Growing up on the Gold Coast was fantastic – all year round the weather is amazing and it entices you to be outdoors. I spent most of my younger years just hanging around soccer, cricket and surf lifesaving clubs until I was old enough to participate myself. From about age 6 my weekends were filled with sports  – playing netball, little athletics, tennis and nippers – I loved it.

Age 14 I decided to try soccer, with no real training other than kick2kick with my older brothers I was asked to play in the woman’s league at my brother’s club. I played soccer for about 5 years before my best friend ask me if I would be interested in joining a woman’s AFL team. At first I said no as I was concerned about the physical contact, but after the first training session I was hooked.

2003 was my first year playing AFL and I didn’t find the transition very hard at all. My experience playing netball and soccer for most of my life had given me most of the skills I needed. Don’t ask me how I did this but I used to play back to back games for the reserves and premiers every week.

Our team the Surfers Paradise Demonettes dominated the comp and we won the premiership in my first year playing and again the following year. I left the team in 2005 to travel overseas and upon my return in 2008 I was straight down to training. The D’s again reached the grand final only to lose by 1 point.

I continued playing for the next few years for a Brisbane team where we continued to make grand finals, however never claiming the premiership.

Once I settled in after the moved to Melbourne, I started training with the Darebin Falcons (I know a few friends that play there) however the cold winters changed my mind very quickly. These days I prefer the spectators role and try to get along to support my team the Essendon Bombers as much as I can.

PJ

Ever lived and worked in the UK but decided to settle in Australia? Well, you probably have some superannuation in the UK – what they call a pension fund. For a number of years, rules have allowed the transfer of these funds to Australia to make the management of your retirement funds an easier task however laws in the UK are changing which will mean that this option is no longer available. There is currently a proposal by the UK Government to ban the transfer of final salary pension benefits from public sector schemes. Legislation is currently being drafted for the change to take effect in April 2015. The change has come about as funded defined benefit schemes play an important role in funding long-term investment in the UK economy, which the Government does not want to put at risk by allowing the money to leave English shores.

What are some of the benefits of transferring to Australia? Investment Choice – you make the decision on where your funds are invested to make the most out of your money;

Death Benefits – (assuming the funds remain in superannuation or pension accounts) the full balance at the time of your death is payable to your beneficiaries or your estate (tax may apply) whereas funds are usually reduced or not able to be transferred to another on your passing if the money remains in the UK;

Tax benefits – the funds that are transferred, come in line with Australian superannuation tax rules, with returns taxed at 15% while in accumulation phase and then tax-free in pension phase. Benefits are paid out concessionally taxed prior to age 60 and tax-free from the age of 60.

Lump sum payments – you can take up to 100% of your superannuation out if a condition of release is met (UK tax may apply if within 5 years of being a tax resident). This is restricted to 15% in the UK otherwise additional penalty tax applies.

What are some of the drawbacks of transferring to Australia? Lifetime pension – some UK pension providers will pay a pension for your lifetime. In Australia, this type of pension is no longer available.

Exchange rate – the transfer of funds will also mean a conversion in money from pounds to Australian dollars which may mean a reduction in the value of your funds.

Growth not taxed – the growth in your UK pension is not taxed but if you transfer to Australia the growth from the date you became an Australian tax resident until the transfer is taxed at either 15% or your Marginal Tax Rate depending on your election.

QROPS – the provider receiving the transferred funds has to be a QROPS registered provider and report back to the UK any withdrawals or changes to your account for a period of 10 years after the transfer. In addition, if you consolidate with your other Australian super, any withdrawals from the fund will first be considered to be taken from the UK transferred funds.

What are the main things to consider when transferring a UK pension to Australia? Moving your pension funds from the UK has major implications that should be fully investigated and understood before a transfer is commenced to ensure that it is right for you because once it’s done, you can’t go back. Some of the main things to consider when looking at a pension transfer to Australia include:

*  you must have permanently left the UK with no intention of returning there.
contribution rules still apply and you cannot transfer in excess of the fund cap – currently $540,000. *please note that JBS may be able to help if your UK funds would breach this limit.
*  your UK pension must not have commenced paying a pension
be an Australian resident for tax purposes and have a TFN
if you transfer your funds within six (6) months of becoming an Australian tax resident, no tax is levied on the transfer to Australia.
*  if you transfer your funds outside six (6) months of becoming an Australian tax resident, tax is levied at a rate of 15% on the growth component since becoming a tax resident if you elect to pay it within your super.
*  if you transfer your funds outside six (6) months of becoming an Australian tax resident, tax is levied at your marginal tax rate on the growth component since becoming a tax resident if you wish to pay it personally or if you still have other UK pension funds remaining in the UK.
*  how you elect to have the growth component taxed will determine how much of the transfer will be counted towards your contribution caps. It is critical that this is done correctly to minimise the likelihood of an excess contribution.

What does this mean for those with UK Pensions?

You still have time to transfer your UK pension to the Australian Superannuation System if you want to or if it is right for you however time is running out. With a rush to action UK pension transfer, the usual six month wait to get the relevant information from the UK is extending further by the day. If you want to consider your options in relation to a possible transfer, you should either contact your UK pension provider directly and ask for a valuation as well as retirement projections that provide you with the final benefit options available to you at retirement such as a lifetime pension, or alternatively contact our office and we can get the information and do the sums for you to ensure that it’s the right move for your financial goals and current circumstances.

Coming from 40 degrees to being woken by the pilot announcing it was 4 degrees almost made me do a U-turn in customs. However, I am slowly settling back into the routine after an amazing 4 week break in Europe. I saw some amazing things and met heaps of intriguing people. I spent the majority of my break in Hungary and Malta and thought I would share some of the highlights.

We began in Budapest, the capitol of Hungary. It is an amazing and charming city, full of great food, awesome rooftop bars, Mongolian architecture and dainty markets. The city is small enough to walk if you are staying centrally or alternatively the public transport is cheap.

They have the amazing Szechenyi Public Baths (see photo below) which are frequented by both locals and tourists. There are an array of pools, spas, sauna’s and steam rooms all varying in temperature. You can also book yourself a massage with a fully trained physiotherapist for a few dollars!

We also visited the old synagogue which is the most amazing and intricate building of its type I have ever seen in the world (photo below)

After we had eaten enough goulash we ventured into the Mediterranean Sea to visit Malta. It is a tiny island measuring 28km across and is almost 100km directly below Sicily. Malta quickly became one of my favourite places that I have visited in Europe. You can spend between 7 and 10 euro per meal and be absolutely stuffed with fresh and tasty produce.

They have amazing architecture and history there, including both pebble and sand beaches which makes it the perfect place to do a little bit of touristy stuff and also completely relax. The island has an intricate network of busses; tickets cost 1.50 Euro for the entire day which makes it easy to get around. We did a day trip to the neighboring island of Gozo, where they have the oldest monolithic structure in the world (5500 BC) and also film scenes for Game of Thrones.   You can catch a ferry there from the main island which delivers you to this port (see photo).

On the way back from Gozo, you can detour via the Island of Camino which has the bluest water I have ever seen in the world, even clearer than the blue grotto in Capri. The fast boats cost about 10 Euro and run from 10 in the morning until 6 in the evening, they also take you on a quick tour of the caves around the island of Camino.

The trip was amazing and I have come back truly relaxed. I can definitely recommend visiting both Hungary and Malta, if you are considering a holiday there, send me an email at amckenzie@jbsfinancial.com.au and I will reply with some more detailed notes and tips.

Ever wondered what a franking credit is? Well…it’s not what you get when you do a favour for your mate named Frank. (ha ha get it?) Franking credits are a useful little tool to help pay less tax or even boost up your investment returns.

What are franking credits and how do they work?
Franking credits, also known as imputation credits, are essentially credits representing tax that a company has already paid  (currently 30%) on its profits prior to a dividend being paid.

Basically franking credits stop double tax being paid on company profits as the tax paid by the company can then be passed to the shareholder.  So for example, your XYZ share that you own pays a dividend of $1.00 per share after tax. This means that they have already paid the 30%, so this $1.00 is actually $1.43 with $0.43 per share paid in tax. When you come to do your taxes, you get a credit for the $0.43 per share already paid so if your tax rate is 32.5%, you only need to pay the remaining 2.5% on the $1.00 per share dividend received.

Franking credits in superannuation
In superannuation (accumulation phase), the tax rate is 15%, compared to a company tax rate of 30%. The 15% difference in tax payable, can be refunded to your superannuation account and further enhance the return achieved from your share investments.

Example
Michael holds his super through a SMSF. He has an investment of 500 shares in ABC company which paid a dividend of $3.30 per share. This equates to a lump sum dividend payment of $1,650. With this comes $707 in franking credits (30%). As he is in accumulation phase and only paying 15% on income earnt within the fund, his SMSF is eligible to receive a refund of $353.50.

Franking credits in pension phase
The other good news is that when you are in pension phase and paying 0% tax, franking credits received by your super fund are fully refundable even without taxable income in your superannuation. This means that your super can claim back all the tax already paid by the distributing company from the ATO.

With either a superannuation or pension phase account, you need to understand the structure of your superannuation investments as bundled share purchases like through a pool super trust may not necessarily give you the same tax credits.

Example
Sally has reached age 65 and retired. She now has a pension account with a retail pension provider. Within her balance she holds 1,000 shares in XYZ company that paid a dividend of $8.70 per share. This equates to a lump sum dividend payment of $8,700. With that comes $$3,728 in franking credits (30%). As she is in pension phase and paying no tax, her pension fund is entitled to a refund of the full tax paid ($3,728) which would be repaid into the cash account of her fund and will help to cover ongoing pension payments.

Franking credits can be a great added extra in returns alongside growth and income to boost the overall return. They should most certainly be a consideration when developing an investment portfolio for your retirement funds. If you want to learn more about franking credits or direct shares, don’t hesitate to contact one of the team members at JBS.

I joined the JBS team as the Senior SMSF Financial Adviser at the start of July and what a fantastic decision it was. The team has welcomed me with open arms and it is great to be working in such a fun loving and enjoyable environment.  There is no doubt that the team works extremely hard and continues to strive to be a leader in the Financial Planning industry. Jenny and I share the same passion for our clients and this was one of the main reasons that attracted me to the roll. It is a fantastic feeling to be able to sit down with a client and help them to articulate what they want to achieve and then map out a strategy which allows them to achieve their goals. For this reason financial planning is such a rewarding occupation for me.

Outside of work I enjoy spending time with my young family, son Riley (3), daughter Lucy (18 months) and wife Kristyn. I enjoy spending weekends at the zoo, jumping on the trampoline and reliving my youth as a teenage mutant ninja turtle.

My other real passion is sport; there aren’t many that I haven’t tried. I’m a very keen Essendon supporter and member of the Melbourne Cricket Club. It is a family tradition to line up at 4am in the MCC members line on grand final day to secure a seat. I’m also a very keen golfer and I’m a current member of the Growling Frog premiership pennant team. I learnt to play golf with my dad as a 12 year old in country Victoria at Cosgrove Golf Club (20km’s out of Shepparton). Mum and dad still live on 100 acres there and I enjoy taking the family back to the farm.

There is no doubt that I’m very excited about this new chapter in my life and look forward to sharing it will all of the JBS team and our valued clients.

I’ve always considered myself lucky, having found what I didn’t know at the time, was to be my life long partner back when I was still in high school. If someone was to tell me back then that I would become a father in 10 years’ time, I would’ve told them to “get real”.  Being young and naive I’ve always had the mentality that I would have a child when I’m 35, at the earliest. That mentality, however started to phase out very quickly when I got engaged at age 21 and then married at age 24. A battle soon pursued between me and the wife. It was either to purchase our first home now or to have a child first. With no surprises, my wife won and we decided to have our first child.

Having a really large extended family meant we got advice from EVERYONE regarding having a child. From what to eat, to how we could tell if we were having a boy or girl. One thing that no one really warned me about, was how tiring it would be for Evone and myself. Evone reckons it’s a good way to lose weight, I believe it’s a good way to lose my mind.

Another amazing person in my son’s life is his Grandma (Evone’s Mother), who I refer to as ‘The Baby Whisperer’. Leon could be screaming his lungs out one minute and all Grandma has to do is touch him and he’ll drift into deep sleep immediately.

One thing which was never mentioned to me, was how rewarding and warm I would feel every time I hold my baby boy. Perhaps all my uncles, mates and cousins were too manly to admit it, but having my son in my arms makes me feel like nothing can go wrong. Beyond the sleepless nights, dirty nappies and the constant worrying of everything, I have never felt so needed and so much love from one little man. I am yet to fully understand what it is to become a father; however I can only imagine what adventures await us in the future.

Regarding my family, I could not be gladder to have so many of them around to provide assistance and help to us. For anyone who is thinking of having a child or is currently in the progress of having a child, my advice is to go out and spend as much time as possible with someone else’s baby. This will ensure you are exposed to all the loud cries, stinking nappies and constant fear of something being wrong with little bub. I definitely believe the experience will be much more realistic compared to receiving advice after advice from everyone.

Your children’s lives are full of great experiences and big adventures.  And as a parent, you’re there to support them every step of the way.  Most importantly, you’re there if your children ever get sick – regardless of the demands that may place on your time and your finances. No one likes to think about their children getting sick or injured but it is better to have a plan in place now to ensure you have options available to you should the unfortunate event occur.

Child Insurance can help you cover the extra financial burden of a serious illness, so you can do what ever it takes to get them healthy again.

What is Child Insurance?  Child Insurance pays a lump sum if your child suffers from a serious medical condition.  The point of Child Insurance is to provide funds to help you fund any out-of-pocket medical expenses, and allow you to take time off work to care for your child.  It is designed to get you by while caring for you child. To apply for cover your child must be aged between 2 and 18 years of age.

Conditions:  The types of conditions that Child insurance will provide funds for include cancer, blindness, brain damage, cardiomyopathy, chronic kidney failure, deafness, intensive care, loss of limbs / sight / speech, major organ transplant, meningitis, stroke, severe burns and a number of other conditions. Like all insurances, they vary between insurer and policy so you’ll need to refer to the Product Disclosure Statement of the product to know what your particular policy covers.

Cost:  Premiums for Child Insurance are inexpensive and easy to apply for.  There are no medicals or tests required and the cost can be as low as $10 per month for $50,000 of cover.

Continuation of Cover:   When your child grows into a young adult, generally Child Insurance can be converted to Trauma cover without the need for any medical tests.  This allows your child to continue being comprehensively covered in their adult years.

Sadly, many children suffer from medical conditions and accidents which are serious.  Child Insurance provides financial support should the unforeseen happen to your children and most importantly reduces the financial stress to provide choices to aid in your child’s recovery.  JBS can assist in this area if you wish to discuss in more detail.

I recently took a 2 week trip to London with my wife Rachel who was there for business, shacking us up at the beautiful InterContinental London Westminster.  Although the weather was cold and drizzly, the sun made a few unexpected appearances and the rain remained subdued during the most part.  The food and service I find, is a lot friendlier in London than that of its Melbournian counterpart and the public transport system makes for travelling everywhere almost as easy.

We shopped on Oxford Street, dined in pitch black darkness at ‘Dans le noir’ and satisfied our sweet tooths at ‘Haagen Dazs’ on Leicester Square, they are dessert magicians!  While Rachel worked, I took on the sites via the double decker bus, black cab, and subway visiting the London Eye, Big Ben, Royal Palace and other typical tourist hotspots.

To top off the holiday, we hopped over to the bicycle crazed city of Amsterdam.  Although we only stayed a weekend, the hop on hop off tour bus provided easy access to all things Amsterdam; Anne Frank’s house, the water canals, Museums, the Heineken Experience and of course, the Red Light District.

We had a great time and would definitely go back to both these amazing cities.

Mat

At age 34, about to settle on my first house, and a baby arriving later this year I thought it best be time to finally bite the bullet and invest in a set of wheels.  It was time to purchase my first car.

Living in the sticks (Sunbury) and having no form of motorised transport was not ideal.  The trek to-and-from the city each day was made more difficult by the fact Vline had been replaced by Metro meaning the train would stop every 200 metres adding hours to my commute.  And hitch-hiking was no longer an option as people these days view Senior Financial Advisers a risk too high they won’t even consider offering a lift.  With the horse-and-cart phased out and transport portals not yet available in OZ there was really no other option but to by a car.

So it was either grab a lift with my neighbour or purchase a new car.  Given I wouldn’t be seen dead in a Toyota Prius, the neighbour option was out, so off to carsales.com.au it was.  It took only til the 2^nd car I viewed before I was hooked on the VW Passat.

Some smart negotiation by my good friend and fellow colleague Andy got the price down to a comfortable level and the car was mine.  The boys at Income Essentials (Bren & Tom) set up the package and turned around payment within 24 hours and the rest is history.  I’m now cruising around in a stylist VW Volkswagen Passat, fully decked out with leather interior and sunroof to boot.  Whilst I cringed at the first petrol bill which topped $90, I’m glad to say I finally own a car!

When there was the opportunity to attend the PIS annual conference in Shanghai China I said ‘where do I sign up?’ I get to visit a country I’ve always been fascinated with. I decided my China experience would be the China Highlights; Beijing and the Great Wall, Xian and the Terra Cotta Warriors (and the mighty Mt Huashan), and finishing in metropolis of Shanghai.

People often say the only reason to visit Beijing is to see the Great Wall, and I partly agree with that. However Beijing to me felt like the real China, or at least what I expected it to be like. Authentic historic china, with a lot a smog too. I spent my time visiting the mighty Royal Palace, Temple of Heaven Park, the patriotic Tiananmen square, and getting lost in the little streets of historic Hutong’s where English was non-existent. When the day came for my day trip to the Great Wall I was like an eager kid on Christmas Day. I visited the Simatai region of the wall, 3hrs from Beijing meaning less tourists. The wall was magnificent.  How the wall was built thousands of years ago, spanning 8,852 kms, without the advanced technology we have today and still stands (mostly) after all the civil unrest amazes me. Well worth the visit.

My journey to Xian could have been the easy route via plane, but for me traveling is all about new experiences, so I decided to take the overnight train. After working out the train ticket which was all in Chinese as to which platform my train departed, the carriage I was in, room and bed, as I boarded the train the smell of Two Minute Noodles engulfed me. China has the largest train network in the world and is the main mode of transport for Chinese. As I found out, Two Minute Noodles was the main source of food for many. At least they’re supporting their local economy! After an actually very comfortable sleep, with none of the other 3 passengers in my share room snoring, I arrived in Xian.

Xian is by no means a country town. With around 4 million people calling Xian city home, it is also very much on the tourist trail for its Terra Cotta Warriors. Seeing the statues was over welling. The sheer number of them was a sight to see. And the 1000 or so what can be seen is only a small part, they estimate there are 6000 still to be uncovered. My other reason  for visiting Xian was to visit Mt Huashan, a mountain which is 2155m high, known for its “plank walk” which isn’t for the faint hearted. While the paths are well maintained, the sheer steepness and cliff drop gets the heart pumping. Unfortunately the day I had planned my trip, the one day of my time in China it decided to rain, but I wasn’t going to let that dampen my spirits and off I went. Being wet the Plank Walk was close, major disappointment, but the views were amazing and I will be back to conquer the Plank Walk.

And then it was off to Shanghai, again by overnight train, but this time fast bullet train. Shanghai, with a population of 23.9 million, the size of Australia, is a metropolis, and still growing! Shanghai’s growth has been influenced by a mix of cultures and this is evident by the mix of architecture, from old to new, and different districts. The mammoth size of the sky scrapers is amazing, and the world’s second tallest building is currently being built.  I have to say while I was amazed by the size of the buildings and historic architecture, for me Shanghai was too Westernised and touristy. That said, I would recommend visiting the city, but for the true China experience visit Beijing or a satellite regional city.

As I did say the primary reason for going to China was to attend the PIS annual conference, and that I did after my week exploring. After 3 jammed packed days of sessions on a variety of topics, from client engagement, market updates, business planning, compliance and legislative updates, the conference didn’t disappoint. On the final night of the conference we let our hair down at the annual gala dinner, with this year’s theme being Asian Culture. Everyone went to an effort dressing up making it a great night. Can you tell what I went as? In case not, I was a Chinese tourist.

My tips for eager China travellers, knowing some basic local language will help, locals speak and read very limited English (if any!), get someone to write in Chinese the address/location you want to visit, don’t be afraid to use the metro/trains, very efficient way to travel (and cheap), explore the food menu, and don’t be fooled by people asking you try tea (it’s a scam and you’ll end up paying an exorbitant amount).

It’s a country I would recommend visiting, and at some point, like to go back and explore the regions less travelled.