First Financial Blog

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It’s been a month since the Treasurer handed down the 2018 Federal Budget. The aged care sector and older Australians came out on top of the list of winners and losers. So we decided to take another, closer look at what the Budget delivered for the sector that is close to our hearts.

Relying on your superannuation alone to accumulate enough wealth for retirement is increasingly unrealistic, especially with the changes to super contribution rules. So it’s more important than ever to consider investments outside of super.

We all want a happy, stress-free retirement. Ensuring you have sufficient income is fundamental to delivering that goal. But working out whether or not you have enough to last you the rest of your life can often be confusing and stressful.

If you’re a retiree selling the family home and looking for a way to maximise the proceeds, then from 1 July 2018 there’s a new option to consider. You can choose to contribute up to $300,000 from the sale proceeds into super. In this blog we explain how the Government’s new ‘downsizing contributions into superannuation’ measure works and where the opportunities lie for retirees.

In this blog we give our top-level overview of the Federal Budget 2018-19. While a tax overhaul forms the main plank of the budget, older Australians are a big focus with a multibillion-dollar aged care and retirees package.

Congratulations to our newest Associate Adviser, Emily Still. At First Financial, when we see someone who’s a fast learner and an exceptional communicator, we like to give them a reason to stay. So we are thrilled to announce Emily’s promotion and welcome her into Nick Thomas’s team.

The ongoing findings of the Banking Commission have cast a cloud over the respectability of our industry. We accept that’s understandable in light of what is being exposed. We, too, want answers for those retirees and investors who have been misled and, in some cases, financially ruined. But there are still many firms, like us, who love what we do and are proud of how we operate.

A transition to retirement income stream helps ease you into retirement with more time to do the things you love while still earning an income. It’s critical that a TTR pension is part of your overall retirement strategy. Find out how TTR income streams work and whether this is the right choice for you.

Many people consider self-managed superannuation funds (SMSF) as the do-it-yourself option but don’t be fooled into thinking managing your own super is easy. SMSFs are complicated and they operate in a highly regulated environment. Read this blog to discover how to enjoy the benefits of an SMSF even when you’re not a legal and financial expert.

In mid-March Labor announced a controversial tax policy which would axe tax-credit refunds for retirees in a sweeping crackdown aimed at saving $59 billion over the next decade. In this blog we look at the proposed policy and its potential impact for retirees.