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Liberal versus Labor: How they will tinker with your super

With the federal election less than a week away, many Australians are wondering how their nest egg will be impacted by the different policies.  With superannuation being a near $3 trillion-dollar pot of gold for the parties, we look at how the Liberals and Labor Party may tinker with your retirement plans. Adding extra to…

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How Labor can’t touch this multi-millionaire and their franking credits

There is one thing for sure in the lead up to this election – it seems everyone is getting fired up over refundable franking credits and they aren’t holding back on their criticism.  However, there is one thing I have learned over the last few months, and that is, that most still don’t understand how…

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Self-managed super funds: Benefits and risks of going solo

For the last few years, younger Australians have lead the charge when it comes to taking control over their superannuation with statistics from the Australian Taxation Office revealing that the median age of members of newly established self-managed super funds decreased to 48 years, compared to 59 years for all SMSF members. There are now…

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Australians delay retirement by three years

Australians are delaying retirement by an average three years as cuts to the age pension and low interest rates force people to rethink their savings plans. A survey by research firm Roy Morgan conducted last October found that the average age of individuals planning to retire over the next 12 months was 61, up from…

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Five money mistakes to avoid in 2017

By Olivia Maragna More than half of Australians are resolving to save money this year according to a Galaxy Research study, with nearly 40 per cent of households doing so because they are “struggling a bit financially”. The bad news is that the most will fall short of achieving their goals and will likely make…

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How much does a divorce cost?

By Olivia Maragna During the past 20 years, the age for Australians marrying for the first time has increased as couples call it quits later in life, with the median age of men divorcing around 45 and women at 43. Divorce has a significant impact on the lives of everyone involved with one in two…

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6 tips to avoid being short-changed on your superannuation

By Olivia Maragna Around one-third of human life is spent working and while this might sound daunting for some, not being paid the correct amount of superannuation during your working life is certainly going to create a hole in your retirement nest egg. If you need a reminder to take notice of your own nest…

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Changing of the Goal Posts for Self-Funded Retirees – How to make sense of the Changes to the Age Pension.

For many years, the Age Pension has been available to thousands of self-funded retirees who have sought advice around the generous rules and exemptions available and employed smart strategies to gain access to the Government Benefits, even with substantial superannuation balances. From 1st January 2017 however, the rules are being tightened! If you are currently…

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Forget the Smashed Avo on Toast – Are you just too lazy to save money?

Australians are self-confessed penny pinchers, with new research identifying three-quarters of Australians as tightwads who limit their spending and hunt for the best deals. But with all this self-confession, are we really saving as much as what we could? With more than half of Australians dumping their current service providers for a cheaper deal, research…

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$500,000 lifetime superannuation cap scrapped

The Government has today announced improvements to the superannuation changes announced in the 2016-17 Budget that make Australia’s superannuation system even fairer, more flexible and more sustainable. Following extensive consultation, the Government will amend the package to improve the measures that seek to restrict superannuation being used as an estate planning vehicle, while providing greater…

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How to minimise the Health Insurance Hike

How to minimise the Health Insurance Hike The dreaded 1 April increase is coming and this year, Australians can expect a hit to the hip pocket with an average increase to health insurance premiums by 5.59%, adding approximately $200 a year to the cost of the average family policy. For those who aren’t watching closely…

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Lost super statistics for Western Austalia

The Australian Taxation Office reveals that as of the end of 2014, over 14 million Australians had a super fund account. Approximately 45% of these people have more than one super account. WA’s highest average balance is in the postcode 6907 – being the University of Western Australian Area – near Curtin having an average…

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