A lot of Australians choose to remain blinkered about the impact that the current crisis will continue to have in our local markets as well as globally. If you are sitting in your home in suburban Australia thinking that all these financial crisis events don’t relate to you, you might be in for a nasty surprise.
For most people, their primary concern is the cost of petrol, rising food prices, health care and housing affordability. Those concerns don’t magically disappear when you retire…in fact they tend to get magnified through the lense of “fixed income”.
Chances are that you have some form of superannuation and in most cases it is probably a managed super fund.
At the moment, almost all of the big managed super funds in Australia are announcing huge (20% to 30%) reductions (losses) of capital of value. Some funds have lost more than 30%. They might try to “spin” this as no big deal, and encourage you to take a “long-term” view of the market performance. They’ll show a graph of managed-funds values over 20 years or so, and say that you have to expect some “swings and roundabouts”. Of course the fund managers get paid whether the fund values go up or down …
Maybe this isn’t too alarming for some people. However, if you’re in your 60’s and looking to retire the next couple of years, how do you recover from a pretty big dent in your retirement fund?
You might be forgiven for wondering just what you’ve been paying-for with those managers’ fees all these years, and whether there might be a better solution?
Well, one alternative might be to have your own self managed super fund (SMSF). By taking responsibility for your own money you may gain greater understanding and control of your own destiny. This might or might not be an appropriate strategy for you, depending upon your personal circumstances. For some people, having somebody else managing their money is acceptable. Only you can make this decision – it’s your money and your future – who is the best person to invest it?
Death & taxes, illness & share-market corrections may be unavoidable … but they don’t have to ruin your family or your future. Make the effort to protect the people you really care about. Call ESTATE PLANNER to create an integrated estate plan. And do it NOW … before it is too late.
Rod Genders is a senior Australian lawyer specialising in accident compensation and estate planning in Adelaide. His boutique specialist law firm is one of the oldest and most respected in Australia – visit it at www.genders.com.au . Rod is also a prolific author and speaker. Some of his articles and books on Wills, Probate, Trusts, Estate Planning, Asset Protection and Retirement Planning may be found at www.genders.com.au/adelaide-lawyer-blog.
FREE REPORT “7 Things You Must Know About Probate and Estate Administration”
In this report you will Learn:
What is Probate- Duties of Executors
- Who Should Serve as Executor
- Executor’s Commissions
- Legal Fees and Expenses
- Sale of Real Estate and Other Property
- Challenges to the Will or Estate
