Nick Bruining
Nick Bruining focuses on the decisions that shape people’s retirement income, explaining how tax, superannuation and government benefits interact in real life. He combines his work as an independent financial adviser with a long-running media role, using case studies and reader questions to show how small choices around super, savings and Centrelink rules can make a lasting difference. His coverage ranges from when to lodge a tax return through to whether to keep a self-managed super fund or sell the family home to pay for aged care, with a consistent aim of helping people avoid avoidable losses rather than chase speculative gains.
Centrelink limits, deeming rates and the age pension
Centrelink rules and pension entitlements are a core focus of Bruining’s recent work for The Nightly. He regularly breaks down changes to asset and income test thresholds, explaining how updated limits can open or close eligibility for a part pension and what that means for different household structures. He also tracks decisions on deeming rates, spelling out how frozen or shifting deeming assumptions affect the way investment income is counted and why “no news” on rates can still be a material gain for part‑pensioners.
A recurring theme is that retirees and near‑retirees need to understand how even modest changes in their reported assets or bank balances can change their fortnightly payments, so he spells out notification rules and reporting triggers alongside the headline policy change.
His pension coverage frequently uses reader scenarios to show how financial help to adult children can backfire if it is not structured correctly.
In pieces on gifting and loans to family members, he walks through how much can be given away before Centrelink continues to count the asset, and contrasts the pension impact of an informal “loan” versus a clearly documented gift. He tends to emphasise compliance with disclosure obligations and the importance of keeping Centrelink informed when overall financial circumstances move by relatively small amounts, not just when major life events occur.
Throughout this strand of his work, the tone is practical and rule‑based rather than rhetorical, and he repeatedly returns to the idea that understanding the fine print is often worth more than chasing a higher investment return.
Superannuation, SMSFs and tax liabilities
Bruining devotes significant coverage to superannuation rules, particularly where tax and retirement policy intersect.
He writes explainer pieces on technical topics such as Division 293 tax liabilities, showing how higher‑income earners can reduce or avoid additional tax through relatively simple superannuation moves, and sets out the mechanics rather than just the headline advice. His reporting on self‑managed super funds often questions whether smaller balances justify the cost and complexity of running an SMSF, arguing that those with sub‑scale funds should consider shifting to lower‑cost managed options. In that context he combines commentary on investment choice with practical cost‑benefit analysis, weighing administration overheads, compliance risk and the value of professional management.
Regulatory compliance is another thread in his superannuation work.
He covers enforcement activity around early access schemes and related‑party loans, explaining how the tax office views aggressive strategies and what constitutes an illegal loan from a fund. He also writes about formal early‑release provisions, outlining how much can be accessed in hardship or other specific circumstances and reminding readers that amounts withdrawn can be taxable. For older small business owners, he examines the “work test” and other contribution rules that determine whether and how they can keep topping up super, blending technical detail with examples of how owners can use late‑career contributions to strengthen retirement savings.
Alongside this, he has written about the pitfalls of rushing to lodge a tax return before all information and assessments are in place, highlighting how impatience at tax time can leave money on the table or complicate later corrections.
Gifting, inheritance and big retirement decisions
Beyond formal super and Centrelink rules, Bruining spends considerable time on the family decisions that shape retirement finances. He writes about the choice to sell or retain the family home when moving into aged care, warning that a quick sale to raise cash can reduce Centrelink entitlements and leave retirees worse off than if they had structured the move differently. His articles on inheritance and intergenerational transfers similarly focus on sequencing and structure, showing how the timing and form of gifts or inheritances interact with pension tests, super balances and tax.
Across these pieces he presents retirement planning as a series of practical trade‑offs, emphasising that emotional decisions around helping children or downsizing need to be weighed against their long‑term income impact.
His broader body of work across newspapers, television and radio reinforces this focus on retirement and personal finance. He has a long‑running column for a major metropolitan newspaper, uses Q+A formats to answer listener and reader questions on radio programs, and contributes to specialist financial publications, extending the same detailed, rules‑driven approach to professional and consumer audiences. In all of these roles he draws on his background as an independent financial adviser and his membership of a professional association for independent advisers, positioning his journalism as an extension of day‑to‑day advisory work rather than detached commentary. The result is coverage that is grounded in real cases, heavy on numbers and thresholds, and focused on helping people navigate the interlocking systems of tax, super and social security rather than on market news or short‑term investment tips.
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