Two of the most important financial decisions you will make is what to do with your superannuation and how you will fund your retirement. In order to fund the cost of living after retirement, a retirement income must somehow be generated. The right financial advice from an AWS planner can help you generate a retirement income, ensure your assets are invested and ultimately secure a comfortable lifestyle. There are two main types of retirement income streams - pensions and annuities.

Given the complexity of today's financial planning environment, professional financial planning advice is essential in order for the appropriate strategy to be chosen to meet your financial needs.

Superannuation is a tax effective means of putting aside money during your working life for use in retirement. Superannuation is a tax structure that is designed to fund a person's retirement. At AWS, a range of strategies can be formulated to find the most tax effective means of funding your post-working life, in order for you to reach your retirement goals.

A superannuation fund is a concessionally taxed investment trust. As a general rule, funds cannot be withdrawn until you are at least aged 55 and fully retired; this is known as 'preservation of funds'. There are two different types of funds, differing primarily in who runs them: an employer may run a company fund, an industry may fund an industry fund, a fund manager may run an industry fund or you may run your own fund.

Superannuation law is extremely complex. Throughout its history, legislation applicable to superannuation has changed on an annual basis and continues to change as governments provide greater incentives to contribute.

Successful people have long recognised that, by borrowing money and investing it productively, they can grow their wealth faster than if they relied on income alone.

If considering gearing, an AWS Financial Advisor can discuss your options with you, helping you understand any potential risks involved, how they can be managed effectively, and the tax implications of embarking on a gearing strategy.

Gearing put simply means borrowing money for investment. It entails borrowing money and adding it to your own funds, thereby increasing the total amount invested. A larger investment than would otherwise be possible can be made, so the returns, as a proportion of your original capital are larger. Gearing can help you achieve larger financial goals more quickly.

Negative gearing happens when your net investment income is less than your interest cost. Once your investment income exceeds your annual net interest costs, then your cashflow is said to be positively geared. The more highly geared you are, positively or negatively, the greater the potential rewards available.

Life is full of uncertainties and sometimes unfortunate accidents can happen.

What happens if I die?

What happens if I have a serious accident?

What happens if I'm diagnosed with a terminal illness?

How will my family cope?

Answering these questions is tough. Not answering them is worse. AWS can analyse your insurance needs, ensuring that adequate insurance policies are in place, reducing the financial burden on your family in the unfortunate event of a serious accident occurring.

Insurance is a contract which compensates a client when a defined event takes place. People make regular payments (known as premiums) to an insurance company that will pay them an agreed amount if some particular event occurs. A person called an actuary works out how much a person should normally pay for insurance. Each specific application for insurance is assessed and the final premium is based on the likelihood of an event occurring.

AWS has access to more than 10 insurance providers to source the best package to protect you and your family.

Centrelink is the government body that provides income support such as aged pensions, Newstart allowance and Family Tax Benefits. Payments made by Centrelink are generally subject to an income test and/or an assets test. What this means is that depending on the benefit that you apply for, Centrelink will determine whether or not a payment can be made by looking at how much you earn and how much you own. This can be a complex and very sensitive area. If you do not qualify for Aged Pension or for a partial Aged Pension, AWS can provide strategies to potentially allow you to qualify for higher payments.

AWS has represented the interests of many clients to Centrelink and can potentially best represent your interests as well. AWS can provide you with general advice in relation to Newstart Allowance and the Family Tax Benefit.