What’s the best use of your Super?

What’s the best use of your Super?

Yes that is a question that depends on your age & often on the size of your debts?

Certainly at our age most but certainly not all have insufficient super. Remember if you can earn 5% & you want a comfortable lifestyle then $1,000,000 will provide an income of 5%.

Who has that?

If that capital amount is within super then currently it will be taxx free. But for how long as it is suggested that Centrelink or the government will factor the income under deeming rules from January 2015.

I.e. the income & asset tests for your portfolio will count as they would if they are outside super if you qualify for government pension.

1.  This is one reason why we suggested to ‘David’ on Saturday to maximise his super. David has a Qsuper balance that over the years has performed @ 4.6%p.a.  compound. He is being charged a higher interest rate on his mortgage. At 55 he doesn’t have enough time or spare income to pay down his Debt before he may have to retire.

Remember the biggest fee on your super is in fact the government 15% taxx on the earnings of your super fund.

 Doesn’t it make sense to you that if you could minimise that Government fee to zero that you would.

David as we all do who live in Australia also has the challenge of replacing his car. Yes a depreciating ‘asset’ that will be ½ as much in 3 years time. 

How does he fund that?

David does Not have any spare cash to purchase a car.

Does he refinance the house or does he use an expensive personal loan?

Yes maybe another reason to tap your super if you qualify.

Of course as we all know there are plenty of restrictions on doing so.

2.  We had Henry & Ann here recently who due to past unemployment & a daughter with family have scary debts.  At the age of 62 then they may have to work for ever. 

How many are like them?

The finances may get to them as the debt mountain is scary & very similar to others in our neighbourhood. No light at the end of the tunnel.

Hence our suggestion for Taxx Free income will certainly help. It has to be better that the compound p.a.  that their super has achieved.

3.  James who has followed up on a roof inspection for us said today  ‘ his company doesn’t do band aid solutions’.

As we do & as we should  we asked James ‘how many children does he have? He has three aged 4, 6, & 11.

How much life Insurance do you have?

Don’t Know.

We suggest 1.5 million if you have a mortgage.

How does James fund that need?

If James’s financial situation is like most then he won’t be able to afford a $. 

Yes there are 2 simple solutions.

James suggested that  ‘he has a personal super & he might consider a SMSF’.

We commented that ‘we don’t as we don’t want to be a trustee at our age or 70+. Our platforms have all the 300 shares & fund options we need. Also the accountant only wants another set of fees’.

We liked James’s answer &  ‘we don’t do Band aid solutions either’.

4.  Brian who is a construction foreman has just asked us for a quote on insurance. Just like James we need to do more than a band aid.  Builders need architects & quotes need some parameters so they make sense. Brian can go direct & pay 40% more if he wishes. Good luck at claim time.

5.  Thanx Geoff for your referral just now to help your clients who needed more than a bank option. We suspect we have another option for them.  Their ages suggest so & we have helped Paul recently who had the same bank experience.

We intended since the 1^st cricket test to ask & comment on ‘Should Stuart have walked’  as it was one of the talking points of the 1^st test.

Stuart didn’t as either he has ‘broad’ shoulders or he is a team man or he is constricted & restricted to the rules & regulations & law.

The  law for us now for us has a ‘best interest’  section. 

We didn’t & don’t need that law as it has always been our philosophy to do for you what we would do for ourselves if we were in your position.

Law in our opinion is the escape clause that allows personal integrity a fall back. This didn’t work @ Nuremberg. 

We would have walked as we all have to live with our decisions. Our name is important to us.

We understand The Don didn’t  & understand he did Not have too many friends  in Adelaide. Maybe his average would only have been average.

You are welcome to call us on 07 3848 1088 or email us or visit our websites. 

Today is the time to remove the band aid & financially progress.  Let compound interest & good advice help you & not restrict you.

John McAuliffe

Andy & Ivan & Robbie & Warren & Darren

Yes, some names from the weekends sport’s results.

Andy wins Wimbledon at which he had been runner up previously. To use rugby’s weekend’s phrase as it is the ‘pinnacle of our sport’ then Andy & his mum had two years ago searched for a coach.

They ‘encouraged’ Ivan Lendl out of hibernation to coach & help them. If you recall Ivan won everything some 20 years ago but not Wimbledon. Hence they both had  a common goal which they achieved last night.  Andy would have been unlikely to achieve it certainly by himself & maybe with any other coach. Well done Andy.

‘Lions ,lions, Lions’ were all in Sydney on Saturday & yes they roared & at the end ‘grinned’.  Let’s just say the Wallabies ‘dropped the ball’ & they never recovered’.  Although we could all go through an analysis the easy answer is ‘Robbie it is now time to pack the bags’. Robbie the coach did take the Wallabies to 2^nd on the ladder but 2^nd isn’t good enough & as he himself says ‘it is an industry’.

Of course on the other hand Warren the coach of the Lions is now a hero. He did make some tuff calls in the last selection & ‘Warrenball’ delivered.

So it is all up to Darren to work with his captain Michael to win the Ashes. We read ‘THE uncertainty swirling around Australia's XI two days from the first Test is matched by the mixed messages about who is setting the batting order.’ Cricket was always political & still appears to be so.

Darren , Australia needs you. However your nickname isn’t encouraging.

We observe that to reach the ‘pinnacle of our sport’ the constant in all this change is a coach.

 A 3^rd party who is not obscured by ‘the fog of war’. Who is far enough away & experienced & qualified  to offer in most cases the big picture when all are to close to see clearly.

 To use another word we shared with Adrian ‘inertia’ needs to be overcome.

Let’s also note that the coach also has a staff to help him help his team or player.

 On Saturday before all this we saw two who had put their hands up for some financial tune up.

1.       ‘Jill’ who was introduced to us by a very happy client wanted to know where to go next so as she could have more capital for retirement & yet still be able to obtain government benefits. Her House is  debt free & her four children are off her hands. She is placing the maximum into super.

What does she need to do? We await the results of her ‘financial X-ray’ before we can provide any advice. Do we add to her super when government legislation is always a risk?

2.       We had called ‘Ann & Henry’ who last year wanted ‘a cheaper insurance.’ As we only provided what they wanted  we had not been provided with the full picture of their challenges. Hence when we asked on Friday if they ‘would like taxx free income ‘then yes. They were here on Saturday @ 2pm.  We found out why later in the conversation. Ann had told us a year ago that buying ‘an investment property’ was ‘the worst decision’ she had made. The negative cashflow was killing them with horrendous debts 40K on credit cards. No wonder Henry  recently took his first days off with illness. The taxx free income we will access for them will be a start to some progress.

 Again we now need all details before we detail our advice.

 We had a call from an operator in mining in WA. He is earning money & does he buy ‘an investment property’ ? We will quote Ann & suggested to him 2 of our parameters for doing so. There are other options to build wealth & reduce government waste.

 

There are a few hundred on our mailing lists who like Ann & Henry have wanted cheaper insurance as that is all they think or will admit to needing.

 Cheaper insurance suggests to us that like Ann & Henry their cashflow is tight or negative. Hence there is a need to overcome your inertia & make the effort to call or reply.

 We made the effort to call Ann & Henry because at his age we saw a possibility. Henry had actually heard from work colleagues but how do you do it? The canvasser for roofing who knocked today here just now  may well have helped his employer.

 As you expect us to advise you to do what we would do if we were in your financial position then why not overcome your inertia & call us on 3848 1088 or email us or visit our websites.

 Lets also congratulate Marion on her Wimbledon win. Dad was her first coach.

  

John McAuliffe

Yes, that was the question during the school drop off run

Yes, that was the question during the school drop off run.

We all know what it means. If you have an accident at work or on the roads or maybe the shopping mall then you need to blame someone.

What was that phone number & yes it’s on the TV so let’s call them.

“crows on a wire’ was a term Andrew used on Sky Business today.

No doubt they do a ‘fact find’ to ascertain whether they are a chance of winning a lump sum probably from an insurance company.

Our answer as we do ½ hour maths every night included ‘what is 30% of say 50,000 = ?’

The challenge is how to you meet your commitments before the payout?

As clients have told us they had to wait eight years.

Where to you get those funds in the meantime & the stress & no doubt the medical bills that go with it.

Let’s remember these claims are for accidents only.

What happens if you have a stroke?

What happens to your future credit rating if you are unable due to disability meet your Commitments?

We heard at our latest Professional development day that it is the stroke or the cancer or the trauma or the critical illness that the insurance companies make the least on.

i.e. they pay out most in trauma claims &  hence you might consider such cover first.

What is the solution?

It is to have your plan for the downside.

Remember as our Young travel agent said ‘if you can’t afford the insurance you can’t afford the trip’.

A premium is always less than the alternatives which could be the loss of your current lifestyle or your assets & certainly your ‘peace of mind’

 

Where do you go?

Yes you can shop online & go directly to the insurance company & not even get off the couch.

Then what happens?

Here is what a company that does both direct & also uses advisers had to say at our PD day.

·         Rates for Direct i.e. directly to a company, life insurance can be up to 200% more & on average 40% more.

·         Direct is designed to accept the easy ‘clean skin’ applications & decline most others.

·         Suicide & other pre-existing conditions have exclusions for up to 5 years.

·         Dangerous pastimes & occupations are excluded for the life of the policy.

·         It is at claim time that the 40 questions which weren’t asked on application are now asked.

·         Claim payments are less than 50%.

·         45% of income & trauma covers are underwritten at claim time.

·         Higher nondisclosure by applicants. What does that mean?

·         Limited cover & reduces with age. When are you more likely if not probably going to need the cover?

Good luck.

But with a non aligned  adviser you get

o   Help during the claims process

o   The adviser knows what cover you have

o   The adviser know the client & hence goes the extra mile

o   The adviser is on your case if you change bank accounts, change address or miss a premium.

o   He wants that cover in force when you need it.

o   We provide the help you want when you want it

o   When do you want to answer the 40 questions? Now or at claim time?

o   We provide a tailor plan within your agreed budget for your needs.

o   We probably do it for less.

 

Let us think about that.

We do have also some ideas on estate planning that a contemporary wrote due to his own personal tragedy.

You can Call on 3848 1088 or Email is for those ideas as it could help those who you care for & who care for you. Discover our website.

We will have other ideas for you when we lunch here.

Remember it takes 20,000 hours to master your trade.

As we said to Mary today ‘we do for you what we would do for ourselves if we were in your financial & personal position.’

Isn’t that what you would want us to do for you?

John McAuliffe

How much would a savings of 10% for life on your health insurance be worth to you?

We have asked our clients over their recent strategic updates how much do they pay for health insurance?

For a family generally it is more than 300p.m. which is 3,600+p.a.

As that isn’t going to decrease in our lifetime then you will pay a serious amount for your health insurance.

We reminded Mary this week that

‘ we do for everyone what we would do for them if we were in the same financial position that they are. That means that in three years time they should be better off than they would be otherwise’.

Some time ago we reviewed our own health insurance for the family.

As our life expectancy is 29 years then we could expect a savings of 10% of 3,600+ X 29 = 10,440+

That was our reasoning & it’s those little tune ups that need to be done when other costs keep increasing.

Yes we could have sorted through the long list of health insurers but every policy is different.

So we switched companies solely on a similar cover with a say 10,000 lifetime savings.

The company is big & with 172 years of history & ‘We are a diversified group of businesses offering healthcare, financial services and retirement solutions to more than 620,000 customers, including 320,000 members nationwide. We employ around 1,700 staff in various locations across Victoria, New South Wales, South Australia and Queensland’.

That is good enough for us.

Our offer to you is simple.

If you want to make this sort of 10,000+ lifetime savings then call us on 07 3848 1088 or email us today.

We suggest you have your current cover handy so as you can compare the two.

We need to send to you  a health referral brochure & collect a few basic details to pass onto the insurer.

We will do this on the receipt of a once only referral fee of our hourly rate.

We believe that is a good deal for you as this is what we have done for ourselves & yes it is only for this company.

Here to help you with this idea or the many others that we might have for you.

 

John McAuliffe

What does ‘no win no fee’ mean?

Yes, that was the question during the school drop off run.

We all know what it means. If you have an accident at work or on the roads or maybe the shopping mall then you need to blame someone.

What was that phone number & yes it’s on the TV so let’s call them.

“crows on a wire’ was a term Andrew used on Sky Business today.

No doubt they do a ‘fact find’ to ascertain whether they are a chance of winning a lump sum probably from an insurance company.

Our answer as we do ½ hour maths every night included ‘what is 30% of say 50,000 = ?’

The challenge is how to you meet your commitments before the payout?

As clients have told us they had to wait eight years.

Where to you get those funds in the meantime & the stress & no doubt the medical bills that go with it.

Let’s remember these claims are for accidents only.

What happens if you have a stroke?

What happens to your future credit rating if you are unable due to disability meet your Commitments?

We heard at our latest Professional development day that it is the stroke or the cancer or the trauma or the critical illness that the insurance companies make the least on.

i.e. they pay out most in trauma claims &  hence you might consider such cover first.

What is the solution?

It is to have your plan for the downside.

Remember as our Young travel agent said ‘if you can’t afford the insurance you can’t afford the trip’.

A premium is always less than the alternatives which could be the loss of your current lifestyle or your assets & certainly your ‘peace of mind’

 Where do you go?

Yes you can shop online & go directly to the insurance company & not even get off the couch.

Then what happens?

Here is what a company that does both direct & also uses advisers had to say at our PD day.

·         Rates for Direct i.e. directly to a company, life insurance can be up to 200% more & on average 40% more.

·         Direct is designed to accept the easy ‘clean skin’ applications & decline most others.

·         Suicide & other pre-existing conditions have exclusions for up to 5 years.

·         Dangerous pastimes & occupations are excluded for the life of the policy.

·         It is at claim time that the 40 questions which weren’t asked on application are now asked.

·         Claim payments are less than 50%.

·         45% of income & trauma covers are underwritten at claim time.

·         Higher nondisclosure by applicants. What does that mean?

·         Limited cover & reduces with age. When are you more likely if not probably going to need the cover?

Good luck.

But with a non aligned  adviser you get

o   Help during the claims process

o   The adviser knows what cover you have

o   The adviser know the client & hence goes the extra mile

o   The adviser is on your case if you change bank accounts, change address or miss a premium.

o   He wants that cover in force when you need it.

o   We provide the help you want when you want it

o   When do you want to answer the 40 questions? Now or at claim time?

o   We provide a tailor plan within your agreed budget for your needs.

o   We probably do it for less.

 

Let us think about that.

We do have also some ideas on estate planning that a contemporary wrote due to his own personal tragedy.

You can Call on 3848 1088 or Email is for those ideas as it could help those who you care for & who care for you. Discover our website.

We will have other ideas for you when we lunch here.

Remember it takes 20,000 hours to master your trade.

As we said to Mary today ‘we do for you what we would do for ourselves if we were in your financial & personal position.’

Isn’t that what you would want us to do for you?

John McAuliffe