It’s often when we are approaching retirement do we turn our attention to our retirement savings and in particular superannuation. Obviously, the sooner we pay attention to our super the better but it’s never too late to start working on increasing our super. There are a number of ways you can do this:
- Explore super contributions – you may be able to make concessional contributions via salary sacrificing but be aware of contribution caps.
- Make non-concessional contributions to your super, limits do apply but you may be able to bring forward the limits of future years.
- Consider contributing to your spouse’s super, once again annual limits do apply.
- Looking at your investment strategy – often you may be tempted to switch to more conservative investment options when approaching retirement but be aware that these funds may need to last you for the next 20-30 years it may be a good idea to have some growth assets in the mix.
- Explore a transition to retirement strategy – you may be eligible to contribute to super via salary sacrificing and then draw down a pension without impacting your take-home pay.
- Sometimes paying down the home may not be the best option depending on the current economic environment.
- Downsizing the family home – if you’re sick of dealing with a large family home with underutilized space then perhaps downsizing and transferring some of the surplus funds back into super. There are special conditions so it is best to check with a financial adviser.
- Directing the proceeds of the sale of your business into your super – there may be some small business CGT concessions available to business owners who wish to contribute to super, however, these rules are ever changing and you should seek the help of a financial adviser to assist.
Speak to us today and we can help you put together your plan to help you achieve this and many of your other goals.
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