Latest news with #PeterNg
Yahoo
18-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Daunting retirement ‘squeeze' about to hit generation of Aussies: ‘Hidden cost'
Millions of Australian Millennials are about to face what has been dubbed the 'generational squeeze'. That's when they are caught supporting two groups of financial dependents in retirement: their kids and their aging parents. Melbourne dad-of-two Peter Ng is currently facing this predicament. The 40-year-old e-commerce worker told Yahoo Finance he and his two siblings had been helping financially support their parents, Angel, 68, and KK, 70, since they retired. 'We're all helping in different ways. We all try to help out with running costs, whether it's medical costs, car servicing, meals, groceries, we all try and chip in,' he said. 'That's something that's ongoing but the financial support they require might be more as they age and there might be more health concerns.' RELATED Retirement warning as controversial $3 million superannuation tax change looms: 'Be proactive' Coles shopper 'stunned' after getting $50 item free due to little-known rule: 'Insane' Centrelink issues urgent Age Pension eligibility change warning: 'Double check' Ng said he currently contributed a few hundred dollars each month. His parents are currently living with his sister and helping take care of her kids. They receive the age pension but Ng noted this alone was 'not enough'. Ng noted that in many Asian cultures, adult children often cared for and supported their parents financially. 'It reminds me of a Ronny Chieng joke, 'When you love something, you give it money',' he said. 'Asians, we tend to give money to our family and our parents. With some of my Asian friends, their way of support is just paying for everything, meals, groceries and driving them around.'Ng and his wife also have two young boys, Daniel, 11, and Nathen, 9, to provide for. General living costs are the biggest expenses for them, along with extracurricular activities and any school camps or excursions. Ng said supporting both his parents and kids meant he had to be more mindful of his budget, with mortgage repayments, groceries and household bills among their top expenses. 'Sometimes we will have to be mindful not to eat out too much, or be mindful of not buying large items, or too many trips. We have to make sure we are thinking about the future,' he said. But he said he felt 'lucky' to have siblings who were supportive and could help share the load. 'It could be a bit daunting if it was just one of us,' he said. Exclusive new research from financial advisory firm Findex found there was a growing trend of Aussies experiencing or set to experience the 'generational squeeze' in retirement, with Millennials the most 'vulnerable' group. Half of Millennials surveyed believed they would need to support extended family members in their retirement, with a third predicting they would be financially supporting elderly parents on top of 22 per cent supporting their children. Findex co-CEO Matt Games told Yahoo Finance it was creating a 'double whammy' from both sides. 'I think the biggest one people worry about is housing affordability for their children. You look down and see your children and you think, to be frank, how on earth are they going to afford to buy a house? And they are going to be living at home longer,' he said. 'Then you look upwards and life expectancies are increasing and our parents and grandparents don't necessarily have the full benefit of the superannuation system that we've had since we started working. Then the other overlay is people are living longer and there are more health complications as well.' Games said financially supporting dependents in retirement tended to be a hidden cost that people didn't think about. The ASFA Retirement Standard, for instance, outlines that couples need $73,011 per annum and singles $51,805 per annum to live comfortably in retirement. These figures don't factor in having to support dependents. Games said planning ahead and having transparent conversations with parents and older kids was key to navigating the potential pressures of the 'generational squeeze'. 'They are potentially going to be facing these additional costs from the generational down and the generation up,' he told Yahoo Finance. 'That doesn't automatically mean they are going to run out of money or they are not going to have enough to retire on, but what it does mean is that they're potentially going to have to work longer if they don't plan properly.' Games said planning ahead now when you still had 10 or 20 years of lead time, meant you could adjust the way you looked at your savings and superannuation, and work to maximise your future revenue streams. 'It's kind of mind-blowing how many people just don't have any sort of plan. So taking some action is always a good thing, whether it's as simple as to map out today and have an actual budget for today, that's a fantastic start,' he said. Games recommended that people seek advice from a financial adviser to help set themselves up for the future. Ng said he and his wife had been having conversations about their retirement plans and how they could make passive income to help support their lifestyle, whether that be through buying an investment property or looking to other investments. Ng said he plans to get professional financial advice in the future and would continue discussing with his siblings how they can support their parents. He hopes he will retire in his mid to late 60s. 'We're lucky that [my wife's] parents and my parents are quite healthy at the moment, so we don't really need to splash into medical bills," he said. "It gives us time to plan."Error while retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error while retrieving data
Yahoo
27-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
In One Ear: Lord of the deep
The Ear comes from a lobstering village on the East Coast, and always thought lobsters were particularly creepy-looking creatures. However, they look positively glamorous next to a newly described and named deep-sea crustacean, a highly popular delicacy in Vietnam since 2017, according to New Scientist. It's as tasty as lobster, they say. Perhaps, if you close your eyes. The foot-long 14-legged critter (and each leg is a foot long), bathynomus vaderi, was discovered as a new isopod by reasearchers in a fish market, and weighs about 2 pounds. The name, given in 2022, is a salute to 'Star Wars' villain Darth Vader's mask. 'I am the biggest 'Star Wars' fan in the team, as it's my vintage,' said study co-author Peter Ng, a crustacean researcher at the National University of Singapore. said. ' ... But we all agree that the face of bathynomus looks so much like Darth Vader, that it just had to be named after the Sith Lord.' That's all very well, but flipped upside down, it looks like a horseshoe crab. Ugh. The Vietnamese have a less lovely name, sea bug. 'The scale of harvesting is a matter for concern. It's a challenge for all deep-sea species we fish,' another researcher said. 'We know so little about their biology, so we need more studies to evaluate how best to conserve and manage this resource.' (Photo: Nguyen Thanh Son/New Scientist)
Yahoo
10-02-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Scientists make wild discovery while exploring deep ocean waters: 'Highlights just how poorly we understand the deep-sea'
Scientists have discovered a new species of isopod in the deep waters of the South China Sea — though its name has come from a galaxy far, far away. As detailed, the fourth species of the Bathynomus genus was named "vaderi" after Star Wars villain Darth Vader because of the creature's resemblance to the character's famous helmet. According to experts, the Bathynomus vaderi can grow to over 30 centimeters in length and weigh over a kilogram. Related to the woodlouse, the genus shares a lot of similar traits, such as a segmented outer shell and multiple legs. Like their terrestrial cousins, they pose no threat to humans, but the sea-dwelling Bathynomus has become a delicacy in Vietnam. "It has even been compared to lobsters for the quality of the flesh," National University of Singapore researcher Peter Ng said. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration cited research that suggests around 91% of ocean species have yet to be discovered. Those in deep waters are particularly difficult to find because of intense water pressure and a lack of light. Researchers who discovered the Bathynomus vaderi noted that it serves as a reminder of how little we know about what inhabits Earth's waters. "The discovery of a species as strange as Bathynomus vaderi in Vietnam highlights just how poorly we understand the deep-sea environment," they said. "... There is an urgent need to better understand our deep-sea biodiversity as humans increasingly endeavor to exploit this habitat for fisheries, oil and gas, and even minerals." Should we be digging miles beneath Earth's surface? No way Definitely Depends what it's for Depends where we do it Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. Deep-sea minerals are gaining attention because of nodules found on the ocean floor that contain precious metals that could be utilized for a number of modern technologies, including electric vehicle batteries, without the need to mine on land. However, disturbing these nodules and scraping the sea floor can have significant negative impacts on ocean ecosystems. The Bathynomus species, known for scavenging, could be among the creatures threatened by this activity. Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
