questioning.
“Handlers are expected to
ensure their use of ADF military working dogs (MWD) is reasonable and necessary in the circumstances,” Defence policy notes.
“Those directing or employing ADF MWD teams are expected to be cognisant of any cultural sensitivities in relation to the use of ADF MWD and, where circumstances allow, take active steps to minimise cultural sensitivity risks associated with use,” the policy says.
Exercise scenarios are now assessing the new “appropriate use” of the dogs’ capability.
Special forces used dogs extensively in the Middle East and regionally to sniff out weapons and explosives or on patrol at our military bases, but in some Islamic cultures, the animals are deemed such impure and offensive. SAS Association chairman Martin Hamilton-Smith branded the dog directive another woke initiative.
“Of all the problems facing Defence, they’ve spent a lot of time on the Afghan allegations and in the meantime recruitment and retention is dire, there is problems with procurement and sustainment of capital equipment, there is evidence of serious mismanagement in Defence and a disproportionate time spent dealing with things that happened 15 years ago and second order issues like dog culture,” he said.
“I think the Australian people would welcome leadership and the ADF getting back to capability rather than secondorder issues.”
Three years since the war crimes inquiry sparked reforms and a criminal investigation, Defence said 200 former soldiers had been affected and seeking mental health and welfare help.
The new figure comes after confirmation General Campbell and the chiefs of army, navy and the RAAF will appear before the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide, with public hearings to begin again in Sydney next week.