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The lump sum that you pay for your room (known as the Refundable Accommodation Deposit or RAD) comes back to your estate when you pass away. If you have paid a lump sum for your room in a residential care facility, you give up access to this money whilst you are in care, but these funds remain part of your estate which can be left to your beneficiaries. The full amount is refundable (unless you have allowed any ongoing care fees to be deducted instead of paying these costs via your bank account).
When retirement is on the horizon, things often start to get a bit easier financially. Your mortgage might be paid off or almost paid off, and you have no more school fees to worry about. Plus, if you're earning a healthy income, it's the perfect opportunity to ramp up your savings for the future. But, as most of us are all too aware, women often end up with less in their super accounts compared to men, and on top of that, they tend to live longer. These factors can really mess up your retirement plans.
As we enter a new financial year, people may find that they have inadvertently exceeded their concessional super contribution limits. We discuss what to consider if you find yourself in this situation. Excess concessional contributions occur when an individual exceeds their contributions cap for the year. The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) assesses two key sources of information to determine if this limit has been surpassed: super contributions reported by your super fund and deduction for personal contributions stated in your tax return.
As a professional financial planner I spend my days talking with adults about their investments, spending habits and savings plans. As a dad, something that I try to do (and often don’t succeed) is to teach my kids about money. A recent example was that I actually had cash in my wallet (you remember those plasticky things that have a 5, 10, 20, 50 or 100 on them??) and used it to pay at a supermarket. As the change came out of the self-serve machine, Miss 6’s eyes opened wide and was like “what is that?” …………. Uh ohhhh, I’ve not done my job too well in that department!! She thought that all our money was “in your phone dad”!
As a business owner, it is crucial to consider the financial implications for your business beyond your lifetime. Understanding what happens to your business when you pass away is essential for effective financial planning before and during operation to ensure a smooth transition. There are several ways our clients run their businesses, and each structure has a different outcome for estate planning.
Australia has just rolled out some new rules for buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) services. Basically, BNPL providers now have to follow stricter guidelines and do background checks before handing out these loans. The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) will be keeping a close eye on companies like Afterpay and Zip Co, making sure they're playing by the consumer credit rules.
Following the March inflation data, Australian students who still have HELP/HECS debt, will be hit with a major increase come 1 June 2023. Whilst interest is not charged on HELP/HECS loans, the amount of the debt is adjusted on the 1st of June each year, in accordance with an annually determined inflation factor. It is based on the year-on-year CPI figure, measured quarterly up to the end of March. Therefore, the rate of indexation for 2023 will be 7.1%. This is the highest indexation rate seen in 32 years.

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I’ve spent years helping people plan for their futures strategizing, forecasting and fine tuning the numbers. But nothing recalibrates your sense of “the future” quite like becoming a dad.
From 20 September this year, deeming rates will increase for the first time since the Covid-era freeze. This change may affect people whose payments and benefits are determined by the income test. The announcement confirms that rates will gradually return to ‘pre-pandemic settings’ with staged increases to take effect in the future. Increases will be realigned from 1 July to the same time that payments are indexed (expected to be 20 March and 20 September).