Achieving a successful and financially secure retirement is one
of the most important goals in life for most working Australians.

Forget the one-size-fits-all headlines. How much you need depends on the age you retire, the cost of your lifestyle, the investments you're comfortable with, and the kind of inheritance you’d like to leave.

You can’t start too early, but you can start too late. The earlier you begin planning for retirement the more likely you are to have the accumulated wealth to retire when you want to, with the freedom and security you deserve.

Making super contributions often creates a better financial outcome due to the tax deductions available, however, what’s optimal varies based on income levels, interest rates, proximity to retirement and the emotions associated with debt and sharemarkets.

When you retire after reaching your preservation age (60 for most people), or at age 65 regardless of employment status.

Transition-to-retirement (TTR) legislation allows Australians who’ve reached preservation age but are still working to access their super by drawing a regular income stream. This is generally a strategy to facilitate a reduction in working hours in the years leading up to retirement, but can also be used as a tax strategy to create the cash flow needed to make tax-deductible contributions to super.

Yes, often you can. A superannuation cash-out re-contribution strategy involves withdrawing funds from your super (tax-free if you're over 60) and re-contributing them as non-concessional contributions. This increases the tax-free component of your super, reducing, or even eliminating potential tax payable by non-dependent beneficiaries (like adult children) upon your death. The age limit for non-concessional contributions increased to 75 on July 1, 2022. Resultantly, we've made this a common strategy for our retired clients, often leading to hundreds of thousands of dollars in tax savings.

Catch-up concessional contributions allow you to use unused cap amounts from the previous five years, starting from 2018-19. You can contribute up to $30,000 annually, plus unused amounts, if your total super balance is under $500,000 on June 30 of the previous year. This is a common strategy we recommend which can result in Verse clients saving tens of thousands in income tax.

You can access the Age Pension at 67. As of March 2025, the maximum fortnightly rates are $1,149 ($29,874/year) for singles, and $1,732 ($45,037/year) for couples. Eligibility and payment rates depend on income and assets tests. Your principal place of residence is exempt from the asset test, however, owning a home affects the asset test thresholds.

For the 24-25 financial year, you can contribute up to $30,000 in concessional (before-tax) contributions and $120,000 in non-concessional (after-tax) contributions. If eligible, you may use the bring-forward rule to contribute up to $360,000 in non-concessional contributions all at once. For a couple, that's $720,000.

One-off financial advice fees are generally deductible to the extent that they relate to tax advice. Ongoing financial advice fees are generally deductible to the extent that relate to producing assessable income. Before claiming a deduction, we recommend sharing your Summary of Advice, invoices, and our estimate on what may be deductible to you with your qualified accountant.  

You may be able to pay advice fees from your super account if particular requirements are met including the nature of the advice, what super accounts you hold and or what super accounts are recommended by us. Advice fees paid from super may attract a tax rebate of up to 14%, however, these rebates vary between funds.

We focus on proven investments such as cash, term deposits, shares, ETF’s, managed funds, and property. We avoid overly speculative investments and get rich quick schemes. We have access to private market opportunities including private equity, venture capital, real assets, and hedge funds. This diverse set of assets encompasses a broader range of strategies, that allow investors to generate absolute returns uncorrelated to traditional investment markets. Private market opportunities are generally appropriate for clients with portfolios exceeding $2m.

Our fees will vary based on your circumstances and the support you need. If you use our Project service, you’ll pay a fixed fee over multiple instalments. If you receive ongoing advice, you’ll pay an agreed monthly fee that reflects your situation. Payment methods can include a combination of direct debit, via investment accounts or from your superannuation.