Financial Adviser Serving Thornbury
We provide retirement-focused financial advice for Thornbury households, covering superannuation, retirement planning, investments, cash flow and personal insurance.
Our office is at The Watermans in Bundoora, north of Thornbury. We can meet you at home, by secure video, or at our Bundoora office. Your first consultation is free.
- Retirement-focused advice
- Home, secure video or office appointments
- First consultation free
- No obligation
How we help Thornbury clients
Retirement planning is different from the financial decisions you make while you are working.
For Thornbury households approaching retirement, we bring your superannuation, investments, spending, insurance and potential Age Pension entitlement into a single plan — and show you what it actually supports.
- Retirement-focused adviceWe specialise in helping people in their fifties and sixties move from building wealth to living on it.
- Based in Bundoora, serving ThornburyOur office is at The Watermans in Bundoora, about twenty minutes' drive north of Thornbury. We work with clients across Thornbury, Northcote, Preston and Fairfield.
- Clear, evidence-based adviceWe explain the reasoning behind our recommendations, model different scenarios and show you the numbers before you make major decisions.
What changes when you retire
Three things reverse at retirement. None are obvious while you are still earning.
Almost all the financial advice you meet across a working life is about building up: contribute regularly, stay invested, ignore the noise. It is sound advice, and it stops being enough the day you start drawing money out.
Markets falling early on
While you are contributing, a fall can even help — you buy in at lower prices.
Once you are withdrawing, money taken out during a downturn never participates in the recovery.
The tax position changes
Through your working life the concessions are on the way in.
In retirement the focus shifts toward how income is generated and how withdrawals are structured.
Your assets get counted
Everything you hold becomes relevant to what the government will and will not pay you.
The family home is generally exempt, though homeowners and non-homeowners face different thresholds.
Thornbury: renters, singles and professionals
Thornbury is a suburb of professionals. At the 2021 Census, four in ten working residents were professionals, against one in four statewide, and almost half of adults have a university degree.
Many people here rent, and many live alone. More than four in ten homes are rented, against under three in ten across Victoria, and one in three households is a person living alone.
There is also a long-standing Greek community. Greek is spoken at home at about five times the Victorian rate.
Figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census.
If you are single, or still renting in your forties and fifties
If you rent, you will need to pay rent in retirement as well as everything else. That usually means you need more saved than a homeowner. The Age Pension also assesses renters as non-homeowners, with a higher asset limit. Thresholds are on the Services Australia site.
If you are single, your super does not automatically go where you want when you die. A binding nomination can direct it. Moneysmart explains the options on its who gets your super page.
We plan around the life you actually have — one income or two, renting or owning.
What Thornbury households worry about
These come up again and again at this stage. None of them require you to have anything sorted out beforehand.
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We rent and may never buy. How much super will we need?
Usually more than a homeowner, because the rent keeps going. We work out a realistic number and what it takes to get there.
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I'm single. Who gets my super if something happens to me?
It depends on your fund's rules and any nomination you have made. Without one, it may not go where you want. Moneysmart explains it on its who gets your super page.
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Should I still try to buy a home in my forties?
It depends on prices, your income and how long you will work. We compare buying, renting and investing with your own numbers.
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Mum and Dad are in their eighties and mostly speak Greek. Can you help them?
Yes. Family are welcome to come along and help. We explain things in plain English and put everything in writing.
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I have super in three or four places and no idea which is any good.
We check the fees, performance, holdings and insurance in each one, and only combine them where it genuinely helps. Find every account in your name through myGov.
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I don't know who to trust. Everyone seems to be selling something.
Fair. What you can check: our licence on the ASIC register, a fee in writing before any work begins, and no product recommended in a first meeting.
What we do
What we advise on
We provide retirement-focused financial advice for people in their fifties and sixties across Melbourne, covering superannuation, investments, cash flow and personal insurance.
The practice is built around one transition — the shift from building wealth to living on it. That is a different problem from the one you have been solving for thirty years, and it is the only problem we work on.
Superannuation & retirement planning
What you hold, what it costs, and whether it supports the retirement you have in mind
Investment Advice
Portfolios built from your withdrawal timetable rather than a risk questionnaire
Life Insurance Advice
What still needs protecting now, and whether cover belongs inside super or outside it
Cash flow & budgeting
What you actually spend, which is what every retirement projection rests on
Hear From Our Clients
"My husband and I have been with Plan My Wealth since our retirement and have found all those we have had dealings with to be professional and friendly. They make us feel welcome and take the time to explain what we see as complex processes to make it easy to understand and follow. Great team."
"Highly recommend Manny, he was very knowledgeable and took time to explain everything so I could understand, he made me feel like a valued client rather than just a number."
"Working with Manny has been an excellent experience. He's professional, friendly, and takes the time to make complex financial matters easy to understand. His guidance has given me real confidence in managing my finances. I highly recommend him to anyone looking to take control of their financial future."
Financial advice for Thornbury
If you are approaching retirement and are unsure whether your current arrangements will provide the retirement you want, the first step is understanding where you stand. No cost. No obligation. Just an honest conversation about your position and whether advice could be useful.
Thornbury is about twenty minutes from our Bundoora office.
Areas we serve near Thornbury
Thornbury sits in the City of Darebin, south of our Bundoora office. We work across it and every suburb around it.
You do not have to travel to us
Wherever you are in Melbourne's north, we can meet three ways.
At your home
We can come to you. For many people approaching retirement it is the simplest option, particularly when the paperwork is already there.
By secure video
Everything runs through cloud-based systems, so a video meeting covers the same planning and modelling as an in-person one.
At the Bundoora office
The Watermans, Level 2, 1/3 Janefield Drive, with parking on site. There if you want it, never required.
Not seeing your suburb? See every area we serve.
Questions answered
Frequently
Asked Questions
Questions Thornbury households ask most often, and a few about how we work. If yours is not here, ask us — the answer usually takes a minute.
Are you actually based in Thornbury?
No. Our office is at The Watermans, Level 2, 1/3 Janefield Drive, Bundoora — north of Thornbury, about twenty minutes away. We can meet at your home, by secure video, or at the office.
We would rather say that plainly than imply otherwise.
Do I have to travel to your Bundoora office?
No. We can meet at your home in Thornbury, by secure video, or at the office — whichever suits you.
How much more super do renters need?
Usually a lot more, because rent continues for life. Most published retirement budgets assume you own your home outright.
We build your actual rent into the plan, so the target is realistic.
Can I get Rent Assistance with the Age Pension?
You may, if you pay enough rent and meet the other rules. Details are on the Services Australia site.
We include it in your plan, so the numbers reflect what you actually pay.
I'm single. What happens to my super when I die?
It is paid according to your fund's rules and any nomination you have made. It does not automatically follow your will. Moneysmart explains the types of nomination on its who gets your super page.
We check your nominations and make sure they match what you want.
Is it too late to buy a home in our fifties?
Not always. But a mortgage at 55 has to be paid off by the time you stop work, or cleared with super.
We compare buying with renting and investing, so you can see what each choice means by retirement.
Can you help our older parents too?
Yes. We can meet with them and you together, in plain English, and look at their Age Pension, their home and their wishes.
Everyone gets the same information in writing.
Does it matter for the Age Pension that we don't own a home?
Yes. Non-homeowners are assessed against a higher asset limit than homeowners. Current thresholds are published by Services Australia.
We build that into your plan from the start.
Do you work with people in Northcote, Preston, Fairfield and Reservoir?
What happens after I get in touch?
We will get back to you within one business day to arrange a time. The first meeting runs about an hour and can take place at your home, at the office, or by video.
If advice would be useful, we send you a written scope and a fixed fee afterwards. Nothing to sign on the day.
What does financial advice cost?
The first meeting is free and carries no obligation. If advice would be useful, we send you a written scope of work and a fixed fee afterwards, and you decide whether to proceed.
Fees are set by the complexity of the work rather than the size of your balance. Our fee arrangements are set out in our Financial Services Guide.
I have several old super accounts. Should I combine them?
Not automatically. Combining accounts can remove duplicate fees and simplify your finances, but closing an account can also cancel insurance held inside it.
We assess each fund first and check the insurance before recommending whether anything should move. You can see every account in your name through myGov.
How do I confirm an adviser is properly licensed?
Search the ASIC Financial Advisers Register by name or authorised representative number. It shows qualifications, licensee and advice history, and it is free to use.
Manny Tran's authorised representative number is 423115.