Should I sell my home, buy a cheaper one, and invest the remaining funds for retirement?
We have 5 1/4 acres of residential land 20km south of Brisbane with an 7-year old home build by us on it. We have owned it for 10 years and our cost is around $300,000. In October last year we were offered $1.5 million by a stgeloper who knocked on our door, which we did…
What sort of investments will reduce tax in my family trust?
I have a family trust structure for my business income and am looking at a large tax bill this coming year. What sort of investments are available to reduce the tax I will have to pay? I’ve heard of things like investing in trees or olives, but are these more trouble than they’re worth? And…
I have sold an investment property and want to put the proceeds into my DIY fund
I am selling a rental property and expect a capital gain of about $230,000.00. For tax purposes I reduce it by half and pay capital gains tax on $115,000. Can I place this into our DIY super fund and pay the 15% entrance tax rather than including it in my personal return? Also, can I…
When starting a pension do I have to convert all of my super to a pension?
If I want to start a pension, am I obliged to do so with the percentage minimum of the whole of my super (far too much for my daily living requirements) or may I instead leave some in the accumulation phase and simply start a pension from, say, half the balance? It has always been…
Should I leave my money in super or start an allocated pension?
I am retired and all my money is still in super. I haven’t yet transferred it across to an allocated pension or other form of income stream. The reason I leave it in super is that I am guaranteed 4% in the super fund, and that means that when the markets fall I still receive…
Can your super fund collapse?
I am 52 years old and have all of my savings in super. Therefore most of this money is in shares, or other listed investments such as property securities and fixed interest. With all of this market turmoil, my question is: Can a super fund collapse? Should I be worried about having all of my…
Are allocated pensions all that they are cracked up to be?
My question is about allocated pensions. As I understand it a person between the age of 55 to 60 yrs, can reduce the tax paid in his super fund from 15% to zero by entering an allocated pension. However could you consider this self-defeating if say the person did not need that pension to live…
Dumping cash into super before retirement
I have triggered the bring forward rule which allows me to invest 3 years non concessional contributions in 2007/8. ie 3 by $150000 = $450,000. However I have only contributed $400,000 as at today’s date. I turn 65 on 6/1/2009. Could you please advise me as to whether I can contribute the outstanding balance of…
Clever DIY super strategy – but is it legal with the ATO?
Question: I have a large taxable component in my self-managed super fund. My financial advisor suggests I withdraw $140,000 and deposit it into my own bank account for one day then deposit it back into the SMSF and repeat this transaction for the next five years. Is this legal with the ATO? Answer: Super re-contribution…
How best to handle retirement payouts without jeopardising the age pension
I do have a financial planning question. I’m 64 years old and working for a government statutory body, which is Legal Aid Qld. I’m also a member of the Centrelink pension bonus scheme. I earn approx $50,000 pa, but salary sacrifice a bit less than 50% of this. That’s made up of the max amount…
