Superannuation advice in Melbourne and Australia-wide.
Superannuation advice in Melbourne and Australia-wide. Super is the largest investment most Australians own and the easiest to ignore. We treat it as part of the family balance sheet, not a separate file.
What superannuation advice covers.
Most super decisions are not about picking a fund. They are about how much goes in, from which account, in which order, and what the insurance inside the fund actually pays for. We work through each of these in writing.
The advice sits alongside your tax, debt management, and personal insurance positions. A change to your super contribution rarely makes sense without reading the rest of the financial planning file.
Six levers, one file.
None of these stands alone. The right size for any of them depends on the other five and on your tax position outside super.
Fund selection
Industry, retail, or SMSF. We compare on fees, insurance offering, investment menu, and what you actually need at your stage.
Consolidation
Two or three accounts is common. Before rolling, we check exit fees, insurance inside super that you cannot replace, and any CGT in the existing fund.
Salary sacrifice
Concessional contributions taxed at 15% rather than your marginal rate. Sized to the annual cap and to your cash flow.
Government co-contribution
If income sits below the threshold and you make a non-concessional contribution, the government adds up to $500. Often missed in dual-income households.
Spouse contribution
Spouse contribution tax offset and spouse splitting both have a role when one partner has been out of the workforce.
Insurance inside super
Life and TPD held inside super preserves cash flow but the cover has limits. We read the actual PDS, not the marketing.
The roll-over question, done properly.
Consolidating super is one of the most common pieces of advice, and one of the easiest to get wrong. Old accounts often carry insurance you could not buy today, especially if your health has changed. Some funds charge exit fees or have CGT embedded in the unit price.
We pull the statements, read the insurance schedules, and quantify the trade-off before recommending a roll. If the existing cover is worth keeping, the advice will say so. The detail on default cover versus retail cover lives on the life insurance and income protection pages.
- Existing insurance benefits
- Exit fees and buy-sell spreads
- Embedded capital gains
- Defined-benefit components
- Beneficiary nominations
- Investment menu fit
Frequently asked questions.
Usually yes, but not always. If one of the existing accounts carries valuable insurance you could not get medically underwritten today, rolling it out destroys that cover. We check every account before recommending a roll.
For most salaries above roughly $45,000, contributions are taxed at 15% inside super against a marginal rate of 30% or more outside. The arithmetic favours sacrifice. The cap and Division 293 tax (for high earners) shape the size.
Only where it suits the household. SMSF advice and SMSF lending are both available under the same practitioner. We have 30+ SMSF clients and we will tell you when an industry fund is the better answer.
Opes runs a hybrid fee model. Super-only advice is quoted in writing after the first conversation. The initial chat is free.
Continue reading
- Financial planning overviewThe pillar page. How a Statement of Advice is delivered.
- Retirement planningAccumulation, transition-to-retirement, and pension phase.
- Tax-effective investingFranking, gearing, salary sacrifice, trust structures.
- SMSF advice and lendingTwo authorisations under one adviser.
- Personal risk insuranceLife and TPD inside or outside super.
Information on this page is general in nature. It does not take into account your personal objectives, financial situation, or needs. Read the relevant Product Disclosure Statement and consider whether personal advice is appropriate before acting on any information here.
Ready to tidy the super?
An initial conversation is free and obligation-free. Bring your most recent super statements and we will work through the trade-offs.