By the numbers

$250,000 IS CLOSE to the magic number if you want to know how much you need to save through super as a single homeowner while still being eligible for the age pension.

When we last ran a similar cover story two years ago, some readers were aghast at the idea of anyone wanting to have the best of both worlds. Surely with so many people struggling to make ends meet, anyone with a hefty nest egg shouldn’t try to game the system and get additional government assistance in their old age.

But I think this misses the point that unless we have a national discussion about superannuation and its impact on our social system, more people would be spending decades at work only to walk into their retirement worse off because they hadn’t thought about how their super balance can affect the rest of their finances. At least when the time comes and you’ve stopped working full-time, your retirement lifestyle choices can be yours, not the result of inaction or insufficient information.

Read about the different case studies in Susan Hely’s cover story (page 33).

We’ve got a mix of articles this month, ranging from a checklist of what you can claim as a tax deduction due to the pandemic, how to cover your kids’ orthodontic expenses and – one to read with a pot of tea – how to invest for income.

And if you need a dose of inspiration, Kate Morris’s journey as the founder of an ASX-listed company (page 20) will show you that success is just as much about stepping back at the right time and letting the talented people around you hold the reins. That’s leadership at its best.