Wealth Protection
Insuring against loss of income
Protecting income from unexpected illness and injury is particularly important to anyone with a mortgage to service, small business owners and self-employed people with no sick leave available. With income protection insurance, you can be paid some 70 per cent of your income for a specified period to help when you cannot work.i The most…
Insurance is a sound investment
Managing risk is an essential part of investment strategy to reduce the potential for losses. Risk is not just associated with investing though – life can throw a curve ball or two and insurance is one way to manage risk in a broader context. It’s a matter of weighing up your risks and thinking about…
Who needs a testamentary trust?
The rising cost of living is grabbing all the attention right now as people struggle to pay the increasing prices. But in the meantime, our collective wealth has been growing steadily and is being transferred to the next generation at increasing rates. In fact, the value of inheritances as well as gifts to family and…
Setting up a support team
How to choose the right people to help protect your financial assets To reduce your vulnerability to elderly financial abuse, it’s important to have a strong support team around you that you can rely on and trust. These are the people who will help you make decisions about your money, so you need to make…
Time to review your income protection cover
If you’ve owned an individual income protection or salary continuance policy in recent years, you may have seen your premiums increase as insurers struggled to cover their large losses on these products.i Given the ongoing competition and generous features in some products, the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) has decided it’s time for some new…
Mind the insurance gap
At a time when many people have been focused on their family’s health and livelihood, having adequate life insurance has never been more important. Yet the gap between what we need and what we have, has been growing. Life insurance is all about ensuring your family can maintain their lifestyle if you were to die…
How COVID-19 changes tax time
As this financial year draws to a close, it will be viewed as a year like no other. COVID-19 (coronavirus) has impacted everybody’s life, albeit in different ways for different people. For some, staying at home has meant greater savings. For others, the virus has meant lower wages or even the prospect of unemployment for…
Steering through choppy seas
Like it or not, we live in interesting times. More than a decade after the Global Financial Crisis, the global economy is facing fresh headwinds creating uncertainty for policy makers and investors alike. This time around it’s not a debt crisis (although debt levels are extremely high) but geopolitical instability. The ongoing US-China trade war…
Where is the best place to stash your cash?
If, like many Australians, you’re looking for ways to put some cash away for a rainy day, a holiday or to earn extra income, the job has just become a bit harder. It’s also become more urgent if you are expecting a handy tax return. In early July, the Reserve Bank cut rates to 1 per…
Why do share markets move so much?
When global financial markets become volatile, it’s natural for investors to get anxious about the potential impact on their investments. But before you start selling up your shares, it’s important to understand what causes these market movements and why they’re not always a reason to worry. Here are three things to keep in mind. 1….
Make the most of your Retirement Income
Adjusting to a reduced income in retirement can be challenging. But luckily, there are a wide range of support options available, plus all sorts of discounts and benefits, to give Australian retirees a financial helping hand. Entering retirement means freedom from the pressures of work, but it can also mean getting used to a tighter income. So make sure…