3 hours ago
3
July 19, 2026 — 5:01am
I’m trying to work out if we can afford to pay our daughter’s uni fees, so she doesn’t graduate with a huge debt. I think the solution is that I would need to work longer, but I’m struggling to figure out how much longer. Is there an easy way to figure this out?
Thanks for your interesting question. Of the various levers we can pull to impact long-term financial security, working longer typically has the largest impact.
For a simple maths method, I would start with an estimate of how much in university fees you will pay. Next, I would work out your current annual surplus, i.e. after tax income less normal living costs.
Divide the university costs by the annual surplus and that will give you the number of years savings required to cover those expenses, which you could interpret to be the extra years of work required. For example, $100,000 of university costs and $25,000 per year of annual surplus, would suggest four more years of work to replace those lost savings.
This is very rough, though. Ideally, you would get some financial modelling done to understand your long-term outlook, and run a comparison of the outcome with and without the university fees.
Assuming you have a funding source (e.g. savings or a non-super investment), this assistance could be simply a form of early inheritance, with the only consequence being a reduction in what they would have otherwise received when you pass on.
I find anything to do with superannuation baffling and it scares me. I am just about to turn 67. I stopped working in August last year due to illness, and now draw from my super each month. My partner earns about $90,000 a year, and he has a few years before retirement. We own a little one-bedroom unit. We have been saving to upgrade to a two-bedroom unit, and have $100,000 saved. Unfortunately, we still don’t have enough to make the move. Can you advise on what we can do to arrive at the best possible outcome for us?
Give some thought to your priorities. There are two goals present here. One is that you want to shift into a larger home. The other is you want a secure retirement.
From what you have shared here, it appears there is some conflict between these two goals. If this is correct, then I think your starting point should be to decide, as a couple, which of these goals is the most important.
If the house upgrade is the priority, then you could potentially draw a lump sum from your super to top-up your savings. Perhaps your partner works a few extra years to clear a small mortgage.
Your home is ignored for means testing purpose with regards the age pension, so potentially having more of your wealth in this asset boosts your pension entitlement. You may also be able to use the government’s Home Equity Access Scheme to convert the equity you have in this property into cash flow.
However, if instead your priority is lifestyle in retirement, for example travel, or you have concerns about outliving your savings, then you would either stay put, or broaden your property search until you find somewhere that fits within your budget without the need to tap into your super savings.
Without knowing your super balances and complete financial picture, I can’t be in any way definitive here. But hopefully this gives you a starting point.
Paul Benson is a Certified Financial Planner at Guidance Financial Services. He hosts the Financial Autonomy podcast. Questions to: [email protected]
- Advice given in this article is general in nature and is not intended to influence readers’ decisions about investing or financial products. They should always seek their own professional advice that takes into account their own personal circumstances before making any financial decisions.
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