Time to relax
People aged 65 +
After retiring, you do not want surprises financially. You do not have the timeframe to recover from a 20% share market crash and you do not want to worry about your finances.
You want to enjoy financial security and independence in retirement and have a stable income stream from your investments that will survive your whole lifetime, and if you can arrange your finances in a way to also maximise Centrelink and other government benefits - then no harm there.
Getting the right investment mix of cash, bonds, property and shares is important, as is minimising any product cost associated with your super and other investments.
If you have children, grandchildren or nieces and nephews, it would be nice if you were able to provide them with unexpected gifts to help them along in life too.
Structuring your investments with the tax effective superannuation environment in mind is also important. Understanding rules such as the property downsizer rule, catch up concessional contributions, transfer balance caps, account based pension drawdown requirements and age based contribution caps to name a few.
As you can see, it can be overwhelming trying to navigate the best pathway for a financially successful retirement set up, and that is where we come in to assist.
Make sure that you are minimising, tax, maximising income, and protecting your capital for your lifetime.
Age care costs may come into play at some stage so thinking about this in advance and working through funding mechanisms for things such as the aged care bond (refundable accommodation deposit) and ongoing daily aged care fees in advance in prudent if staying in the family home becomes unviable down the track.
Working through estate plans are also crucial at this point. Who will receive your assets, at what point, under what terms and in a tax effective way are some of the issues we tackle.
Overall, you have worked hard to get to a position where you can now retire and live off the income that your assets can produce. Our role is to optimise your retirement position so that you are using all the rules, and all the right investments in your favour to maximise income and minimise risk.
Case study
Ken and Julie are in their mid 60’s and have recently retired from the workforce. They have also sold an investment property and have a lump-sum to invest. They are not sure what the best way is to invest the money they have. They want:
* A regular income stream
* Good investment performance
* Stable returns with minimal risk of large investment losses
* To maximise Centrelink benefits
* Provide an inheritance for their children and grandchildren
Their 4 adult children are all non-dependant and they have 2 grandchildren. Upon their passing, they wish for their remaining assets to be distributed to their children and grandchildren and the money be protected from their children’s spouses should their children divorce in the future.
After going through the financial planning process with FinancialAdvisor.com.au, Ken and Julie received advice on how to invest their assets and achieve their requirements (regular income and good, stable returns). Advice was provided to maximise tax-free lump-sum contributions to superannuation working with age based restrictions on how much money can be contributed.
Centrelink benefits were projected and by holding assets in the name of the younger spouse, they were able to receive the full age pension for 3 years longer than otherwise would be the case. All other Cenrelink and Government entitlements were outlined and advice given on whether they would qualify.Advice was also provided around the establishment of appropriate estate plans to ensure a smooth transition of wealth to their children and grandchildren, while having that money protected from frivolous spending or future divorce.
Testimonial
“We are happy with the advice provided by FinancialAdvisor.com.au. We don’t need to worry about managing our investments as we know that we are in good hands.”
Ken and Julie (surname withheld)