Financial Adviser Serving Essendon
We provide retirement-focused financial advice for Essendon households, covering superannuation, retirement planning, investments, cash flow and personal insurance.
Our office is at The Watermans in Bundoora, north-east of Essendon. 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 Essendon clients
Retirement planning is different from the financial decisions you make while you are working.
For Essendon 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 EssendonOur office is at The Watermans in Bundoora, about thirty minutes' drive north-east of Essendon. We meet clients at home or by secure video across Essendon, Moonee Ponds, Essendon North and Strathmore.
- 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.
Essendon: established families in their peak earning years
Essendon has more residents aged 50 to 64 than across Victoria, and more families with children at home.
Incomes are high. About a third of households earn more than $3,000 a week, and managers and professionals together make up half of working residents.
Many are still paying off a home. The median mortgage repayment is above the state figure, even with a third of homes owned outright.
Figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census.
If you want to stop work at 60
You can generally access your super from 60 once you retire, and withdrawals are usually tax-free from that age. The ATO sets out when you can access your super.
The Age Pension does not start until 67. That leaves a gap of up to seven years that your own savings have to cover. Eligibility is set out by Services Australia.
We work out whether you can afford to stop at 60, whether to pay off the mortgage with super first, and how to draw down so the money lasts.
What Essendon households worry about
These come up again and again at this stage. None of them require you to have anything sorted out beforehand.
-
We still owe on the mortgage. Should we use super to pay it off when we retire?
Sometimes it makes sense, sometimes it doesn't. It depends on the interest rate, what your super is earning, and whether you'll qualify for any Age Pension later. We run the numbers both ways.
-
Can we afford to stop at 60, or do we need to keep going?
We map out your spending, your super and the seven-year gap before the Age Pension, then show you what retiring at 60, 63 or 65 looks like.
-
How do we pay for the years between 60 and 67?
Usually from super, savings or part-time work. The order you draw on them matters for tax and for any pension later. Moneysmart explains your options.
-
The kids are still at school or uni. Can we plan for retirement as well?
Yes. We build school fees and support for adult children into the plan, so you can see what's left for retirement and what needs to change.
-
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.
-
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 Essendon
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.
Essendon is about thirty minutes from our Bundoora office.
Areas we serve near Essendon
Essendon sits in the City of Moonee Valley, south-west 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 Essendon 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 Essendon?
No. Our office is at The Watermans, Level 2, 1/3 Janefield Drive, Bundoora — north-east of Essendon, about thirty 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 Essendon, by secure video, or at the office — whichever suits you.
When can I access my super?
Generally from age 60 once you retire, or from 65 whether or not you are still working. A transition to retirement pension can give limited access from 60 while you keep working. The ATO sets out when you can access your super.
Is super tax-free after 60?
For most people in a taxed public or industry fund, yes — withdrawals after 60 are generally tax-free. Some untaxed public sector schemes are treated differently, so we check yours.
Should I pay off my mortgage with my super?
It depends on the interest rate, your investment returns, your other savings and whether you expect to receive any Age Pension. Clearing the debt gives certainty, but the money then sits in your home rather than earning income.
We compare the options in dollars so you can decide.
How do we fund the gap between 60 and the Age Pension at 67?
Usually from super, savings or part-time income. The Age Pension starts at 67 for most people. Services Australia sets out who can get it.
We plan the order you draw on each source, so the money lasts and you keep as much pension entitlement as possible later.
Can I keep working part-time after I start drawing super?
Yes, once you have met a condition of release. Or, from 60, a transition to retirement pension lets you draw part of your super while still working. Moneysmart explains the options.
We still have children at home. How does that change our plan?
It mainly affects how much you need before you stop work. We build school, university and living costs into the plan, along with any help you want to give them later.
Do you work with people in Moonee Ponds, Pascoe Vale, Essendon North and Strathmore?
Yes, along with Ascot Vale, Coburg, Brunswick and Bundoora.
Moonee Ponds, Pascoe Vale, Coburg and Brunswick 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.