In our article, ‘Ageing and health status in retirement: The three chapters’, we discussed the different chapters that you will experience as you make your way through life.

For example: 1. the accumulation chapter,2. the transition to retirement chapter (where applicable), and3. the retirement. From a retiree’s perspective, the retirement chapter can be broken down even further. For example: 3a. the early (active) chapter, 3b. the middle (passive/sedentary) chapter, and 3c. the late (frail/support) chapter. The defining features of each chapter are evident. Particularly so, when you look at them in comparison to each other over several key areas. For example, in terms of finances, when your age starts to get the better of your health, you will most likely find that your healthcare expenditure increases. With this in mind, we take a closer look at the Commonwealth Seniors Health Card.

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Retirement should be a chapter in your life when you can finally kick back and enjoy the fruits of your labour. Leading up to this point, you worked hard to not only pay down debt, but also accumulate sufficient wealth to generate income to self-fund the retirement lifestyle that you envisioned for yourself.

However, for one reason or another (e.g. financial hardship, unforeseen circumstances, or even failure to plan), some find themselves entering, or ending up in, retirement ‘asset-rich, but income-poor’– with the majority of their wealth tied up in the family home (i.e. an asset that doesn’t typically generate income).

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The ATO recently identified approximately 18,000 SMSFs who hold 90% or more of their assets in a single asset or a single asset class. The ATO is concerned that these funds may not have met their investment strategy requirements and has reminded trustees that failure to do so can result in an administrative penalty of $4,200. So, what do these trustees and their auditor need to do to avoid penalties being applied?

The superannuation law requires all SMSF trustees to “formulate, regularly review and give effect to” an investment strategy for the fund.

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In our article, ‘Legislative update (Bills): To be, or not to be… (Part 1)’, we discussed the fact that a number of Bills lapsed due to the dissolution of parliament ahead of the 2019 federal election.

Furthermore, when parliament resumed post-election, if the desire remained to proceed with these Bills, then they would need to be introduced as new Bills and make their way through the parliamentary process.

With this in mind, the Treasury Laws Amendment (Putting Members’ Interests First) Bill 2019 was introduced on 4 July 2019 and received royal assent on 2 October 2019.

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As retirement moves closer into focus, you might start to give a thought towards the options available to you. Especially, in terms of utilising the accumulated wealth inside of super, to fund your retirement lifestyle.

It’s important to understand that there are several options available to you; for example, depending on your personal circumstances, you can choose to take your super benefits as: a lump sum, an income stream, or a combination of both. Briefly, those that choose to take their super benefits as a lump sum, can often do so for one or a combination of reasons.

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If you have an interest rate above 3.75% or haven’t reviewed whether your bank has passed on the interest rate cuts, then you should get in touch with us at Salt Financial Group.

Westpac and ANZ have passed on about three-fifths of Tuesday's historic 0.25 percentage point rate cut by the Reserve Bank of Australia. The two banks join Comonwealth Bank of Australia and National Australia Bank in defying Treasurer Josh Frydenberg's plea for the cut to be passed on in full, after taking more than 24 hours to decide how much of the cut to pass on to mortgage borrowers and how much to keeo for shareholders.

Westpac and ANZ announced changes to their standard variable home loan rates on Wednesday afternoon, more than 24 hours after the Reserve Bank cut the official cash rate to a historic low of 0.75 per cent.

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When deciding on a structure for your business, choose the one that best suits your business needs, keeping in mind that there are advantages and disadvantages for each structure.

It's important to investigate each option carefully, as choosing your business structure is an important decision.

Your business structure can determine:

• the licenses you require

• how much tax you pay

• whether you're considered an employee, or the owner of the business

• your potential personal liability

• how much control you have over the business

• ongoing costs and volume of paper work for your business.

You can change your business structure throughout the life of your business. As your business grows and expands, you may decide to change your business structure, or to restructure your business. We will help you understand your own particular circumstances and the specific advantages and disadvantageous to each business structure.

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In September, the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) Board decided to leave the cash rate unchanged at the historic low of 1.0%. A key excerpt from the statement by The RBA Governor, Philip Lowe, on the recent monetary policy decision is provided below. “It is reasonable to expect that an extended period of low interest rates will be required in Australia to make progress in reducing unemployment and achieve more assured progress towards the inflation target. The Board will continue to monitor developments, including in the labour market, and ease monetary policy further if needed to support sustainable growth in the economy and the achievement of the inflation target over time.” Interestingly, from a historical perspective, from 1990 to 2019, the cash rate has been as high as 17.5% and as low as 1.0%. However, the average over this timeframe has been roughly 5.1%.

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Saving for your first home? In a market where owning your home is increasingly out of reach for many, the First Home Super Saver (FHSS) scheme offers some practical hope. Here we look at how it works.

Where super was once locked away until retirement, you can now actively use its tax concessions to save up to $30,000 towards your first home, and then access your savings when you’re ready to buy. But this scheme is not for the faint-hearted, with lots of steps to climb before you get to your new front door.

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