Financial Adviser Serving Mernda
We provide retirement-focused financial advice for Mernda households, covering superannuation, retirement planning, investments, cash flow and personal insurance.
Our office is at The Watermans in Bundoora, south of Mernda. 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 Mernda clients
Retirement planning is different from the financial decisions you make while you are working.
For Mernda 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 MerndaOur office is at The Watermans in Bundoora, about twenty minutes' drive south of Mernda. We work with clients across Mernda, Doreen, South Morang and Wollert.
- 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.
Mernda: young families, new homes and big mortgages
Mernda is a young suburb. The median age is 33, against 38 across Victoria, and almost a third of residents are aged 30 to 44.
It is a suburb of new family homes. More than half of homes have a mortgage, against about a third statewide, and almost six in ten have four or more bedrooms. More than half of families are couples with children.
Many families have roots in India and Sri Lanka. Punjabi and Hindi are among the most common languages spoken at home.
Figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census.
If your parents live with you, or moved here later in life
Parents who moved to Australia later in life may not qualify for the Age Pension straight away. You generally need to have lived here for at least 10 years. The rules are on the Services Australia site.
That can change the household budget for years, so it is worth planning for early.
For your own retirement, the years from 40 to 60 do most of the work. Small steps now add up.
What Mernda households worry about
These come up again and again at this stage. None of them require you to have anything sorted out beforehand.
-
My parents moved here a few years ago. Will they get the Age Pension?
Maybe not yet. There is generally a 10-year residence rule, with some exceptions. We check where they stand and plan the household budget around it. The rules are on the Services Australia site.
-
We have a big mortgage and young kids. Is it too early to think about retirement?
No. This is when small changes do the most good — the right fund, the right investment option, and a little extra when you can.
-
We both work long hours. Are we covered if one of us can't?
We check the life, TPD and income protection cover you already have, including inside your super. ASIC explains the basics on its insurance through super page.
-
Should we pay extra off the mortgage or put it into super?
It depends on your interest rate, your tax rate and when you need the money. We compare both with your own numbers.
-
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 Mernda
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.
Mernda is about twenty minutes from our Bundoora office.
Areas we serve near Mernda
Mernda sits in the City of Whittlesea, north 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 Mernda 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 Mernda?
No. Our office is at The Watermans, Level 2, 1/3 Janefield Drive, Bundoora — south of Mernda, 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 Mernda, by secure video, or at the office — whichever suits you.
Can my parents get the Age Pension?
It depends on their age, income, assets and how long they have lived in Australia. There is generally a 10-year residence rule, with some exceptions. The rules are on the Services Australia site.
We check where they stand, and what it means for your household.
We're in our thirties and forties. Is it too early for advice?
No. The earlier you get your super, insurance and mortgage working together, the less you need to do later.
We focus on the few changes that matter most at this stage.
Should we pay extra off the mortgage or put it into super?
Often a mix of both — but the right split depends on your interest rate, your tax rate and when you need the money.
We compare the options with your own numbers, so you can see what each choice adds up to.
Do we have enough insurance with a big mortgage?
Often not. Default cover in super is a start, but it may not clear the mortgage or replace an income. ASIC explains it on its insurance through super page.
We check what you have and only suggest changes where they are needed.
How do we save for the kids and for retirement at the same time?
In steps. We set a realistic amount for each, so one goal does not crowd out the other, and step them up as your income grows.
Does our Mernda home count toward the Age Pension?
When you get there, your home is generally exempt from the assets test while you live in it. Homeowners and non-homeowners are assessed against different thresholds.
Current thresholds are published by Services Australia.
Do you work with people in Doreen, South Morang, Wollert and Whittlesea?
Yes, along with Epping, Mill Park, Plenty and Bundoora.
South Morang, Epping, Mill Park and 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.