FAQ's

Some people choose to make their investment decisions themselves, or simply choose to take advice from their real estate agent, lawyers or even sometimes they are at a BBQ and they listen to what their friends believe to be the best investment decision.

Investing your hard earned money can be a very complicated decision to make; do I invest in shares, property, super or cash investments?

At Pinnacle Financial Planning we get to know our clients first, as everyone is different. We listen to what they want to achieve, their tolerance to investment risk and what their investment time horizon is, as all of these factors and many more constitute to ensuring we develop an investment plan that suits you, the investor.

To decide if you need a Financial Planner to assist with your financial planning, simply ask yourself the following questions:

• Will I have enough money in retirement?
• How much will I need in retirement?
• Am I maximising my retirement income?
• Is my existing Super Fund the right one for me?
• Should I set up a Self Managed Super Fund?
• Am I minimising my tax liability?
• Am I investing in products that will maximise my returns?
• Are my investments diversified effectively to ensure my risk is minimised?
• Can I pay off my mortgage any sooner?
• How should I be utilising my excess savings?
• Are my income and assets structured to maximise any government benefits?
• Will my dependants be provided for after I am gone?

If you cannot confidently answer any of these questions, you may need a Financial Planner who can guide you through these areas. Contact Pinnacle Financial Planning, to discuss these issues with you in greater detail.

Yes. Contributing to your Super investment can be a very tax effective strategy for saving for your future.

Super choice simply means that employees now have the ability to choose the Superannuation Fund into which their employer’s compulsory Superannuation Guarantee (SG) contributions are paid into.

Super choice is not available to everyone and you will need to confirm with your employer if it applies to you.

There are many different ways to contribute to your Superannuation Fund, which can also be very tax effective. These include: salary sacrifice, non-concessional contributions, spouse contributions, CGT rollover relief, rolling over redundancy and bonus employer payments and re-contribution strategies.

How much you should contribute would depend on what you can afford as well as what you wish to achieve. If your goal is to save for a comfortable and secure financial future when you retire, you may need to make additional contributions to your Super now. Restricted access to your Super and the fact that your money will generally grow quicker with compounding Super, it is the ideal investment to prepare for your retirement.

Please refer to the Retirement Planning Strategies section for more details on how to contribute to your Super Fund or make an appointment with one of our qualified Financial Planners.

Yes. There are caps on the amount of personal contributions you can make to your Super Fund, via both concessional and non-concessional contributions.

The concessional contributions cap for 2022-23 is $27,500 per individual per financial year.

From 1 July 2021, the non-concessional contributions cap is being increased to $110,000 as a result of indexation in line with average weekly ordinary time earnings (AWOTE). If you contribute more, you may have to pay extra tax

Rolling over your Superannuation Fund to an alternative Fund requires simply completing a form to transfer the funds. This form can be obtained either through your existing Super Fund or your new Super Fund.

It is important to ensure you are aware of any benefits you may lose, such as insurance, as well as any fees that may be charged. It is always a good idea to seek advice from your adviser who can assist you to compare the Super Funds with regard to any benefits gained or lost.
At Pinnacle Financial Planning, we have Super comparison software that enables us to compare over 300 different Super Funds. The Super comparison allows us to easily compare fees, investment choice, product features such as insurance and many other features.

You must reach your preservation age and/or meet a condition of release before you can access your Super.

Superannuation Preservation Age:

A risk profile helps to find an appropriate balance between higher risk investments and lower risk investments. To assist in the development of an investment strategy, your attitude to investment risk and your concerns in a number of areas needs to be taken into consideration.

All investments are intended to make a return and are also subject to investment risk. It is possible to make money and lose money. Generally, investments that are expected to pay high returns involve more risk. While these investments are likely to produce higher returns over time than more conservative investments, over short periods they can fall in value and lose money.

When deciding on a Super Fund, some important factors to consider include:

• choice of investments;
• potential investment performance;
• fees; and
• insurance.

A Pinnacle Financial Planner can assist you to find a Superannuation Fund that is right for you, based on your needs and objectives.

You will need to make a death nomination for your Super Fund to indicate who you wish to receive your Super and insurance (if applicable) in the unfortunate event of your death. Superannuation is treated separately from your Will. You can request for the trustee to pay the benefit either as an income stream, lump sum or combination of both. If you don’t make a binding death nomination the decision as to where your money goes will be left to the trustee of your Super Fund, and will usually be paid to your Estate.

The person(s) you nominate must be one or more of the following at the time when benefits are paid:

• Your current spouse or defacto;
• Your children (including step, adopted or ex-nuptial);
• Anyone financially dependent on you;
• Your legal personal representative, which means the executor or administrator of your Estate; or
• Someone with whom you have an interdependency relationship.

Note: Tax may be payable on the payout, depending on who you choose as your beneficiary. For more information please speak to a qualified Financial Advisor or your legal representative.

As you draw closer to retirement, you should seek advice from your Financial Planner who can help you to establish an investment strategy to assist you to meet your needs in retirement.

Your investment strategy needs to focus on how to generate the required level of income for an unknown period of time. Some components of your retirement investment strategy you should consider include income generation, capital growth, accessibility, flexibility and simplicity. This strategy should be reviewed on an annual basis to ensure it continues to meet your needs in retirement.

A Pinnacle Financial Planner can assist you to develop a strategy to maximise your Super and determine the amount of income you will require from your retirement capital. We can also provide you with information about the different retirement strategies available,

A lot of us live outside our means. The earlier you start a budget plan, the sooner you will achieve financial independence. A budget plan shows your income, expenses and savings at a glance and allows you to plan accordingly making informed decisions. By sticking to your budget, you will see your savings grow and ultimately meet your goals.