Australian Retirement Podcast

In this episode of Australian Retirement Podcast, James O'Reilly and Drew Meredith walk through the biggest financial-year changes retirees, pre-retirees and business owners should be thinking about right now. The conversation covers the flood of FY27 planning questions now landing on advisers’ desks, from family trust rules and negative gearing changes to contribution caps, transfer balance caps...

In this episode of Australian Retirement Podcast, Drew Meredith and James O'Reilly unpack the latest retreat from the Federal Budget's most controversial tax changes and what it means for retirees, pre-retirees and business owners trying to plan ahead. They explain why the government eased back on small-business CGT concessions, what the clarification on testamentary trusts really fixes, and why t...

In this episode of the Australian Retirement Podcast, Drew Meredith is joined by Caite Brewer, a Queensland barrister who specialises in wills, estate disputes and superannuation. They unpack the estate-planning mistakes that can create years of conflict after someone dies, including DIY wills, informal wills, probate disputes, family provision claims and poor communication inside families. Caite...

In this Australian Retirement Podcast episode, James O'Reilly and Drew Meredith unpack a side of retirement planning spreadsheets cannot solve: what happens when you stop working. Using four retirement archetypes - stayers, leavers, blenders and the disengaged - they explain why people can thrive after leaving work or feel flat, isolated and directionless even when the money looks fine on paper. T...

In this Australian Retirement Podcast episode, your hosts Drew Meredith, from Wattle Partners, and James O’Reilly, from Northeast Wealth, pull back the curtain on what actually happens between “let’s get some advice” and the document landing on your desk 10 weeks later — and why proper modelling involves a lot more than three columns on a spreadsheet. They also talk through a confronting client st...

In this Australian Retirement Podcast episode, your hosts Drew Meredith, from Wattle Partners, and James O’Reilly, from Northeast Wealth, bust the myth that financial advice fees are fully tax-deductible after the 2024 changes, walk through a real client case where an insurance refund accidentally triggered the bring-forward non-concessional cap, and run the numbers on what a daily coffee, a weekl...

This episode was originally featured on the Australian Investors Podcast. In this episode, Owen Rask sits down with Senator Andrew Bragg for a wide-ranging conversation about the Federal Budget, housing supply, tax, productivity and why so many Australians feel the country has become harder to get ahead in. Rather than getting stuck in party talking points, they focus on the practical questions in...

Drew Meredith and James O’Reilly on why AI-built retirement modelling routinely gets the numbers dangerously wrong, plus the end-of-financial-year traps and condition-of-release tricks every Australian retiree should know before June 30. In this Australian Retirement Podcast episode, your hosts Drew Meredith, from Wattle Partners, and James O’Reilly, from Northeast Wealth, work through five high-s...

In this Australian Retirement Podcast episode, Drew Meredith and James O'Reilly tackle one of the trickiest questions for Australians heading into retirement: if you still have a large home loan in your 50s, should every spare dollar go into the mortgage, or could super actually be the better lever? Using a real-world case study, they unpack why maximising personal deductible super contributions c...

In this Australian Retirement Podcast episode, your hosts Drew Meredith from Wattle Partners and James O'Reilly from Northeast Wealth open with footy chaos and ageing parents challenges, then dive into what's really happening in property markets using the fresh Cotality April 2026 report. The Boomer Briefing exposes the super rollover waiting period double hit: outgoing funds must now provide risk...

In this Australian Retirement Podcast episode, your hosts Drew Meredith, from Wattle Partners, and James O'Reilly, from Northeast Wealth, react to Treasurer Jim Chalmers' Federal Budget bombshell - the biggest shake-up to property and investment tax in a generation. Negative gearing has been axed for future purchases of established property. The 50% CGT discount is gone, replaced by an inflation i...

In this Australian Retirement Podcast episode, your hosts Drew Meredith from Wattle Partners and James O'Reilly from Northeast Wealth both spent the holidays in Bright - talking reducing mobility, extending the golden years, and coaching. Plus Grace's bike crash and x-rays. The government just announced financial advisers will no longer need an approved degree - reversing post-Royal Commission ref...

In this Australian Retirement Podcast episode, your hosts Drew Meredith from Wattle Partners and James O'Reilly from Northeast Wealth open with camping vs. vanning debate, optimal camping setups, and serious camping envy. Then the worst retirement advice they've ever heard clients repeat: "Put 100% of my super in crypto in the leadup to retirement," "I'll just invest in income stocks," and "Super...

Industry super funds have been hit by hacking attempts and outages. Should you be worried? Drew Meredith and James O’Reilly break down what’s happening — plus answer your top retirement questions on super access, non-concessional contributions, downsizer rules, and early retirement strategies. If you enjoyed this Australian Retirement Podcast episode on protecting your super and retirement plannin...

In this Australian Retirement Podcast episode, your hosts Drew Meredith from Wattle Partners and James O'Reilly from Northeast Wealth open with school holiday money-saving tips, then dive into the private credit boom sweeping retirement portfolios. Not all private credit funds are equal. Drew and James break down what retirees need to know: illiquidity premiums, fund manager transparency, borrower...

In this Australian Retirement Podcast episode, we take a close look at the US-Iran war volatility: Should you sell or hold? Did you know, missing the 10 best market days cuts returns in HALF. Plus your week-by-week GFC crash playbook for year 1 retirees. In this Australian Retirement Podcast episode, your hosts Drew Meredith from Wattle Partners and James O'Reilly from Northeast Wealth tackle the...

In this Australian Retirement Podcast episode, your hosts Drew Meredith from Wattle Partners and James O'Reilly from Northeast Wealth expose the "balanced" fund myth. Remember "Compare the Pair"? Two funds both labeled "balanced" can hold 40% vs 80% growth assets. Despite influencing millions of retirement outcomes, "balanced" has NO legal, regulatory, or industry-standard definition. It's marketi...

In this Australian Retirement Podcast episode, your hosts Drew Meredith from Wattle Partners and James O'Reilly from Northeast Wealth open with breaking news: The Greens have rubber-stamped Div 296 - and they're demanding MORE tax reform. James breaks down what just passed, while Drew exposes the terrifying CGT and trust changes on the horizon. Major tax changes being floated: - New $135K income t...

In this Australian Retirement Podcast episode, your hosts Drew Meredith from Wattle Partners and James O'Reilly from Northeast Wealth open with provocative questions: If they had to retire TODAY on only the Age Pension, what's the first lifestyle change? And if a client wanted to blow $200K in year one on a round-the-world trip - backing them or talking them down? The Boomer Briefing tackles explo...

In this Australian Retirement Podcast episode, your hosts Drew Meredith from Wattle Partners and James O'Reilly from Northeast Wealth tackle two critical developments threatening Australian retirees: escalating Iran conflict and the shocking rise in retirement costs. ASFA's Retirement Standard just hit all-time highs. You now need $730,000 for a comfortable retirement as a couple (homeowners, reti...

In this Australian Retirement Podcast episode, your hosts Drew Meredith from Wattle Partners and James O'Reilly from Northeast Wealth tackle why CBA and BHP are both crushing it right now, plus the shocking SMSF boom: 42,000 new funds established in FY25, with the average NEW trustee age dropping to just 47 (vs 61 for existing funds). Why are younger Australians rushing to SMSFs, and 80% doing it...

In this Australian Retirement Podcast episode, your hosts Drew Meredith from Wattle Partners and James O'Reilly from Northeast Wealth open with football season excitement - Saints vs Dogs, tickets locked in for June 21, 2026, and the inevitable complaining about obscene player salaries. The Boomer Briefing tackles two critical topics: Q Super's Retirement Bonus - What it is, how it works, eligibil...

In this Australian Retirement Podcast episode, your hosts Drew Meredith from Wattle Partners and James O'Reilly from Northeast Wealth deliver critical updates on tax changes and relationship traps that could cost you thousands. After quick summer highlights and the CBA share price update (plenty of AI-driven outperformers despite volatility), they dive into the Boomer Briefing's two massive topics...

In this Australian Retirement Podcast episode, your hosts Drew Meredith from Wattle Partners and James O'Reilly from Northeast Wealth kick things off with high energy - school drop-offs turning them into unpaid taxi drivers, interest rate movements affecting overseas travel plans, and whether term deposits are finally worth a look again. The Boomer Briefing tackles two massive stories shaking up t...

In this Australian Retirement Podcast episode, your hosts Drew Meredith from Wattle Partners and James O'Reilly from Northeast Wealth kick things off with Drew's CBA share price bet update. The bet backfired when CBA fell in 2025, costing Drew $150. But he's doubling down - the new bet is whether CBA will finish above or below $150. Will Drew learn his lesson? The Boomer Briefing tackles a fascina...