The 2017/2018 Federal Budget contained a number of surprises with potential implications for retirees, pre-retirees, young couples and familes.

ClearView have produced the following flyers for your information:

Technical Summary
What's in it for retirees and pre-retirees?
How will the Budget affect young couples and families?

If you would like to discuss the changes and how you may be impacted, please contact us.

Please see attached for further information on our upcoming Superannuation Changes Information Night. 

In our first edition for 2017, we provide insights on:

Buying insurance - mistakes to avoid: Tips on how to avoid the traps that many of us can fall into when buying insurance.
The current market: Charting a steady course.
Financial stages of life: Some general guidelines on how our financial lives will progress through different stages of life.
Superannuation reforms become law: A recap on a range of superannuation reforms impacting super contributions, retirement income streams and transition to retirement pensions.
Time management tips: Quick tips to help you feel less stressed about not having enough hours in the day to get things done.
Life events can impact your super: Certain life events may mean you need to make some fundamental decisions regarding your superannuation.

Click here for our latest edition.

SP Financial Advice will be holding an Information Night on Wednesday, 3rd May at 6.30pm in our office Boardroom, Ground Floor, 884 Stanley Street East, East Brisbane

Stellios Pavlakis will provide key insights into the following topics:.

• Understand the upcoming superannuation changes, which take effect 1 July this year
• Find out how to structure superannuation in tax effective ways
• Discover how much Super is needed for retirement and how to retire sooner

Register your interest by calling Robyn on 3172 4748 or email at robyn@spfinancialadvice.com.au.

It is free to attend and light refreshments will be available.

We hope to see you there. 

(Feedsy Exclusive)

If you are planning to retire in 2017, you may be thinking about the tax you will have to pay on your retirement fund. There is nothing to worry about here; take a look at our guide below and understand how tax affects your retirement.

Lump Sum Payments at the End of Employment
If you are reaching the end of your working life, you and your employer will be focused on tying up loose ends and ensuring that all due payments are present and correct. These can include termination payments if your term of employment ends before your contract is complete, and unused holiday lump sums.
The Australian Tax Office will take these payments into account, however they will be taxed at a lower level than your standard income. You will receive a statement from your employer detailing whether this payment is Lump Sum A or Lump Sum B, and this must be recorded on your tax return.

Redundancy Payment
Redundancy payments below a certain amount are not taxable under Australian law. This amount is calculated based on the number of years you have spent in employment. Any redundancy payments received above this amount will have tax applied to them.

Early Retirement Tax
If you have been offered early retirement from your job, you may be worried about how this will increase the financial burden of your retirement years. In order to offset this burden, the ATO can assess your early retirement scheme and decide if you qualify for reduced rate tax.

Capital Gains Tax Issues
Of course, not everyone who is heading towards retirement is an employee. If you are a business owner, or own other professional assets that you will not require in retirement, you will probably want to sell them on.
The profit you make from this sale is likely to fall under the jurisdiction of capital gains tax. However, providing that the assets are business and not personal assets, you may qualify for an exemption, up to a limit of $500,000. Above this amount, tax will apply.

Tax on Superannuation Funds
In most cases, if you are drawing money from a superannuation fund on retirement, this will be tax free. However, this cannot always be relied upon. For example, if you are aged between 55 and 59, a component of your super fund withdrawal will be added to your total taxable income.
This will be taxable at the marginal tax rate, with an offset applied.
It is also important to check what type of super fund you have. If, like most supers, it is a taxed fund, you will not have to pay any tax on the benefits you withdraw from it. However, if tax has not yet been paid on the fund, this may be applied to the benefits withdrawn.
General advice warning: Any advice contained in these pages is of a general nature only and does not take into account the objectives, financial situation or needs of any particular person. Therefore, before making any decision, you should consider the appropriateness of the advice with regard to those matters and consult your accountant and or financial planner.