Financial Adviser Serving Heidelberg
We provide retirement-focused financial advice for Heidelberg households, covering superannuation, retirement planning, investments, cash flow and personal insurance.
Our office is at The Watermans in Bundoora, a short drive north of Heidelberg. 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 Heidelberg clients
Retirement planning is different from the financial decisions you make while you are working.
For Heidelberg 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 HeidelbergOur office is at The Watermans in Bundoora, about fifteen minutes' drive north of Heidelberg. We work with clients across Heidelberg, Rosanna, Viewbank and Ivanhoe.
- 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.
Heidelberg: hospital workers, apartments, people living alone
Heidelberg is built around its hospitals. At the 2021 Census, more than one in ten working residents worked in a hospital, more than twice the Victorian rate. Four in ten were professionals, against one in four statewide.
Housing here is different from most of the north. Four in ten homes are flats or apartments, against about one in eight across Victoria. Four in ten homes are rented, and one in three households is a person living alone.
More residents are aged 75 and over than across Victoria too.
Figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census.
If you retire on your own, or you rent
A single person has no second income to fall back on. The Age Pension pays singles a different rate from couples. Current rates are on the Services Australia site.
If you rent, the assets test treats you as a non-homeowner, with a higher asset limit. You may also be able to get Rent Assistance.
If you work at one of the hospitals, check what your employer offers, such as salary sacrifice into super. We look at how it fits your plan.
We plan around the life you actually have — one income or two, owning or renting.
What Heidelberg 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'm on my own. Will one income be enough?
We work out what you spend now, what you will need, and what your super, savings and the Age Pension add up to for one person.
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We rent. Can we still retire comfortably?
It can work, but the rent has to come out of your income every year. We plan for it, and check what the Age Pension and Rent Assistance add.
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I work shifts at the hospital and went part-time. Is my super falling behind?
Possibly. Part-time years mean smaller contributions. If your balance is under $500,000, you may be able to catch up using unused cap amounts from earlier years. The rules are on the ATO site.
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Should we sell the house and buy an apartment?
It can free up money. But sale costs, stamp duty and the effect on your Age Pension all count. We model it before you list.
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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 Heidelberg
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.
Heidelberg is about fifteen minutes from our Bundoora office.
Areas we serve near Heidelberg
Heidelberg sits in the City of Banyule, a short drive 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 Heidelberg 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 Heidelberg?
No. Our office is at The Watermans, Level 2, 1/3 Janefield Drive, Bundoora — a short drive north of Heidelberg, 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 Heidelberg, by secure video, or at the office — whichever suits you.
I'm retiring on my own. What is different?
More than you might think. There is no second income or second super balance, and the Age Pension pays singles a different rate from couples. Current rates are on the Services Australia site.
We work out what one person needs and how long your money lasts.
We rent. Does that change our Age Pension?
It can. Renters are assessed as non-homeowners, which has a higher asset limit. You may also be able to get Rent Assistance. Details are on the Services Australia site.
We include your rent in the plan, so the numbers reflect what you actually pay.
I've worked part-time for years. Can I catch up on super?
Possibly. If your total super balance was under $500,000 at the end of the last financial year, you may be able to use unused concessional cap amounts from up to five earlier years. The rules are on the ATO site.
We check your records first, so you don't go over the cap.
I work at the hospital. Should I salary sacrifice into super?
It can make sense. Salary sacrifice counts toward your yearly concessional cap, together with your employer's contributions. The cap is on the ATO site.
We look at your take-home pay, your tax and any other packaging you use before you decide.
Should we move from our house to an apartment?
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, what the new place costs, 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 Heidelberg 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 Rosanna, Viewbank, Ivanhoe and Eaglemont?
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.