Your New Year Resolutions

So today is July 1 and with that, we start a new financial year, complete with new year resolutions to be more mindful of our superannuation balances and how we can boost them. At least that’s my hope for everyone reading this newsletter.

This is particularly important for anyone in their fifties and as you will read, these can be crucial years for building your superannuation balances before you start to focus on when and how you will retire in your sixties.

It is also important not to be lulled into a false sense of security by the strong performance of the share market during the past twelve months, which has pushed super balances up by between 10 and 20 per cent.

There is also a lot of uncertainty in the world economy at the moment, and it is important to stay focused on trying to build and increases superannuation balances as much as possible even with these recent gains.

For those still in work and contributing to superannuation, there are some structural changes afoot that will seamlessly help you do that.

The super guarantee contribution is now set at 12 per cent effective from July 1, which some analysts estimate will add up to $125,000 to average super retirement balances for those on average wages over the next twenty years.

There have also been structural changes that should boost super savings for women in the workforce, a group of workers who have long been held back regarding their super by repeated breaks from the work force during their working careers.

Finally, a bit of housekeeping. If you are one of the many lucky Australians who bought into the Commonwealth Bank when it was first privatized and are still holding those shares, you have an urgent need to move these shares on to a trading platform as I explain.

Now the pandemic is well and truly behind us, we have moved back to Melbourne and into our new offices which are located at 408/89 High Street, Kew 3101. Our new telephone number is 03 7071 3800 and our postal address is PO Box 5158 Kew VIC 3101.

We will be announcing further exciting announcements over the next few months, but some things will stay the same. I will still be providing advice to clients and helping them best manage their superannuation savings and happy to chat via video, telephone or email.

Importantly, if you know of anyone who is unsure how to arrange their finances as they move into retirement, please encourage them to contact me. It could be a lifesaving, if not retirement saving, moment for them.

Patricia Howard

0427 429 817

Patricia@patriciahoward.com.au