11 Apr

Posted at 11:44h in Uncategorized

Holidays and gift giving can leave you a little short of cash so it might be cheering to learn that billions of dollars is being held by various government agencies just waiting to be claimed by the rightful owners. The biggest pot is lost superannuation. The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) is holding more than $17.8 billion worth of super for fund members who have become uncontactable.i Next, there is more than $2.3 billion in money from bank accounts and life insurance policies that has not been claimed for more than seven years. These funds are administered by the Australian Securities & Investments...

11 Apr

Posted at 11:44h in Uncategorized

The Tax Office is actively targeting SMSF trustees over a range of super breaches. Home ownership is still the great Australian dream for many people. Australia’s contingent of around 630,000 self-managed super funds (SMSFs) is now managing more than $1 trillion in assets. It’s a very sizeable amount and, according to the Australian Taxation Office, which oversees the SMSF industry, the vast majority of SMSF trustees “are doing the right thing”. The ATO’s Deputy Commissioner, Superannuation & Employer Obligations, Emma Rosenzweig, told attendees at the SMSF Association 2025 National Congress recently that between 96% and 97% of fund trustees who have lodged their annual...

11 Apr

Posted at 11:44h in Uncategorized

Questions to start your retirement planning Here are a few questions to get your retirement planning underway. Thinking about these might lead you to more questions, but that’s the fun part of the journey. How much money will you need for your retirement plan? How long will you likely spend in retirement? Where will the money come from? Where will you live when you’re retired? How much money will you need to retire? The backbone of an effective financial plan is determining your cash flow based on the type of lifestyle you’d like to live, so your first step would be to do an honest budget. If you...

25 Jul

Posted at 19:47h in Forecasting Trends

[vc_row css_animation="" row_type="row" use_row_as_full_screen_section="no" type="grid" angled_section="no" text_align="left" background_image_as_pattern="without_pattern" z_index=""][vc_column][vc_column_text]Is paying your mortgage off quicker really the best option? Not so long ago one of the most effective, low risk wealth creation strategies was to use spare savings to pay down a mortgage, either directly or via the well-disciplined use of an offset account. If your mortgage interest rate was 8% per annum, that’s the effective, after tax investment return this strategy delivered, substantially reducing the term of the loan and delivering big savings on interest.  But what about now? With home loans being offered at interest rates of less than 4% pa,...

25 Jul

Posted at 19:08h in Forecasting Trends

[vc_row css_animation="" row_type="row" use_row_as_full_screen_section="no" type="grid" angled_section="no" text_align="left" background_image_as_pattern="without_pattern" z_index=""][vc_column][vc_column_text]Life can change in an instant Paul T was a fit and active 45-year-old who drowned while swimming in the surf on a family holiday. Witnessing this tragic event unfold from the beach were Paul’s wife, Sue, their 15-year-old daughter Sophie and 12-year-old son Zac. Relatives and friends were a great support during the following days, but soon after the funeral, and still, in a state of profound grief, Sue had to assess the state of the family finances. Until that point in time, she was unaware they were amongst the 95% of Australian...

29 May

Posted at 10:50h in Case Study

[vc_row css_animation="" row_type="row" use_row_as_full_screen_section="no" type="grid" angled_section="no" text_align="left" background_image_as_pattern="without_pattern" z_index=""][vc_column width="1/4"][vc_column_text] A Case Study [/vc_column_text][vc_separator css_animation="fadeInLeft" type="small" position="left" width_in_percentages="yes" color="#8dc73d" thickness="4px" width="20" up="10px"][/vc_column][vc_column width="3/4"][vc_column_text]Tony and Susan were both retired and were drawing down from their superannuation pension accounts for their daily expenses. They had worked hard over the years and had significant superannuation balances. Both believed in getting expert advice. They had been using a financial planner and paying him an ongoing fee for his services.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row css_animation="" row_type="row" use_row_as_full_screen_section="no" type="grid" angled_section="no" text_align="left" background_image_as_pattern="without_pattern" css=".vc_custom_1592566773643{padding-top: 75px !important;padding-bottom: 75px !important;}" z_index=""][vc_column][vc_column_text] The trouble was that neither Tony or Susan had heard from their financial planner for...