Financial Adviser Serving Fairfield
We provide retirement-focused financial advice for Fairfield households, covering superannuation, retirement planning, investments, cash flow and personal insurance.
Our office is at The Watermans in Bundoora, north of Fairfield. 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 Fairfield clients
Retirement planning is different from the financial decisions you make while you are working.
For Fairfield 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 FairfieldOur office is at The Watermans in Bundoora, about twenty minutes' drive north of Fairfield. We work with clients across Fairfield, Alphington, Northcote and Thornbury.
- 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.
Fairfield: professionals, apartments and people living alone
Fairfield is a suburb of professionals. More than four in ten working residents are professionals, and half of adults have a university degree. More than usual work in hospitals, universities and state government.
Almost four in ten households are a person living alone, against about a quarter across Victoria. Four in ten homes are rented, and a third are flats or apartments.
There is also a long-standing Greek community, with Greek spoken at home at more than three times the Victorian rate.
Figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census.
If you are starting again on your own
For some, living alone in their fifties follows a separation. Super can be split between separating partners, by agreement or by court order. The rules are on the ATO site.
After a split, the plan has to work on one income and one balance. We rebuild it from where you are now, alongside your lawyer.
It is also the time to update your super nominations and your will. Moneysmart explains nominations on its who gets your super page.
What Fairfield 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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I've just separated at 55. Can I still retire?
Usually, yes — but the plan changes. We work out what one person needs, what you now have, and the steps that close the gap.
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How does our super get split?
By agreement or court order, through the family law process. Your lawyer handles that side; we look at what the split means for your retirement. The rules are on the ATO site.
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My ex is still the beneficiary on my super. What do I do?
Update it. A nomination stays in place until you change it. Moneysmart explains the options on its who gets your super page.
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I rent on my own. Will I have enough?
Renting alone means one income has to cover rent for life. We build your actual rent into the plan and check what the Age Pension and Rent Assistance add.
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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 Fairfield
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.
Fairfield is about twenty minutes from our Bundoora office.
Areas we serve near Fairfield
Fairfield 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 Fairfield 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 Fairfield?
No. Our office is at The Watermans, Level 2, 1/3 Janefield Drive, Bundoora — north of Fairfield, 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 Fairfield, by secure video, or at the office — whichever suits you.
How is super split when a relationship ends?
Super is treated as property under family law. It can be split by a formal agreement or a court order, and the split amount moves to the other person's super. The rules are on the ATO site.
We do not give legal advice, but we work alongside your lawyer on what the split means for your retirement.
I'm separated. Who gets my super if I die?
It depends on your fund's rules and any nomination you have made. An old nomination can stay in place after a separation. Moneysmart explains it on its who gets your super page.
We check your nominations and make sure they match what you want now.
Can I retire on one income?
Often, yes, with a plan. A single person needs less than a couple, but not half as much.
We work out what you need each year, and how long your money lasts.
I rent alone. 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.
Should I keep the house after a separation?
It depends on whether you can afford it on one income, what else you would give up for it, and how it fits your retirement.
We model keeping it and selling it, so you can decide with the numbers.
Does my Fairfield home count toward the Age Pension?
While you live in it, your home is generally exempt from the assets test. It can still affect the overall outcome, because homeowners and non-homeowners are assessed against different thresholds.
Current thresholds are published by Services Australia.
Do you work with people in Alphington, Northcote, Thornbury and Ivanhoe?
Yes, along with Clifton Hill, Preston, Kew East and Bundoora.
Alphington, Northcote, Thornbury, Ivanhoe and Clifton Hill each have their own page.
We also advise clients across Melbourne and Australia-wide by secure video.
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.