What will you do for income when you stop working?

Retirement planning is about preparing for life after work.

When you start planning for retirement, you want to start as early as possible so you have time to boost your super and take advantage of compounding returns over time.

A comfortable retirement means different things to different people, and will ultimately depend on your current lifestyle and future lifestyle expectations.

To begin with, you need to work out - how much you’ll need in retirement, how much you’ve saved to date and how much you’ll need to save before actually retiring.

There are online calculators you can use to help you explore how small changes in variables such as contribution rate, investment option, retirement age, and more can impact your future retirement income.

Once you’ve had a chance to think about it – talk to a financial planner who can help you assess your personal situation with the big picture in mind.

As a member of Unity Bank there’s plenty of help available to you including:

·         Online calculators and videos to learn more about retirement planning

·         Financial advice on investments and contributions, over the phone, free of charge

·         Fact sheets on a number of super and investment topics

·         Guidance on what to expect for your first meeting with a financial planner

·         Online appointment bookings and much more…

Call Peter Colquhoun our Senior Certified Financial Planner today! Your first appointment is FREE.

Call: 0448 470 597

Email: pcolquhoun@reliancebank.com.au

AGM NOTICE

Members are advised that the 2017 Annual General Meeting of Unity Bank will be held as detailed below

Please confirm your attendance, in any of the following ways: 

1. Call 1300 36 2000 and advise your attendance 
2. Emailing ReturningOfficer@unitybank.com.au 

Click here for Proxy Form 

Click here for more information 

Is your super on track for a healthy retirement?

Whatever your age and no matter how much money you have, now is the time to start building your super. Make a few small changes and watch your super money grow.

How much is enough? How much extra money you contribute to your super depends on what you'll need to live off once you retire. The amount of super you need depends on: How long you live, what type of lifestyle you want and Future medical costs.

The table below will give you a rough idea of how much money you need to support a modest or comfortable retirement. It applies for people retiring at age 65 who will live to an average life expectancy of about 85. It assumes you own your home.

Employer contributions - By law, your employer must make super contributions into your super account. The contributions are based on 9.5% of your 'ordinary time earnings'. So if you earn $67,000 per year they should be contributing $6,365 into superannuation.

You are eligible to receive super from your employer if you

• Earn $450 or more a month
• Aged over 18 years old
• Also if you are under 18 you are eligible to receive super if you work more than 30 hours a week.

Contributing extra to super - Making super contributions is a great way to boost your super balance. You can build your super by making after-tax contributions from your own money or by salary sacrificing.

Salary sacrificing is when you ask your employer to redirect a portion of your pay as a contribution to super. By 'sacrificing' some of your before-tax salary and putting it into your super fund, you get taxed at the special rate of 15%.

After-tax contributions are known as 'non-concessional contributions' because you don't receive a tax deduction. After-tax contributions are the simplest way to add to your super as you simply deposit your personal money into your super account.

Chore Scout Media Release - UNITY BANK LAUNCHES A NEW APP FOR KIDS AND THEIR PARENTS

Unity Bank has teamed up with the emerging technology software company Moroku to develop a new kids app called Chore Scout, designed to help parents teach their kids about saving and budgeting.

For the official media release click here

Teaching your kids about money

It is never too early to start your kids on the right track to financial security, whether it’s just teaching them to save for a short term purchase or instilling them with a beneficial lifelong attitude towards money. We have prepared some tips which we think will help you get your kids in the right mindset.

Read more: Teaching your kids about money