Financial Adviser Serving Eltham
We provide retirement-focused financial advice for Eltham households, covering superannuation, retirement planning, investments, cash flow and personal insurance.
Our office is at The Watermans in Bundoora, a short drive west of Eltham. 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 Eltham clients
Retirement planning is different from the financial decisions you make while you are working.
For Eltham 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 ElthamOur office is at The Watermans in Bundoora, about fifteen minutes' drive west of Eltham. We work with clients across Eltham, Montmorency, Research and Lower Plenty.
- 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.
Eltham: established families in the final stretch
Eltham is a suburb of established family homes. Almost nine in ten homes are owned, outright or with a mortgage, and only about one in eight is rented, against almost three in ten across Victoria.
People aged 45 to 69 make up more than a third of residents, against under three in ten statewide. More than half of families are couples with children, and incomes are well above average.
Residents give a lot of time. More than usual care for someone who is ill or older, and almost one in five volunteers.
Figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census.
In the last ten years before you stop
These are often the strongest saving years. The kids cost less, the mortgage is smaller, and extra before-tax contributions can cut your tax. The yearly cap is on the ATO site.
It is also when investment choices matter most. A big market fall just before or after you retire is harder to recover from, because you are starting to draw on the money. We set your investment mix around when you will need it.
If adult children still live at home, we plan for that too.
What Eltham 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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The kids are still at home in their twenties. How does that change our plans?
It can change your costs, your space and when you downsize. We build it into the plan, along with when they are likely to move out.
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A market crash just before we retire would hurt us badly. How do we protect against it?
We do not try to guess the market. We set aside enough in steadier investments to cover the first few years of spending, so you are not forced to sell after a fall.
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We finally have spare cash each month. Where should it go?
Super, the mortgage, an offset account or a mix — the right answer depends on your tax rate, interest rate and timing. We compare them with your own numbers.
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Our home is on a big block. Should we stay as we get older?
That is your call, and it is not only about money. We show what staying, moving locally or downsizing would each mean for your income and pension.
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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 Eltham
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.
Eltham is about fifteen minutes from our Bundoora office.
Areas we serve near Eltham
Eltham sits in the Shire of Nillumbik, a short drive east 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 Eltham 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 Eltham?
No. Our office is at The Watermans, Level 2, 1/3 Janefield Drive, Bundoora — a short drive west of Eltham, about fifteen 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 Eltham, by secure video, or at the office — whichever suits you.
How do we protect our savings from a market fall near retirement?
We cannot stop markets falling, but we can plan for it. Holding the first few years of spending in steadier investments means you are not forced to sell growth assets after a fall.
We set the mix around when you will actually need the money.
Where should our spare cash go: super, the mortgage or an offset?
It depends on your tax rate, your interest rate, your age and when you need the money. Super can cut tax but locks money away until you can access it.
We compare each option with your own numbers.
How much can we put into super before we retire?
Before-tax contributions have a yearly cap, and if your balance is under $500,000 you may be able to use unused amounts from earlier years. After-tax contributions have a separate cap. The rules are on the ATO site.
We work out how much is worth putting in each year, and check your records so you don't go over.
Our adult children live at home. How do we plan for that?
We include their costs and any board they pay, and when they are likely to move out. It can change when you downsize and how much you need.
Should we downsize from the family home?
That is two questions — whether the move suits you, and whether it improves your financial position. They do not always agree.
Financially, the things to weigh are what the sale would net after costs, where the proceeds would sit, what that does to your Age Pension, and whether any of it can go into super. Downsizer contribution rules are on the ATO site.
Does our Eltham 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 Montmorency, Greensborough, Lower Plenty and Research?
Yes, along with Eltham North, Briar Hill, Diamond Creek and Bundoora.
Montmorency, Greensborough and Lower Plenty 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.