I’ve retired with $300k in the bank. Should I leave it there, or invest?

November 9, 2025 — 5.01am

I retired last month with $500,000 in super and $300,000 in the bank. I am using the super pension for income and leaving the cash in the bank. Is that the best option, or should I let the super pension accumulate? I am worried about a sharemarket crash and the super lessening in value.

It’s fair enough to be worried about volatility and sharemarket crashes when you’ve just retired. That is the point at which you are most exposed to adverse market outcomes, as your savings are probably at their peak, and you need the money to last 30 years or more.

It’s better to build investments with your cash than just let it sit in your bank account.Credit: Simon Letch

I think, however, that there is a way you can have your cake and eat it too. Within super and pension funds, there are investment options. Some funds offer five or six options, others hundreds, but all have some. These options will range from very secure to very aggressive.

Retain some cash in the bank for bills and short-term needs, then consider depositing the remainder superannuation, taking care to stay within contribution limits. Create a new larger pension account with this extra money folded in.

Now divide your pension account into several of the investment options. Have at least a year’s drawings in the cash account, and if it makes you feel more comfortable, have several years’ worth.

Then have another portion in whatever conservative option the fund offers. Some funds offer term deposits too. Put the remainder in the balanced option, or break it up even further if you wish.

The goal is to hold low-risk options that are unimpaired by a market correction. Then, you can live off these holdings for several years, providing your remaining savings with plenty of time to recover. The most important thing in a market downturn is to avoid the need to sell.

My parents are in their 80s and have their retirement savings in an SMSF. Years ago, brokers helped them purchase shares, and company floats made it easy to grow their savings. With online banking and trading, things have changed, and they are finding it difficult to deal with online life – so many logins and passwords required. They fear being ripped off by scams and phone calls too. How can they simplify things while still finding attractive returns?

It is impossible to avoid technology in the investment world these days, and that certainly does create risk and worry around security, especially for those who wouldn’t consider themselves “digital natives”.

As you mention, simplicity is the goal, so the starting point is to ask whether they still need an SMSF? Given their age, I am assuming they are in the pension phase, in which case there are no CGT consequences in selling their portfolio and rolling the cash into one of the large public offer funds.

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If they wish to retain the SMSF, they could perhaps establish a wrap facility for the SMSF and shift all the fund holdings into that. A wrap facility is an administration service. The wrap will take care of all the share registry work, track dividends, pay out pensions and provide tax reporting for your accountant.

Within a wrap, you can hold listed investments as well as cash and term deposits – most providers have access to several banks, so you can choose the best deal. There is still technology involved, but at least everything would be in the one place, and there would be just the one login and password.

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 personal circumstances before making any financial decisions.

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