Articles
LifePath goes to Cambridge UK
Last November Trent Allen and Brad Monk attended a course at the Cambridge Judge Business School in Cambridge. The course was also attended by other financial planners from Australia. This is part of the LifePath ethos of continuing to have their team members expand their knowledge and then pass on their learnings. One part…
Retirement Planning – Learning from experience
It is no secret that retirement is more successful for some than for others. One of the secrets to success is planning that begins decades earlier. Here we speak with a 67-year‑old who has begun his (semi) retirement with style and hear his real-life tips on how to make your retirement dreams happen. Ewan Brown…
Changes to the Social Security Asset Test
Important changes to the social security asset test effective 1 January 2017 have passed through parliament. The Government has called the changes ‘rebalancing the asset test’ as they aim to increase entitlement for those with lower levels of assets and reduce entitlement for those with higher levels of assets. For those who will see a…
Market Update – December 2015
What have been the major economic events of the past few months? 1. United States News out of the United States in October was dominated by negotiations over a new funding deal for the government and the debt ceiling and the Federal Reserve leaving interest rates on hold. The final deal included the suspension of…
Trent and Brad visit UK Aged Care facility
Welcome to London, 11 degrees, overcast and a breeze that could freeze water. It was exactly how you would expect London to be. Trent & I had the opportunity to complete a business course at Cambridge. It was a fly in fly out visit. Other than visit the main tourist destinations, we also visited a…
Legislative Threshold Update – 1 January 2016
Post 1 July 2014 rules Fees and charges for residents who: first enter a residential aged care facility on or after 1 July 2014, or first entered residential aged care before 1 July 2014 and subsequently cease to be provided with care for more than 28 days, or first entered residential aged care before 1…
Do you know how much is held in RADs/Bonds?
Did you know there is now almost $20 billion held in RADs/bonds by residential aged care providers? According to figures released by the Aged Care Financing Authority (ACFA) at the LASA Conference recently, there was an increase of $3.3billion from the totals held when the new rules started on 1 July 2014. The totals are…
Removal of rental income exemption for aged care fees
Residents who enter aged care from 1 January 2016 will have their rental income from renting out their former home included as assessable income when determining their means-tested care fee (MTF), even if they are paying some of their accommodation payment as a daily accommodation payment or contribution. Existing residents who leave care for 28…
Means tested fee – The assessment of rental income from January 2016
(Please be aware that this has not been introduced into parliament at the time of writing, but is expected to be passed by both parties.) A common strategy used in aged care is to rent the former home and ensure that some of the accommodation payment is paid as a daily accommodation payment (DAP). The…
Aged Care Workshop
We are holding our education workshops again. What started off as 3 in-house workshops have now expanded to 20 with many being held offsite at hospitals and aged care facilities. The workshops are focused on updating people on the new laws that have recently passed and the financial ramifications they may have on the residents….
Legislative Threshold Update – 20 September 2015
Post 1 July 2014 rules Fees and charges for residents who: first enter a residential aged care facility on or after 1 July 2014, or first entered residential aged care before 1 July 2014 and subsequently cease to be provided with care for more than 28 days, or first entered residential aged care before 1…
What I saw at a Chinese Aged Care facility
Last month I visited Beijing for a Financial Planning Conference focused on the future of China. This is a very important country when we look to research asset allocation for our client’s investments. The majority of our investment clients have some exposure to China or to companies that invest in China. While I was there…