Findings from the Retirement Income Review in 2020, showed that much of the Australian community do not make the most of superannuation assets in retirement.

Your 40’s are a transformative period in your life. It’s that stage of adulthood where you’ve accumulated valuable life experiences, probably made a few questionable decisions, and hopefully learnt a good lesson or two, and have settled into a career and relationship.

Your 30’s are usually the time where you likely start thinking about the future and what you want out of life. Things such as purchasing that first property, starting a family, settling down or exploring the world are probably on the horizon.

What is the best age to start investing? A more sensible question would be, what is the best time to start developing consistent financial habits? The answer to both is, the younger the better.

Many Australians used to associate wealth with home ownership. As our country becomes more diverse and inclusive, with individuals having greater freedoms, this association is changing. The Demographics Group and AMP released a report exploring Australian attitudes towards what ‘feeling wealthy’ now means to individuals.

We end our series on Aged Care on the topic of costs, in particular, accommodation costs. We hope this series has shed some light on the complexities of aged care and that you come away more informed.

We previously discussed↗ what aged care services are available. This week we will provide an overview of costs and next week we will delve deeper into the main costs and the mechanics of the income and asset assessments.

In our previous weekly↗, we discussed how to start the conversation with loved ones on Aged care, and the assessment process for government funded support. This week we will talk about what options are available. Next week, we will dive into the costs of these services.

Family gatherings are sometimes few and far between. At your last gathering you may have noticed that Mum/Dad or both are starting to need some, or a lot, of care.

This may prompt you to start to have quiet conversations about “what are we going to do to help Mum/Dad?”. Aged care can be confusing, especially as it tends to be thrust onto families quickly, so in the next few weeklies, we’ll discuss a basic overview of what to expect when it comes to deciding and looking for care.

Following on from our previous weekly↗ on planning for the EOFY, now is a good time to tick off a few more items on the list before the new financial year begins.

Warren Buffett, Charlie Munger and Berkshire Hathaway released their Shareholder annual letter early this year. There are always a few words of wisdom in these letters, and we have shared some insightful ones below, considering the current global economic outlook.

Interest rates have risen astronomically since April 2022. With debt levels being discussed around the globe, from the US’ debt ceiling to the Victorian Governments forecast $162 billion in the red by 2025/2026, we thought it a good time to discuss debt management strategies and some Do’s and Don’ts.

With the end of the financial year closing in, now is the time to look at your portfolio and plan ahead. Make every effort count by tying off any loose ends before the end of financial year.

Two weeks back in our weekly, we touched on Superannuation death benefits and nominations. Expanding on this topic, we will identify how tax is treated by the recipient/s of a Superannuation death benefit.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers announced the much awaited and debated federal budget last night.

The first Budget surplus since 2007-08 was delivered on higher tax receipts from resource companies and the strong labour market. With inflation still front of mind, the spending initiatives were muted and focused on lower income households. On one hand, the Government needs to assist with cost-of-living difficulties, whilst not adding to inflation, a tough balancing act.

This week we’ll explore some of the more pertinent topics addressed last night. As always, we invite your feedback on what you’d like to read about and topics that you’d most like us to cover.

When you pass away, your assets, other than Superannuation, are generally distributed in accordance with your Will. Superannuation is not automatically included as an asset in your deceased estate and may not be accounted for by your Will.

Therefore, making a death benefit nomination allows you to direct your Superannuation to your preferred dependant/s and/or Legal Personal Representative (your Estate). If there is no nomination, your Superannuation fund will use their own trustee/s discretion to determine whom and in what proportion to distribute your super benefits – this may not be in accordance with your wishes.

“I want to give my kids just enough so that they would feel that they could do anything, but not so much that they would feel like doing nothing.” – Warren Buffet

As we enter our ‘Golden years’, we may start to reflect on our life and what kind of legacy we want to leave for our loved ones and future generations.

Estate planning provides the opportunity to leave behind a lasting impression. Throughout the planning process, existential questions may well be discovered that had not been considered.

In the next few FP weeklies, we will explore this topic and share a few tips worth considering to ensure your loved ones benefit from your lifelong efforts as much as possible.

Back in 2018/19 the Federal government passed an income tax package, which included numerous tax cuts that were designed to be introduced in stages over several years. The “Stage three” tax cuts are planned to take effect from 1st July 2024. We think it’s a good time to recap what this entails given the Federal Budget is also due to be released on the 9th May 2023.

This is the last of our 3-part series on structures, finishing with the final investment vehicle used by most Australians, Superannuation. Superannuation is an effective investment vehicle to save for retirement, however it is a complex and ever-changing area.  The combination of regular contributions, long-term compounding and long-time horizons can create a powerful mix with the right investment strategy.

Following on from our last weekly, this week, we will provide a basic run down of the Proprietary Company investment structure.

Although this is most often used as a structure for businesses, it can also be used as a vehicle for investments. Companies have the ability to own property, shares, enter contracts and are subject to legal liability in the same way as an individual. Whilst shareholders represent part-ownership of a company, it does not give the shareholder any entitlement to the assets of the company or responsibility of any liabilities.