Govt should consider retirement investment bonds

Many retirees will have to cash out of investments, at a major loss, to make ends meet as a result of the COVID-19 epidemic and retirement investment bonds could help, according to the Association of Independent Retirees.

The association’s president, Wayne Strandquist, said investments in Australian and overseas shares held by retirees had fallen significantly as sharemarkets around the world plunged due to the virus and the Russia-Saudi Arabia oil dispute.

“It is likely that as a result of the drought, bushfires, floods and the recent coronavirus stimulus package, the Australian Government will need to borrow money to inject into the economy and cover unbudgeted expenditure,” he said.

“To assist this funding, the Association of Independent Retirees suggests the Government consider issuing special retirement investment bonds. These bonds would only be available to retirees and have an interest rate marginally below the interest rate of the pensions loan scheme. This would provide retirees funding their own retirement a return with minimal risk.

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“Retirees who partly or fully self-fund their retirement are reeling from the triple whammy of reduced interest rates, the savage fall in share prices and the unintended travel costs.”

Strandquist noted that retirees on overseas holidays looking to get home would also incurred extra costs as the Australian dollar fell.