Are you in your 50’s or even 60’s and wondering how life has gone by so quickly? Retirement planning is something that you felt needed some attention, there just never seemed to be the time and its all so complicated. Well, the good news is that this is:

1. Completely normal, and

2. The decisions that you make now will be vital in helping you balance your priorities for now (sounds like you need a holiday!) and those you have for your future.

So lets talk about:

• Can you afford to retire?

• When would this ideally happen?

• What would that look like for you? travel, moving house, spending time with family, volunteering on taking on a hobby job, the big trip around Australia, or something else?

We can help you design a plan to retire asap, or bridge the gap between the retirement you are set up for right now, and the one you truly want. Sandy is an expert in understanding the options available and tailoring these to your unique circumstances. The sooner we start planning the better!

Are you recently retired? or perhaps you have been retired for some time but feel a little lost. 

Retirement can be a fabulous time for newfound freedom, enjoying the capacity to utilise your days to do the things that you choose, whilst not missing work at all! 

There can also be some challenges and important considerations to take into account as you navigate this new stage of life, such as: 

·        Meeting your income needs for now, allowing for inflation.

·        Providing flexibility to adjust your income, and access to capital to allow for ad hoc expenses such as holidays, upgrading the car or even when life just happens. 

·        Making sure that your spending is sustainable, so that you have enough money to last your lifetime. 

·        Balancing the risk and return aspects of your investments in a way that makes sense for you and provides the best opportunity to meet your goals.  

·        Maximising any entitlement you may have for Centrelink or DVA benefits. 

·        Minimising tax, for both yourself and your beneficiaries. 

·        Ensuring  your assets are structured in a way that reflects your estate plans.  

Sandy is an expert in the delicate balance required to achieve all of the above, in a way that makes sense in your unique circumstances.

Are you struggling with separation and divorce? It can be an incredibly difficult time and often there are multiple things happening all at once. 

I can't help with the legal considerations, that’s what your Solicitor is for, however i can support you and provide advice around: 

• Can you/should you keep the family home? 

• Should you give or accept super as a part of a settlement, based on your unique circumstances. 

• What Centrelink support might you be entitled to ongoing? 

• How will you manage your (changed) income and expenses?

• What are the things that you will need to do to recover financially over time? 

• How do you then rebuild your financial future as a single person? 

• What are the things you should consider and do financially, should you decide to enter into a new relationship.

Are you, or a loved one, contemplating aged care? Can you see that this is a potential eventuality?

Moving yourself or a loved one into aged care is a difficult and often emotionally draining experience, for everyone involved. The focus is often, as it should be, on the wellbeing and happiness of the individual.

Sandy can help you work through some of the important financial considerations, including:

• Accommodation costs - think about this as should we buy a home, or rent one?

•     Should we pay a lump sum refundable accommodation deposit (RAD) to buy the room?, or a daily accommodation payment (DAP) to rent the room? or a combination of both?

• The cost of living - think about this as how do we pay for day to day expenses such as food, electricity and the like?

  • Costs here are quite fixed, but you will need to think about how this is funded

• The cost of care - think about this as how do we pay for the cost of care,  nursing and the like? The provider will calculate the cost of this, then you may be expected to make a contribution towards this depending on your means.

  • How you structure your assets can have a big impact on fees in this area.

Are you retiring? suffering from a disability? Receiving Centrelink benefits can be an important part of an ongoing financial plan for many.

But how much are you entitled to? how do you maximise any entitlement you may have and negotiate the application process effectively.

Well the good news is that Sandy can do this for you:

As a part of your financial plan we will always look to see whether benefits are available and appropriate based on your individual circumstances. Where they are we can help you by completing the applications on your behalf and liaising with Centrelink to ensure that your application is processed with the appropriate outcome.

We can also, as a part of our ongoing advice program, regularly update your asset and income position with Centrelink to ensure that you are receiving the correct entitlement and your records are up to date.

Are you wanting to look at your super more closely? would you like to review your options in this space?

We can help you with:

·        Do you have the right type of fund for your needs? Self-managed super funds, retail super funds and industry super funds all have their own unique benefits and implications. There is no one size fits all.

·        How is your super invested? direct or listed property, direct shares, separately managed accounts, exchange traded funds, managed investments, term deposits, cash? What is best for you?

·        What are your costs? Are they competitive?

·        What are your insurance options? Do you have group cover or individual cover? What are your covers and sums insured and what are the costs? Is the cover still appropriate for you, or is it something that you have had in place for a number of years without review? Especially as you get older this can become expensive.

·        What is your funds service experience like? How good is their reporting? How easy or difficult is it to make changes?

·        Is your super on track to provide you with a comfortable retirement? or do you need to catch up?

Are you wanting to receive investment advice? confused by the range of options available?

We can help you with:

·        Identifying your investment goal(s) and therefore timeframe(s).

·        Identifying your investment risk tolerance, based on your investment goals, timeframe and individual expectations in relation to investment risk, or volatility.

·        Identifying the appropriate holding vehicle for your investment, depending on your goals, timeframe and circumstances.

·        Taking you through a process of explaining the range of available investment options and helping you understand the pros and cons, linking this back to your goals.

·        Make recommendations to you around an appropriate portfolio for your needs, goals and objectives.

·        With your permission implement and then monitor your portfolio on an ongoing basis.

Want to protect your loved ones financially?

We can help you to:

·        Understand your key risks and potential insurance solutions.

·        Calculate appropriate types and amounts of cover and suitable insurers for you based on your circumstances.

·        Help you through a process of prioritisation and trade offs to ensure cover is affordable and suitable for your needs.

·        Take you through ownership options (super vs non super) and the costs and benefits.

Sandy has been a Financial Planner for 25 years and loves a challenging or unique circumstance, so would love to talk to you about:

·        Compensation or insurance proceeds management.

·        Managing assets held within Special Disability Trusts, Testamentary Trusts, Family Trusts.

·        Asset protection frameworks for protected beneficiaries.

·        Managing assets for vulnerable or special needs beneficiaries.

·        Managing financial arrangements within blended families.