Retirement Planning

It is evident, that those who plan for retirement, are more likely to enjoy a retirement lifestyle based on their own terms and not those of someone else. Results also show that obtaining professional help during the pre-retirement years further improves the probability of attaining your retirement objectives.

The earlier this is put in place, the better.

During one’s working life most time is spent at work, raising children and paying off a mortgage. There is always an employment income to make ends meet.

Retirement planning is about the lifestyle you will have after you stop working and it focuses on issues such as how much superannuation is enough, taking a super pension, claiming the Age Pension, making superannuation contributions while receiving a pension from a super fund, estate planning and looking after your family.

Also, with increasing life expectancy, rising costs and, often, debt still to be cleared, retirement planning becomes even more important.

Investment Advice

Investing your hard earned savings can be complex to manage and benefit from. There are many issues such as levels of risk, market timing, asset classes, and your own goals, objectives and preferences that need to be considered. Even getting started is difficult but this is where we have the time and expertise to help you.

Even after initial investments are made there are important issues that need to be addressed such as monitoring, buy/sell decisions, tax considerations, and when to take a loss or profit. In addition, there is a huge amount of investment information and spruiking that can easily lead you in the wrong direction with unwanted consequences.

Market volatility simply makes the situation harder and can often lead investors into emotive and rushed decisions.

Having a proper investment plan is very important and the sooner you implement it the sooner you can grow your wealth. We can help you develop a financial plan and provide advice that will help overcome the issues raised above.

Estate Planning

Your estate is made up of everything you own. This includes your home, property, furniture, car, personal possessions, business, investments, superannuation and bank accounts. Firstly, having a legally valid will is extremely important, as without one it is called 'dying intestate'. This can be costly and create added stress for loved ones at an already difficult time.

You may think that having a current will outlines what will happen to your estate should you die or become unable to manage your affairs. Unfortunately, for those with more complex financial structures this may not be the case.

To make sure your affairs are in order an Estate Plan will:

• provide for and protect loved ones with specific needs, including children
• ensure your children’s inheritance receives increased protection if a relationship breaks down
• ensure you receive professional advice on how to structure your assets to gain available tax advantages
• ensure your wishes are recorded in legally binding documents including your will, free from ambiguity
• provide you with peace of mind knowing, should you die or be unable to legally manage your affairs, that they will be managed by someone you trust
• ensure non-estate assets such as jointly held assets, family trusts, super funds and private companies are also documented as it may not be possible to deal with them in your will.

Superannuation

The Australian Superannuation system is one of the most advanced and complex in the world. Not only is it inherently complex, but the legislation surrounding it continues to change. No wonder Australians, just like you, find it difficult to understand how it relates to them and how to use superannuation to maximise their retirement nest egg.

So many questions:

• How much is enough for retirement?
• Self managed, retail or Industry fund, which super fund is right for me?
• How do I structure my superannuation assets?
• What are the trade-offs when I contribute?
• How do I make my contributions tax deductible?
• How do I use Superannuation to reduce my overall tax burden?
• How does my superannuation relate to my family and estate plan?

These are just some of the questions we find solutions to for clients every day. Superannuation is not simple, but together we can develop a strategy to ensure your superannuation is properly structured with a strategy to get you where you want to be in life.

Self-Managed Super Funds

Setting up a Self-Managed Superannuation Fund is a major financial decision. We understand that you’re busy and that the SMSF rules are complicated. We will provide you with an end to end solution giving you access to all the support and expertise you need to ensure your SMSF is well managed and compliant.

A SMSF can have many advantages but, equally, you need to consider the reasons why a SMSF may not suit your needs. We can help you decide if this is the right option for you.

Advantages of a SMSF:

Having control of your retirement savings can lead to a deeper understanding of how your overall wealth is tracking, and gives you more confidence in your investment and lifestyle decisions.

You can have access to a broader range of investments. You can invest in the usual options such as shares, term deposits, managed funds and property but you can also hold alternative assets such as artwork, jewellery, antiques, and wine. There are though, very strict rules on holding the latter assets in your self-managed super fund.

You retain control while still being able to take advice from your advisors.

Beneficial tax planning strategies.

Greater flexibility for accessing Centrelink benefits such as the age pension.

But a SMSF is not for everyone:

If you have set up a self-managed super fund (SMSF), you are in charge and you make the investment decisions for the fund. You must also be aware that you are responsible for complying with superannuation and tax laws, maintaining records, providing financial statements, completing tax returns and organising an annual independent audit.

You also need time and expertise to run your SMSF.

Compliance is very important.

There can be up to 4 Trustees and their thoughts and ideas have to be included.

The ATO offers advice on the responsibilities of having a SMSF.

LevelOne offers advice on all SMSF services, including:

• The setting up of a SMSF and all administration tasks such as preparation of your trust deed and the completion and lodgement of relevant ATO statements.
• Superannuation consolidation.
• Ensuring your SMSF is compliant with current superannuation laws and regulations
• Advice on life and disability Insurance options.
• If there is more than one member in your SMSF, we can offer advice on what will happen in the event of ill health, death, relationship breakdown, or waning interest.
• Advice regarding Investment in Property
• Appointment of Trustees
• Audit of your SMSF

Property

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Wealth Accumulation

You are establishing and building a career, starting a family, and beginning to accumulate assets which will form the bedrock of your financial position. Types of Financial Planning advice you may require include:

• Establishing a budget to achieve your goals such as purchasing a home or paying for a wedding
• Ensuring you have a sufficient safety net in place should you be unable to work due to injury or illness
• Advice on how to provide for your family in the event you die?
• Advice on debt management and cash flow
• Advice on how to meet ongoing lifestyle items such as family holidays, car purchases, and private school education
• Putting in place the right superannuation plan and strategies to maximise entitlements including discussions around the appropriateness of self-managed superannuation funds
• Personalising a strategy that enables you to meet your wealth accumulation goals via superannuation, direct shares, direct property or a combination of the three
• Walking you through things that you need to consider when starting a business (eg. Business Strategy, Insurances, Employee Super)
• Discussing how you wish for your assets to be distributed via your Will and the requirements for a Power of Attorney

Services we provide to assist you with the above:

• Investments
• Budgeting
• Tax Minimisation
• Financial Planning

Strategic Planning

A strategic financial plan is the heart and soul of what we do for you. A strategic financial plan will show you what is and is not possible, answer complicated questions and create the path to achieving what is most important to you.

However, there are many options and regulations to work through and these can be difficult and complicated. Developing the right strategic plan for your needs begins with an open, honest and robust discussion about your current position and where you hope to get to. Only working together can we develop a good understanding of your financial goals.

In this service we look at a range of options and formulate a strategic financial plan unique to your needs, to determine how to achieve your goals in the time frame you have set and show you how using different strategies can add value.

The strategic plan we agree on becomes the foundation for our working relationship. It ensures that we are all doing everything possible to create wealth and manage tax.

What is Strategic Planning?

In the simplest terms, strategic planning is a systematic process used to set short, mid, and long-term goals and sets out the best way to achieve them. Strategic planning creates a roadmap that shows you which strategic objectives should be prioritised and which ones to put off for later.

Role of Financial Planning in Strategic Planning

‍Financial planning supports your strategic plan by allocating assets to generate required returns, forecasting future financial performance, managing risks, and ensuring your goals are financially achievable. It aligns financial priorities with long-term objectives.

To discuss your business acquisitions and sales ideas further please call us on 02 4227 6744 or get in touch.

Insurance

What is insurance?

Insurance is a form of protection – a way to protect yourself, your family and the things you own if something goes wrong. It enables you to replace or repair your assets, whether those assets are your belongings or your capacity to earn income.

Everybody’s circumstances are different, but insurance is important for everybody. Your need for insurance will change as you move through the different stages of your life.

There are many different types of insurance, and we can help you find the right level of protection for your needs.

What types of insurances are there?

There are many types of insurance. Car or home/contents insurance allows you to insure your belongings. Personal insurance policies enable you to insure yourself and your ongoing wellbeing.

Personal insurance provides protection against sickness, injury and death, and includes:

• Life insurance
• Total and Permanent Disability (TPD) insurance
• Trauma insurance
• Income protection.

While insurance doesn’t remove the risk of something going wrong, it provides you and your family with protection and financial security if something does happen.

The amount of insurance you need is affected by:

• How much you earn
• Your cost of living
• Your assets
• Your liabilities
• Your relationship status (whether you are married, in a de facto relationship or single)
• How many dependants you have.

We understand that it can be difficult determining the type and level of cover you might need, let alone choosing an insurer. We can assist by helping you determine your needs and recommend an insurer that is right for you.

Aged Care & Centrelink

Social Security assistance is provided by various Australian Government Departments including Centrelink and the Department of Veteran Affairs. At LevelOne, we understand that Centrelink plays an important role for individuals and families when it comes to planning.

Payments such as the Age Pension and Disability Support Pension provide long-term financial support whilst Newstart Allowance and Sickness Allowance provide assistance for a shorter period of time. Other payments such as Family Tax Benefit, Parts A & B assist with the cost of raising children.

As well as the payment of benefits you may be entitled to access certain fringe benefits. For example, if you are of Age Pension age and/or are receiving the Age Pension you may be entitled to concession cards such as Pensioner Concession Card, Commonwealth Seniors Health Card or the State Seniors Card which offer concessions, benefits and discounts. The Department of Veteran’s Affairs also provides similar benefits.

Our Centrelink advisory services provide you with strategies and advice to ensure you:

• Maximise Centrelink benefits, such as the Aged Pension
• Gain entitlement for the Commonwealth Seniors Health Card
• Gain entitlement for the Low Income Health Care Card
• Family entitlement planning, incorporating Family Tax Benefits, Paid Parental Leave, and/or the Baby Bonus