Grow your wealth
Superannuation
If you have worked in Australia, in most cases you will have a superannuation account. This is your money, invested for your retirement. Super has tax advantages and for some people it can be beneficial to contribute extra to super. Even small amounts added to super each year can make a big difference in the money you have in retirement.
A Gold Leaf Financial Planner can provide financial advice regarding
Retirement funding: how much money you will need to fund your retirement
Super strategies: including salary sacrifice, transition to retirement pensions, the government super co-contribution and more
Self Managed Super Funds (SMSF): Advice and assistance managing your SMSF including investment strategy and insurance considerations. Also whether to establish a SMSF, note that for an SMSF you will need a super balance over $200,000 and you will need to be comfortable with the added responsibility and workload of being a SMSF Trustee.
Additional super contributions: (within the super contributions limits) in order to save for retirement, including salary sacrifice and personal after tax contributions
Investments: reviewing your super fund investments to make sure your retirement savings are working for you and are invested according to your values
Organising your super: to make your accounts easier to manage. You may have a number of super accounts and in some cases, it is appropriate to consolidate your super into one account to save fees. However before closing any super accounts it is important to check with your super fund if you hold insurance cover as it may be appropriate to keep the fund open to retain your insurance.
Projections: when you can retire and how long your super will last in retirement
Super Pension: starting a pension with your super savings to provide income, and
Insurance: reviewing your insurance cover through super to make sure you and your family are protected in the event of illness, death or disability
Sam and Alice save for retirement
When their youngest child Tim moved out of home to study at University, Sam and Alice started to think about whether they were saving enough money for retirement.
They saw a Gold Leaf Financial Planner and discussed their values and goals. Sam and Alice would like to continue their current lifestyle and want to make the most of their additional savings as now Tim is mostly independent. A recommendation was made to change their super to make sure it was invested in line with their ethical values and would grow for retirement. The adviser also recommended making additional mortgage repayments and salary sacrificing to super.
By following their financial planners’ recommendations, Sam and Alice will be debt free and have an extra $500,000 at retirement. They will also be able to travel, renovate the kitchen, enjoy their hobbies of tennis and photography and volunteer with their favourite community groups.