WELCOME TO THE JANUARY 2010
ISSUE OF iNEWS!

This Month

What will 2010 do for you?

Happy New Year! May 2010 be a successful and prosperous one for you.

Time is a gift that we all have. We all get an equal allocation – no more, no less. However, do you still look back at the end of the year and think of all of the things you were going to do, but just didn’t seem to have the time? All of those New Year’s resolutions you made a year ago that are still sitting on the ‘To Do’ list?

According to Elbert Hubbard, a writer and philosopher from yesteryear, “many people fail in life, not for lack of ability or brains or even courage but simply because they have never organised their energies around a goal.”

It’s easy enough to say to yourself “This year I’m going to lose weight” or “I’m going to save enough money for that overseas trip”, but you will rarely achieve these things if you don’t set your goals properly. Here are some tips on making goals so that you will stick to them.

Goal setting allows you to stay focused on your vision and achieve results to give you great self confidence and control over where you go in life. It is also a great way to help manage your time, so you can look back at the end of the year and see what you have accomplished. You could plan to budget your finances to go on that big holiday, or perhaps your aim is to start those healthy habits of exercising and eating right. Maybe you want to create a healthy relationship with that person and resolve the argument that’s kept you apart. Whatever your aspirations are, stop procrastinating and start using the gift of time that you have been given to achieve those goals.

Please call one of our advisers if you have any questions about setting goals or need help with financial planning in relation to these goals and objectives.

Who gets your superannuation if you die?

Most people think that their will controls who will receive their money when they die, yet this doesn’t necessarily work with your superannuation. There are special rules that control how your super fund trustees will distribute the money.

First of all, the total amount of money consists of what is in your super account and any life insurance cover you may have had with your super fund. This is referred to as your ‘death benefit’.

Your death benefit can either be paid to your beneficiaries or your estate. Beneficiaries will receive the benefit tax-free if they are 'dependants', such as your spouse, children or any other person who is dependent on you. In the case of ‘other persons’, there must be a financial dependency or reliance.

As often happens, if a person has many relationships where financial support is involved (for example, family members from a previous marriage), it can be more difficult for the trustee to divide the death benefit between different people. In this situation, trustees make their own inquiries and reach their own conclusions, without having to follow the instructions in your will.

There are some simple things you can do to make it easier for your death benefit to be distributed according to your wishes when you die.

If you need more information or wish to discuss this further, please call us on 1800 047 526 and one of our advisers will be able to help you. Further information is also available from www.fido.gov.au

Testimonial

David Ward and more recently John Horgan and Melissa Cadell have been providing financial advice for me for over a decade. I was introduced to the plan by my boss at the time who had been achieving some outstanding results over a number of years. At first the plan seemed too good to be true and I must admit I was a little sceptical however I have been more than happy with the results along with the professional way the iPlan team manages every aspect of my plan. I have recommended iPlan to my friends, and highly recommend it to anyone seeking to secure their financial future.

R.B.
Pymble, NSW
11/01/2010

Your Question's Answered

Got a question you would like answered?

Please email your questions to info@iplan.net.au, or why not phone one of our financial advisers directly on 13000 IPLAN (1300 047 526).

iPlan Financial Services Australia Pty Ltd ACN: 106 591 833 as trustee for the iPlan Australia Trust ABN: 58 928 175 252 is a Corporate Authorised Representative of iPlan Financial Services P/L ABN 70 122 979 140 AFS Licence No. 311824