Highest priority
In the course of your life you may have many savings and investment objectives with a range of short to long term timeframes. Saving for a holiday or a used car in your younger days may take a year or two. A home deposit will take a little longer. Once you actually invest in a home, it may take 30 years or more to pay off. The biggest and perhaps most significant of all your investments, however, is your super. It will build throughout your entire working life and can potentially become your largest asset. Even after you have completed the contribution and accumulation phase, your retirement funds may still remain within the tax-protected super environment as you draw down on it during retirement.
The scope, span and size of your super, therefore, deserves to be considered more deeply than any other area of your financial life. It needs to be wisely invested, tax-effectively structured and properly maintained so that it meets your retirement lifestyle expectations.
Danger Point
Despite its very important position in most people’s financial future, there is a general tendency to leave superannuation on ‘autopilot’ and not take an active interest in its management and investment. This approach can put you at a serious disadvantage in terms of your ultimate retirement outcomes. To get the most out of your super and to ensure you have an adequate strategy for retirement, it is critical to become engaged with it and to get the right advice about how to maximise your position. The question should be : who do you trust to get that advice?
Beware
The danger in the current volatile superannuation environment is that there are a lot of voices in the public domain clamouring to put in their two cents on what is best for the future of superannuation. The unfortunate truth is that many of these are vested interests that have short-term or partisan aims in mind. Political parties of all stripes, trade unions, think tanks, lobbyists and special interest associations seem to all be pushing their own agendas and many of these opinions may not necessarily be in accord with your long term retirement interests.
The current push to make major changes to superannuation legislation is intensifying this public conversation and this may be adversely influencing the decisions of our legislators. As a result, some of the proposals they are promoting can have serious impacts on your retirement prospects. Take for instance the issue of retirement ages. The idea of increasing the retirement age up to 70 has been floated in recent times and although public outcry has stifled this move for now, it is inevitable that it will rear its head again. Not a pleasant thought if you are a farmer, tradesperson or work in industries which require manual labour
Another controversial move has been to make retrospective changes to super regulations with the intention of limiting taxation incentives. Such actions are often motivated by short-term political concerns with little regard for the long term impacts on your retirement. Those who have planned their post-work future on the basis of previously well-established rules are consequently finding that they may end up worse off. The result of this instability and ‘barrow pushing’ is a climate of fear, which may well undermine confidence in the superannuation system and deter people even further from being proactive about their retirement planning.
Advice Source
Your super is a major asset that warrants your active engagement so that it is managed and invested in a way that reflects your personal choices. The complexity of superannuation regulations and the taxation system, however, can make this quite a daunting prospect to deal with by yourself. Few of us have the time or inclination to become super experts ourselves and this is where the value of qualified, personalised advice can come into its own.
One of the key foundations of contemporary financial advice is that it must be based a close understanding of a person’s particular objectives, lifestyle circumstances and investment personality. Qualified financial advisers these days are trained in being able to help their clients to identify and crystallise these issues, so that a highly individualised strategy can be developed. The days of a ‘one size fits all’ approach to superannuation are long gone.
Another key advantage of obtaining professional advice on your super is that it is based on a long term relationship, not a quick fix. Circumstances change, objectives evolve and the investment environment fluctuates. A big part of an adviser’s role is to help you adapt your planning to cope with all of this. At the same time they have access to market and legislative research and analysis, which allows them to provide the kind of fact-based, objective guidance needed to capitalise on market and legislative movements.
The current state of flux around superannuation and the chorus of strident voices from vested interests make it more vital than ever to have sound, qualified advice in your corner to make sense of it all and to ensure that your financial well-being is championed above all.
Fee free to contact me to discuss your super by calling me on 1300 861 143.
Disclaimer
This information is current as at 18/01/2017 This article has been prepared by Heart1Stop, a social media brand owned by Heart Mortgage Services and Heart Financial Advisers. The information contained in this article is an overview or summary only and it should not be considered a comprehensive statement on any matter nor relied upon as such. The views expressed here are not those of Heart1stop, Heart Mortgage Services, Heart Financial Advisers, shareholders, directors or staff and associated contractors and business associates. This article has been prepared without taking into account any person’s objectives, financial situation or needs. Because of this, you should, before acting on any information contained in this article, consider its appropriateness, having regard to your objectives, financial situation or needs. Any taxation information contained in this article is a general statement and should only be used as a guide. It does not constitute taxation advice and is based on current laws and their interpretation. Each individual’s situation may differ, and you should seek independent professional taxation advice on any taxation matters. While the information contained in this article may contain or be based on information obtained from sources believed to be reliable, it may not have been independently verified. Where information contained in this publication contains material provided directly by third parties it is given in good faith and has been derived from sources believed to be accurate at its issue date. It is not the intention of Heart1Stop or Heart Mortgage Services and Heart Financial Advisers that this publication be used as the primary source of readers’ information but as an adjunct to their own resources and training. To the maximum extent permitted by law: no guarantee, representation or warranty is given that any information or advice in this publication is complete, accurate, up to date or fit for any purpose; and no party of Heart1Stop or associated entities as mentioned is in any way liable to you (including for negligence) in respect of any reliance upon such information. This article may also contain links to websites operated by third parties ("Third Parties") who are not related to Heart1Stop. These links are provided for convenience only and do not represent any endorsement or approval by us.
