It is developing personal strategies to help you best manage your resources now, whilst also planning ahead to reach your financial and lifestyle goals in the future or at retirement.
Planning one does to be prepared for life after paid work, not just financially but in all aspects of life. The non-financial aspects include lifestyle choices as how to spend time in retirement, where to live, when to completely quit working, etc.
The most common questions are:
How much capital do I/we need?
Where will my/our income come from?
How much income will I/we need?
How will I/we spend it?
Is it tax effective?
How much do I/we leave behind?
Do I/we have or need a Self Managed Superfund live link to self managed superannuation
What are my/our social security entitlements
Aged care – how can I/we afford it?
Life and Disability Insurance
Some main points to understand with Personal Risk Insurance:
Stepped vs Levels premiums
Indexed benefits
Premium waiver
Benefit buy-back
Underwriting
Rider benefits vs Standalone
Inside or outside of superannuation
Exclusions
The cheapest money you can buy! Yes, your read that correctly. Ask us why & how?
Be very careful of the insurance provided with no or limited underwriting or medical questions as seen on national television advertising campaigns. There are reasons why they are able to offer it in such a way.
What are the covers/benefits I can insure myself with?
Death Cover also known as Life Insurance
Pays a lump sum to your estate or nominated beneficiary if you pass away
The lump sum could be paid to you if you become terminally ill
Its main purpose is to provide support to the surviving partner and family to
Pay off debt
Maintain standard of living
Save for education
Protect your wealth/assets
Total and Permanent Disability (TPD)
Designed to pay a lump sum if you become permanently disabled
Can provide for lost income, assist with medical treatment and ongoing lifestyle changes
There are two definitions
Any occupation – you are unable to perform any occupation you are reasonably qualified for
Own occupation – you are unable to perform your own occupation for which you are insured
It is important to understand the difference in the requirements that could cause incapacity under either definition
There are waiting periods before potential payouts, can range between 3 to 12 months
Trauma/Critical Illness Cover
Traumatic events or Critical illnesses can be just as damaging to family finances as death and more so if ongoing medical bills is a result.
Pays a lump sum when you are diagnosed with a specified illness or suffer a traumatic event
Up to 45 major illnesses, depending on the insurer
Includes amongst others, cancer, heart attack, stroke, coronary bypass, etc.
Four of these conditions account for the great majority of claims
62% Cancer
13% Heart Attacks
11% Coronary Artery Disease & Bypass surgery
9% Strokes
5% spread amongst other conditions
The definitions for these four conditions should be very carefully assessed
It is often overlooked because thinking about not being able to work is not the happiest situation to think about. It is an insurance policy for when you are incapacitated and therefore unable to work due to illness or accident. It replaces up to 75% of your normal salary as if you are still working. If taken, the benefit paid can also increase every year as if you are receiving a salary increase.It is however not as easy as it seems and special attention needs to be paid to
The occupation definition under which you are insured. Some policies pay out if you cannot perform your usual occupation. Others only pay if you cannot perform any occupation for which you are suited by education, training or experience.
Agreed vs indemnity value
Waiting period
Claim escalation
Other additional benefits, i.e. retirement, hospital, etc.
Pre-existing conditions
Inside or outside of super
Tax implications of both premiums and benefit payments
These links have been provided with permission for information purposes only and will take you to external websites, which are not connected to Mandate Financial Planning or Futuro Financial Services Pty Ltd in any way. Note: Mandate Financial Planning and Futuro Financial Services Pty Ltd does not endorse and is not responsible for the accuracy of the contents/information contained within the linked site(s) accessible from this page.
Superannuation
A very contentious savings vehicle that will be debated for the next 100 years…Is it a good medium to save in? With proper planning, it will suit most people...
It was designed by the Federal Government for the sole purpose of saving for our retirement. To make it attractive to most, it also comes with tax advantages when planned properly.
Income is taxed at 15% as opposed to one’s own marginal tax rate that could be as high as 45%.
Capital Gains have the potential to be taxed at a reduced rate of 10%.
For those of us that are employed, it is compulsory for our employer to contribute 9.5%(currently) on our behalf.
There are different kinds of superannuation funds:
Defined benefit funds
Industry funds
Retail funds
Self managed funds
Contact Us to discuss which fund is appropriate for you
There are also different kinds of contributions:
Concessional – that which mostly carries tax deductibility
Non concessional – mostly after tax monies
Contact Us to discuss whether you are taking advantage of the best combination of contributions
There are limits on contributions; be aware not to exceed these limits as it could have dire tax consequences
Contact Us to ensure you are not exceeding the limits
Superannuation does come with limited access
You must meet a condition of release before obtaining access
Terminal illness – 24 months before the dreaded event
These links have been provided with permission for information purposes only and will take you to external websites, which are not connected to Mandate Financial Planning or Futuro Financial Services Pty Ltd in any way.Note: Mandate Financial Planning and Futuro Financial Services Pty Ltd does not endorse and is not responsible for the accuracy of the contents/information contained within the linked site(s) accessible from this page.
Self-managed Superannuation
The first and foremost question when wanting to set up a SMSF, is why do you want set it up?
There are far too many SMSF’s set up
because of “BBQ-talk”… My friend has one so I want one… My friend says it is a good idea… etc. etc.
by accountants where clients should not have them
You may be surprised to know that almost as many SMSF’s are closed down as what there are set up; an absolute waste of money and effort.
If however done for the right reason/s, a SMSF can be very valuable and assist with achieveing retirement goals.
At Mandate Financial Planning, we make 100% sure that when a SMSF is set up, it is set up for the correct reason/s.
How can we help you with your SMSF?
Determine whether it is appropriate
Assist with the actual set up
Educate you on trustee duties & responsibilities
Manage your investments
Assist with setting up lending arrangements to purchase property or other assets
Arrange for the annual administration, year end financial accounts and audit
Investing and Wealth Creation
Should be part of everyone’s financial planning
Is most definitely not only for “people with money”
The sooner you start the better
Have realistic goals
Stick to your strategy
It could include various strategies:
Direct shares
Regular savings plans
Managed funds
Exchange traded funds
Personal insurances
Salary sacrifice arrangements
Home equity
Inheritances
The questions to consider when investing:
What are my goals?
How much can I afford to invest?
What investment vehicle should I use?
What are the tax implications?
What is my time horizon?
What is my appetite for risk?
Have I done a Risk Profile?
What protection do I need?
Business Insurance
What is Business Insurance and why should business owners have it? The short answer is that it gives the business owner and his/her family the confidence that their interest in a business is protected.
It can take a number of different shapes
Buy/sell agreements:
Key components of the agreement
Ownership structure
Self ownership
Cross ownership
Corporate ownership
Superannuation ownership
Discretionary trust ownership
Payment structure
Value of the business
Current market value
Current market value with indexation
Formula based valuation
How does the value rate to the insurance amounts?
Benefits of having a buy/sell agreementin place.
Keyman/ person insurance:
Protects the business against the loss of a key employee
Debt cover
Tax implications
Ownership
Cash Flow & Debt Management
Good vs bad debt – how do we obtain more good debt and less bad debt?
These links have been provided with permission for information purposes only and will take you to external websites, which are not connected to Mandate Financial Planning or Futuro Financial Services Pty Ltd in any way.Note: Mandate Financial Planning and Futuro Financial Services Pty Ltd does not endorse and is not responsible for the accuracy of the contents/information contained within the linked site(s) accessible from this page.
Estate Planning
Estate Planning has become a very complex field of advice and better left to the experts. As such we can assist with the basic understanding and framework of an Estate Plan, but further than that we would be happy to refer you.
