Questions & Answers

If you are 65 or over and wish to continue contributing to super you will need to satisfy the “work test”. This means that you work for at least 40 hours in a 30 day continuous period sometime during the financial year.

Beware of high historic dividend yields as in many cases they provide little or no indication of future dividend levels. For example, the yield may be high because the share price has collapsed or because the company paid a special or one off dividend.

For pensions paid from “funded” super funds the pension is tax exempt for those 60 years and over.

You should seek advice sooner rather than later. That would give you time to decide on a strategy and become comfortable with that strategy. There will be enough other things happening in your life at retirement without having to grapple with major financial decisions.

The type of fund you choose will depend on a number of issues and you should obtain advice. Self managed funds do offer a high degree of transparency and you can get more involved in the investment process.

There are a range of options available including cashing in, converting to mature, making the policy paid up, or continuing to pay premiums. If the annual premium is only small it may be an option to retain the policy and use it as a prepaid funeral plan. A good adviser can explain the options to you and help you decide.

It is definitely worth considering. Often small super balances are “lost” when people change employers or move home. An adviser can help you track down small super balances and consolidate to one super fund.

Our suggestion is that you talk to a Certified Financial Planner who can explain clearly to you what services they can provide and what the costs will be. All fees and commissions must be disclosed to you so you know how much you are being charged and how much remuneration they are receiving.

Most of the major mainstream mortgage funds are in reasonable shape and are not suffering unusually high levels of arrears or delinquencies in their loan portfolios. The hope is that they will gradually ease restrictions as confidence returns to the credit markets.

Selling your home and using the proceeds is a common strategy to fund the costs of Aged Care. However, depending on the level of care you require, you may not need to sell your home. By negotiating with the Aged Care facility, you may find that they are prepared to accept alternative arrangements. In any case, it is a complex area and you should seek specialist advice.

As long as the number of shares that you hold has not changed, you do not need to let Centrelink know of the fall in value of your portfolio. Centrelink regularly update the share prices in their database to reflect more current prices. You can either wait for their next update, or request them to revalue your portfolio at any time.

The application forms for Age Pension are be quite lengthy, so we would suggest obtaining these forms from Centrelink approximately 3 months before turning Age Pension age. This will then give you plenty of time to work through the forms and seek advice if required. While the forms can be lodged anytime in the 3 months before turning Age Pension age, we would suggest lodging the forms approximately 2 to 4 weeks prior to this date.