What types of insurance are available?

There are four main types of insurance that can be used to provide financial protection for you and your family.

Income Protection insurance

Income Protection Insurance can provide a monthly payment of up to 75% of your income if you are temporarily unable to work due to illness or injury.
This money can be used to meet your ongoing living expenses and financial commitments while you recover

Critical Illness insurance

can pay a lump sum if you suffer or contract a critical condition specified in the policy (eg cancer, a heart attack or a stroke).
This money could be used to:

• cover medical and other expenses such as rehabilitation, childcare and housekeeping , and
• clear some or all of your debts

Note: While many people aren’t aware of this type of insurance, its importance cannot be over emphasised.
This is because Australian males and females between age 25 and 40 are, for example, three and five times more likely to become critically ill than die¹.

Total and Permanent Disability (TPD) Insurance

TPD insurance can provide a lump sum payment² if you suffer a total and permanent disability and are unable to work again.
This money could be used to:

• clear your debts, and
• cover medical and rehabilitation expenses.

Life insurance

Life insurance can provide a lump sum payment² in the event of your death. This money could be used to:

• clear your debts
• enable your family to meet their ongoing living expenses and maintain their lifestyle
• cover other expenses such as childcare and housekeeping and
• treat your beneficiaries equitably.

Note: These insurances are all subject to terms, conditions and exclusions. You should refer to the
relevant policy document for the full terms and conditions of the insurance cover provided by the product.

How much cover is enough?

To find out whether you have enough insurance, we recommend you seek our financial advice. We can assess your needs and tailor a protection plan for you and your spouse.

Wealth Accumulation

In developing the strategy to accumulate wealth, we take into account the short and long term goals that you might have.
To develop this strategy we use modelling, we look at your cash flow on a year by year basis to ensure that you are able to meet all your expenses for each year.
Your plan models that all your surplus income (income that is left after paying your tax, lifestyle expenses and goals) is directed to achieve your goals and aspirations, whether they are to reduce the debt secured against the family home or to achieve your other financial and non financial goals or simply provide for your retirement.

Your personal circumstances and other factors, such as legislation, taxation and market movements are continually changing, so it is important that this plan is reviewed regularly, to ensure the recommendations continue to meet your investment objectives.
The projections are the plan and roadmap of what you would like to achieve and how we can help get you there.
What happens over the ensuing years is the reality.  Our job is to keep you on track.

An important objective of our review process is to compare your actual position to the projected position.
We will identify any departures from the plan, establish why this has occurred and either make adjustments to your plan or investment program or provide coaching to help get you back on track. 
We will ensure that your plan continues to meet your needs.  This will be done by:

• Availability of Advice - If you have any queries please call us any time during office hours (there’s no such thing as a stupid question!).  We would prefer you to ring us to enquire about your ability to make large purchases before you make them rather than deal with the consequences of it afterwards.  Treat us like a trusted friend, we are here to help.
• Ongoing Cash Flow Monitoring - The projections contained in your report are reliant on you living within your budget.  To ensure you are staying on track, we provide a monthly cash flow monitoring service.
• Reviews - As part of our ongoing service to we will closely review your situation via a regular review. Your reviews will involve:
  
  
  1. Reassessment of your goals and objectives, including any changes to your lifestyle and personal circumstances.
  2. Review of your investment portfolio to ensure it remains appropriate to your situation.
  3. Ensure your family’s financial security and income are sufficiently protected through insurance.
  4. Review your current expenditure to ensure you are living within the parameters needed to achieve your goals.
  5. If necessary, remodelling your projections to take recent changes into consideration.
  6. Recommend any required changes and assist you to implement them.

Superannuation

Superannuation (otherwise known as super) is a way of saving money to provide benefits for:

• when you retire
• if you become an invalid, or
• your beneficiaries upon your death.

Most people begin saving super when they start work and their employer starts paying super for them.
To make the most of your super it helps to understand:

• employer contributions, and
• growing your super.

*Your personal circumstances and super fund returns are unique, so we recommend you seek our professional advice before making decisions about your super.

Employer contributions

Your employer must pay super for you if you are eligible. To be eligible you must be:

• aged 18 years or over but under 70 years of age, and
• paid at least $450 (before tax) in a calendar month.

If you are under 18, you are eligible if you meet the additional requirement of working more than 30 hours a week.
If you are eligible for super, your employer must pay a minimum of 10% of your earnings for your ordinary hours of work into your super account each quarter. These payments are also called super guarantee payments.

Super funds and retirement savings accounts

Your employer contributions must be paid into a:

• complying super fund, or
• retirement saving account.

Super funds are managed by trustees. Each fund has its own rules but must also follow government rules, designed to ensure your super is properly managed. Funds that comply with these rules are called complying super funds.
Retirement savings accounts are not super funds but operate under similar rules. Just like complying super funds, they accept super contributions and provide benefits when you retire, become an invalid or paid upon your death. Approved financial institutions offer these.

Choosing your fund

Generally, you can choose the super fund you want your super contributions paid into as long as it is a complying super fund.
A complying super fund is a fund that meets certain government rules. We recommend you confirm with the fund’s trustee that your fund complies.