Spending Down Assets to Maximise the Pension: Identifying and Exploring the Ethical Issues

This article explores the ethical issues associated with accounting practitioners providing financial planning advice to clients about spending down or consuming assets for the primary purpose of satisfying age-pension eligibility. I t may seem that there is nothing wrong with this activity but a deeper analysis suggests that it may be unethical. This article employs a broad framework that may be applied to any situation having ethical implications.