News

How the unique structure of trauma insurance in Australia can be beneficial to cancer sufferers.

Trauma insurance is a type of insurance that covers you if you sustain an illness that is included in the policy. Trauma insurance protects those who become ill. Although policies differ from company to company, most trauma insurance protects from cancer, heart attack and stroke.

Cancer is covered in most trauma insurance policies, but not all types of cancer are always included, so we always recommend that you read your policy thoroughly so that you know what is covered and what isn’t.

Not only are some covered and some not, but many policies have different cover for different forms of cancer. Cancers that are classified as pre-malignant conditions such as many forms of skin cancer are often excluded from coverage. Your insurance consultant will be glad to help you fully understand your policy.

How Insurance Companies Define Cancer

In 2010, AMP published a Risk Bulletin in which it provided the public with information on how they define cancer. According to the bulletin, “AMP will pay if a person suffers from a malignant tumor.” For prostate cancer, they go on to describe a complicated process of deciding which tumors are covered.

Superannuation helps secure the future of many in Australia. Here are some of the benefits.

Superannuation is designed to help us prepare for retirement as part of a three-pronged approach. For many Australians, a well-conceived super fund can be the difference between comfortable retirement and a constant struggle in the years when it is the most painful. Here are some of the reasons why we like superannuation.

Tax-Effective Savings

Superannuation is designed to help Australians become self-sufficient when they retire. It is set up with a series of tax breaks to encourage contributions.

Salary Sacrifice

Those who utilise salary sacrifice can reap huge savings because earnings that go towards salary sacrifice are only taxed at a rate of 15%. For someone in a tax bracket of 45%, this represents huge savings.

Why do so many property investors use a home loan broker? Read further.

Recently, the Property Investment Professionals of Australia (PIPA) surveyed 800 property investors in conjunction with the magazine Smart Property Investment. More than 70% said that they use the services of a home loan broker. In sister magazine The Advisor, Ben Kingsley, who is the Chair of PIPA, shared a broker’s view of why so many property investors use mortgage brokers.

Engagement

Many officers in banks or other lending institutions don’t have the time to “go the extra mile” for customers due to heavy workloads and limited selection of credit products. Mortgage brokers, on the other hand, have plenty of time and specialise in finding a custom solution for each individual based on their financial situation, goals and ability to meet mortgage repayments.

Brokers Provide More Access

A home loan broker has access to a lot more credit products than any single lender, because they use multiple lenders. This gives us the flexibility to find a loan that is tailored to your situation. We also help you with your paperwork because we know that it may be the difference between obtaining the right loan and being turned down.

Insurance provider in Perth explains how a disability insurance scheme is benefitting many Australians who suffer from total permanent disabilities.

One of the main advantages to bundling is that you can work with one insurance agent and develop a plan that is both customised and comprehensive, without the inconvenience of managing multiple policies.

Bundling TPD and life insurance can be particularly beneficial if someone becomes totally and permanently disabled and then dies shortly thereafter. However, collecting TPD payments can often reduce the life insurance benefit. For example, if you have $500,000 worth of TPD cover and $1 million in life insurance, collecting the $500,000 for TPD will change your payout for life insurance to $500,000 with a standard policy.

TPD Buyback and Double TPD

Some policies allow the user to “buy back” whatever life cover was affected by collecting TPD money. Restrictions vary from policy to policy.

Other policies have a “double TPD” feature in which there is no life cover reduction when collecting TPD. In addition, some policies state that a buyer who collects TPD is no longer responsible for paying the premiums on their life insurance.

A sound SMSF investment strategy can go a long way towards providing peace of mind and a prosperous retirement.

Many Australians are taking advantage of the opportunity to set up their own SMSFs. However, this can be a double-edged sword. While a brilliantly-maximised SMSF can provide a prosperous lifestyle during retirement, mistakes in strategy can cost thousands of dollars. Due to the highly-regulated nature of SMSFs, it is our belief that one should always seek the help of professionals who are trained in the regulations and in maximising investments such as an SMSF.

To manage an SMSF, you must register as a Trustee. One of your mandatory duties as an SMSF trustee is to formulate and document an investment strategy. This is a financial plan that takes into consideration the current and future needs of every SMSF member, even if you are the only member.

Every SMSF is required to pass a test from the ATO called a “Sole Purpose Test,” which requires all investments “to have the sole purpose of providing retirement benefits or death benefits to the Beneficiaries of the SMSF.”

One of the most-cited benefits of an SMSF is having control of your investments. The SIS Act requires all trustees to formulate, execute and document all investment decisions and to monitor their performance on an ongoing basis. The SMSF investment strategy is an essential and mandatory part of this process.

The Investment Strategy Dictates Investment Results

Since all investments in the SMSF must be invested according to the investment strategy, the strategy must be sound in order to produce optimum results. All factors must be considered in an SMSF investment strategy. This includes assessing risk against possible return on investment.

It also includes the composition and diversity of the investments and maintaining a degree of liquidity within the fund. The SMSF must also have the ability to discharge any existing liabilities.

Putting It All Together

A sound SMSF investment strategy will contain diverse investments such as property, shares and cash. The SMSF must be able to pay expenses and should be protected by adequate insurance. It must also be able to pass an independent audit conducted on an annual basis.

To learn more, call our financial planners in Perth: (08) 6462 0888.

Why financial planning is worth the fees you may pay for their services and how you can benefit from a great financial planner.

Hiring a great financial planner can make the difference between a prosperous retirement and a small nest egg, but many people don’t know exactly what a financial planner does. Here are some services you can reasonably expect from most financial planners.

Assess Your Financial Situation and Ask about Your Goals

Your first appointment, more of a “getting to know you” than a strategy session, allows the planner to know what you want and what resources you have at your disposal. He or she will compare your income and assets against your expenses and debts to gain an accurate picture of your situation.

During the first session, you can tell the financial planner what your goals are and together you can figure out how much money you need to attain them.

Why best case scenarios concerning income fail to protect your interests.

What is your biggest asset? Your home? Your business? Your yacht? No matter how many assets you have amassed, your biggest asset is your ability to earn income. Without the ability to earn income, the other assets are not possible unless you already have more money than you can ever spend.

Therefore, it is important to protect your biggest asset with income protection. Income protection cover protects you in the event you are unable to work due to injury or illness. Usually, it pays around 75% of your income until you can get back to work. Income protection cover is tax deductible and you can spend it on whatever you choose to spend it on.

Determining the Cost of Income Protection Insurance

Numerous factors go into determining the price of income protection insurance. Whether or not you smoke, your age, your gender, your occupation, your health, your income and the amount of desired coverage are all factored in to the price. Most people choose a financial planner to advise them on how much cover they need.

Consolidating your superannuation funds can save money in fees that can be put back into the fund for your retirement.

If you have ever switched jobs, there is a good chance that you have superannuation funds sitting in two or more different accounts. This makes it more difficult to access your funds when you want to invest them and causes you to pay more money in administration fees.

Consolidating your super funds can provide easier access to funds and provide more money for your retirement. So, how do you start consolidating superannuation funds?

Check for a Lost Super Fund

The ATO has a service called “superseeker” which allows you to see if you have “lost” or forgotten about any supers. The Government has classified over 6 million super funds as “lost.” If one or more belongs to you, make sure to get your money back.

Total and Permanent Disability Insurance can keep you from depending on others if you are permanently disabled.

Nobody wants to think about what would happen if they were permanently disabled. A lot of people say, “it will never happen to me” and don’t think twice about it until they suffer a serious injury. Sadly, it could happen to you.

Ask yourself what would happen if you were suddenly unable to work. How would you live? Who would pay your bills? Do you have enough of a “nest egg” to take care of you if the unthinkable were to happen to you tomorrow?

With total and permanent disability insurance or TPD, you don’t have to worry about being broke and unable to work. So, what is TPD insurance?

What is Total and Permanent Disability Insurance?

TPD insurance is a policy that pays you if you suffer a permanent disability and are incapable to work; the disability can be caused by injury or illness. The policy is designed to compensate for lost income and to help you pay for extra medical and rehabilitation expenses that aren’t covered in your health insurance.

At Approved Financial Planners, we work with a lot of self-managed superannuation funds (SMSFs). The biggest advantage of a self-managed super fund is that you can invest your money the way you want to. However, if you don’t have the right professionals guiding you, this advantage can turn into a disadvantage.

There is a fair amount of work involved in setting up a SMSF, but you only have to do it once. Here are some of the steps involved. Remember that every situation is different and that you should always work directly with a professional when setting up an SMSF.

Obtain Consent from Directors and Trustees

Obtain written consent from trustees and directors of their appointments to their positions and full awareness of the responsibilities thereof.

SMSF Bank Account

Your SMSF will need a bank account to establish it as a trust. This will usually require a small deposit.