ASK NOEL

My father's pension has been cut in half - what can I do?

Noel Whittaker My father doesn't want to sell or rent his house. His pension was cut from $772 to $444. What can he do?

INSIGHT

After mining boom, who'll grab the baton?

CLANCY YEATES Other industries such as construction and services could pick up the slack - but it's a big hole to fill.

Premium plans

Insuring your earning capacity

Mark Bouris There are many ways to build wealth, but what about protecting it?

Bank Charges

Reforms no cap to ATM fees

JOHN COLLETT When you take cash out from the hole in the wall, a little is still falling back into machine operators’ pockets.

ATM fees total half-a-billion dollars annually

JOHN COLLETT More than half-a-billion dollars is paid annually in ATM fees, five years after Reserve Bank reforms designed to reduce the fee amount paid.

FOFA reforms

What should financial advice cost?

David Potts The government has looked into the financial advice industry, but to what effect?

INTELLIGENT INVESTOR

Don't kill the financial sharks, teach us how to swim

Richard Livingston The real problem with financial advice is big banks being allowed to ‘advise’ in the first place.

FOFA REFORMS

Big puzzle of Palmer's backflip

JOHN COLLETT For all his huffing and puffing about protecting the little people, Palmer has traded his support for practically nothing in return.

We're close to retirement. Should we sell investment properties?

George Cochrane Is the best strategy to offload our units oir keep them for the income?

AGED CARE

Calculate the costs when it's time to go into care

Barbara Drury Thinking about aged care? Selling the family home to pay for a bond may not be the only solution.

HAND-OUTS

Grab what you can from the government

Mark Bouris Most of the plans being made for this financial year are about boosting income and reducing costs.

FOFA REFORMS

Quality advice costs money

Penny Pryor The CBA controversy has again revealed the difficulties of a commission-based remuneration system .

EASY PREY

Fraudsters target seniors with a variety of scams

David Wilson How to detect and counter the sophisticated scams that can rob you of your savings.

INSIGHT

Insight: Financial inequality

CLANCY YEATES A growing gap in incomes is bad for the economy.

GETTING STARTED

When is advice not advice? When it's a sales pitch

DAVID POTTS There's more consumer protection buying a fridge than in financial advice from a bank.

Wanted: A financial planner who suits

JOHN COLLETT Study your own finances and the advice industry before turning to an ‘expert’.

SUPER & FUNDS

Financial advice seekers are out on their own

JOHN COLLETT The authorities have given consumers a false sense of security about the professionalism and protection they can expect when seeking financial advice.

WELFARE'S STATE

Big squeeze on as pension hurdles get higher and higher

MAX NEWNHAM Anyone who currently received, or is hoping to receive, some form of benefit from Centrelink could rightfully feel under attack right now.