In this episode of Australian Retirement Podcast, Drew Meredith and James O’Reilly begin with a stat that cuts through the noise: retirement confidence has fallen sharply, even after a strong year for investment markets. They unpack why rising living costs still dominate how pre-retirees feel, why good returns do not always create peace of mind, and why confidence is as much an emotional question as a financial one. They also discuss the surprising gap between seeing an adviser and actually feeling ready for retirement.
From there, the conversation turns to property. Drew and James explore whether the old playbook of leveraging into investment properties still holds up for people approaching retirement, especially as negative gearing, capital gains tax settings and holding costs come under more pressure. Rather than making a dramatic crash call, they focus on the practical trade-offs between income, flexibility, debt, and the opportunity cost of keeping too much wealth tied to one asset class when other income options are improving.
The episode finishes with a practical listener question on inherited shares, cost bases and how age pension status can change the tax outcome. If you are weighing up retirement timing, asset sales, or how policy shifts could affect your long-term plan, this episode offers a grounded framework for the questions worth asking next.
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