YourLifeChoices regularly release a report into Retirement Affordability. and the Sept 2017 report is now available as a pdf at
Or you can read the document online at
It may have some interesting information and advice for you.
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December 2017 report of Affordability Index from YourLifeChoices
and their March 2018 report
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The advice targets people spending their working lives here, and not being US citizens. It is pretty good.
However if you are a law abiding US citizen (or dual national) you will be hit for taxes by the US IRS regardless of the source country. 
Many countries giving pensions to those who qualified for them but live internationally tax the pensions at the source and the ATO taxes them at the destination. Some countries have quite unfair laws limiting pensions paid offshore compared to those paid onshore.
It pays to know the tax treaties but the bottom line is anyone coming to Australia in mid-life can need 38 or more% more funds to live than would be required with a super account. The extra is taxation and money lost in exchange rates for foreign-source pensions.
Having talked retirement with many of us ‘new Australians’, many do not understand how difficult it can be.
An old mate worked in 5 countries earning pensions in each, and when he retired he almost starved before he could get all 5 paying, and then found out about the differences in indexing and taxation. He had a very good income in his working life, but the sum of his pensions/saving resulted in a frugal retirement because he missed ‘the details’ until it was too late.
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I guess though it points to what is needed after tax and would be something US or other citizens could then work out if it was viable or not to live here after taking into account the loses from the foreign taxation and other costs.
But your highlighting what the hidden dangers are of just moving here with no research is hopefully a good warning to any thinking along that path. It is much appreciated.
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That is a very and perhaps the most valuable part of the reports, and as you wrote[quote=“grahroll, post:4, topic:14629”]
would be something US or other citizens could then work out if it was viable or not to live here after taking into account the loses from the foreign taxation and other costs.
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if they understood the complexity and could work it out. I found many of ‘us’ had a she’ll be right mate attitude, until it hit the fan or they did nothing beyond rudimentary research that skimmed the surface.[quote=“grahroll, post:4, topic:14629”]
It is much appreciated.
[/quote]
Thanks for that, and thanks for links!
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YourLifeChoices Retirement Afforabilty Index for June 2018 has been released and is again a good read of the levels of income needed to enjoy differing levels of retirement. Health Care costs and Aging (and move to 70 retirement age) also get a look at in this issue with the added costs impacting many retirees harder than ever before.
For the online version visit:
and for the pdf download go to:
If you would like to download the previous March 2018 issue to compare costs etc I have found the link and supply it here (sorry for the delay):
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The December 2018 LifeChoices Retirement Affordability Index is now available.
To read/download the pdf version the link is:
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The March 2019 YourLifeChoices Retirement Affordability Index is available as an ebook at:
or as a pdf at:
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An interesting article and report regarding Retirement Savings has appearred in Bloomberg’s news feed. In Australia it is estimating that 65 years olds on average have enough savings to last only about 9.7 years. Males are left with a gap after those savings running out of an average of 9.9 years and Females at 12.6 years. Quite a long time to have no extra funds particularly with the low rates of pensions at present.
A graph from the article depicting the savings vs life expectancy:
The link to the article (there are some JS elements that may need approval to see the site depending on your blockers):
The World Economic Forum (WEF) white paper which the article is based on can be downloaded as a pdf from:
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LifeChoices Retirement Affordability Index report for June 2019 has arrived. While the report said we had negative or nil inflation on the groups they monitor they also said the drop was caused primarily by automotive fuel costs and the cost of holidays (both domestic and international). I have the first but the second is really a luxury in this house.
Anyway if you want to view the report as an ebook it is on issuu at https://issuu.com/yourlifechoices/docs/retirement_affordability_index_june or if you wish to download it as a pdf if can be done at
As always filling out the comparison page might give a better insight to how you are fairing in comparison to the way the groups are defined eg affluent couples, constrained couples etc. If not retired it may also give you some idea of what you will need to afford the retirement you want in today’s dollars.
June 2020 link to the Retirement Affordibility Index, to download the pdf you need to click the download link in the viewing panel.
March 2020 Retirement Affordibility Index, download as above
December 2019 link, and download is available as above
Hopefully some may get useful insights into both retirement preparation and how to manage in these more difficult times.
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Newest YourLifeChoices Retirement Affordability Index is now available. If looking to download the pdf the link is in the upper left corner of the page:
https://e.issuu.com/embed.html?d=retirement-affordability-index-november-2020&u=yourlifechoices
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2021 reports so far this year
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Remainder of 2021 and the 2022 editions so far
Retirement Affordability Index November 2021 by YourLifeChoices - Issuu
Retirement Affordability Index February 2022 by YourLifeChoices - Issuu
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Thankyou for your research. I will do some more reading and maths!
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