CASE STUDY: Pre-Retirees
Jennifer and Fred, age 50 and 53 were keen to retire but unsure on how to do so. After 30 years of working from 6 am, Jennifer had enough and simply wanted to be at leisure. To live life on her terms.
They owned a lovely home which they had enhanced and renovated over time. Over the years, the property had appreciated nicely. Alongside this, they also own an investment property with an existing loan.
Jennifer, being a teacher of the WA Education Department, held a GESB West State and Gold State Super. For this reason, we were able to take advantage of the $1.515mil untaxed lifetime cap and not being restricted to the concessional contributions cap. Employing this to the full, it has accelerated them to extinguish the loan in a much shorter time frame.
After the investment property was sold, the balance of the loan was extinguished, and the balance of the proceeds was used to equalise their super balances.
Working together, we ensured their affairs were simplified, understood and informed decisions made. Capital gains were also negated when the property was sold.
More importantly, Jennifer and Fred are now comfortably retired with an income of $60,000 each year and receive a small part Centrelink age pension.
Conservative cash flow projections show their retirement assets will continue to provide for their desired lifestyle well past their statistical life expectancy.
From an estate perspective, their home was valued over $2 million giving them peace of mind to fund their aged care personally, if required. This has also allowed them to leave a legacy for their 2 daughters on their passing.