Grafton and Yamba based financial firm, RetireInvest, has just been announced as the RI Advice ‘Practice of the Year’ for its superior approach to running a financial advice business.
RetireInvest Clarence Valley and Mid North Coast was selected as the premier small business from the RI Advice large network of 125 financial advice firms across Australia.
Peter Ornsby, CEO, RI Advice said: “The Practice of the Year’ award recognises a business that has demonstrated consistent high performance, exceptional client service and a commitment to growing their business. RetireInvest Clarence Valley and Mid North Coast is a high-quality practice and the award acknowledges operations and advice process.”
RI Advice CEO Practice of the Year Award Clarence Valley from RI Advice Group on Vimeo.
“RetireInvest Clarence Valley’s performance shows what can be achieved with a clear business strategy and the ability to execute it. Importantly they are focused on achieving the best possible outcomes for their clients and business.”
Commenting on the awards, Simon Reid from RetireInvest Clarence Valley and Mid North Coast said “I am excited to have won this coveted award and thank our amazing clients who make our work so rewarding. Also, our dedicated team who have all contributed to the outstanding client satisfaction we have experienced over the past year.”
“This award is recognition of our passion for what we do and the way we do and the way we go about it. To be recognised by RI Advice as their winning practice nationally is a great honour for our regionally based business.”
RetireInvest has been providing financial advice to the local Grafton and Yamba community for more than 20 years. They specialise in providing holistic advice personalised to wealth accumulators, retirees, and business owners.
According to the ASFA Retirement Standard, to be able to live a comfortable life in retirement, doing things such as eating out at restaurants, enjoying leisure activities and traveling occasionally in Australia and overseas (once current restrictions ease), it’s estimated you’ll need a super lump sum of $545,000 if you’re single, or $640,000 between you if you’re in a couple.
As a result of the economic shutdown you may have been forced to cut back on your spending and live a little more frugally. Rather than returning immediately to your former lifestyle as your income recovers, try to maintain some of the measures you adopted to save, and that might include putting extra money into your super.
There are several ways you can make super contributions in addition to those your employer makes on your behalf.
These can take the form of either salary sacrifice contributions, which are voluntary contributions you ask your employer to pay out of your before-tax income, or tax-deductible personal contributions, which are contributions you make using after-tax dollars (such as when you transfer funds from your bank account into your super), then claim a tax deduction.
This refers to money you put into your super fund using after-tax dollars and do not claim a tax deduction on. Some people choose to make non-concessional contributions when they have reached their yearly concessional contribution cap.
If your spouse is in a better financial position than you, they may be able to help rebuild your super through spouse contributions, providing you earn less than $40,000 per year. Subject to eligibility rules, they will also benefit from a tax-offset on the after-tax contributions they make into your super account.
If you’re a low-to-middle-income earner and make an after-tax contribution to your super, which you don’t claim a tax deduction on, you might be eligible for a government co-contribution of up to $500 into your super.
The government also offers another type of super assistance known as the low-income super tax offset (LISTO). If you earn $37,000 or less a year, and receive concessional super contributions, the government may refund the tax you paid on those contributions back into your super account, up to a maximum of $500 per year. This will happen automatically at tax time if you qualify.
As at 30 June 2019, there was $20.8 billion in lost and unclaimed super across Australia according to the ATO4. If you think you might have some super floating around in the system from a previous employer, it is worth doing a super search to locate it.
And if you find any lost or unclaimed super, you might consider consolidating all your super into one account to make it easier to manage and keep track of and avoid paying multiple fees and charges. Before deciding which super fund to consolidate into, consider all the features and benefits of your super funds, whether any exit or withdrawal fees apply and any insurance cover you may have, when making your decision.
