Financial Adviser Serving Montmorency
We provide retirement-focused financial advice for Montmorency households, covering superannuation, retirement planning, investments, cash flow and personal insurance.
Our office is at The Watermans in Bundoora, a short drive west of Montmorency. 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 Montmorency clients
Retirement planning is different from the financial decisions you make while you are working.
For Montmorency 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 MontmorencyOur office is at The Watermans in Bundoora, about fifteen minutes' drive west of Montmorency. We work with clients across Montmorency, Greensborough, Eltham 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.
Montmorency: teachers, family homes and the step into retirement
Montmorency is a suburb of family homes. Almost nine in ten are separate houses, and only about one in six homes is rented, against nearly three in ten across Victoria.
More people work in schools here than across Victoria, and more work part-time. People aged 60 to 74 make up nearly one in five residents, against about one in seven statewide.
Residents give a lot of unpaid time. A third of adults looked after children without pay, and more than usual cared for someone who is ill or older.
Figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census.
If you work in a school
Teachers in Victorian government schools can be in different kinds of super, depending on when they started. Staff who started before 1994 may be in a defined benefit scheme run by ESSSuper, which works very differently from an ordinary super account. Details are on the Department of Education site.
If you are not sure which you have, bring your latest statement. We read it with you before we plan around it.
Many people here also want time for family or volunteering. We plan your retirement around how you actually want to spend your days
What Montmorency households worry about
These come up again and again at this stage. None of them require you to have anything sorted out beforehand.
-
I'm a teacher. I'm not sure what kind of super I have.
Bring your latest statement. Older schemes work very differently from ordinary super accounts, and the choices at retirement are often hard to undo. We check before we plan.
-
We'd like to cut back to help with the grandkids. Can we afford it?
Often more than people expect. We work out what dropping a day or two costs you now and by retirement, so you can decide with the numbers.
-
The house is paid off. What should we do with the extra each month?
Adding to super is often worth it, within the yearly cap. If your balance is under $500,000, you may also be able to use unused cap amounts from earlier years. The rules are on the ATO site.
-
One of us looks after a parent. How does that change our plans?
We look at the time and money it takes, and what it means for when each of you can stop work.
-
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 Montmorency
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.
Montmorency is about fifteen minutes from our Bundoora office.
Areas we serve near Montmorency
Montmorency sits in the City of Banyule, 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 Montmorency 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 Montmorency?
No. Our office is at The Watermans, Level 2, 1/3 Janefield Drive, Bundoora — a short drive west of Montmorency, 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 Montmorency, by secure video, or at the office — whichever suits you.
I'm a teacher. What kind of super do I have?
It depends on when you started. Victorian government school staff who started before 1994 may be in a defined benefit scheme run by ESSSuper. Later starters are usually in an accumulation fund. Details are on the Department of Education site.
Your latest statement will show which one you have. We go through it with you.
What is a defined benefit scheme?
It pays a benefit worked out by a formula, usually based on your salary and years of service, rather than on investment returns.
Some schemes let you take a pension, a lump sum or a mix. The choice is often hard to undo, so it is worth getting advice before you decide.
We'd like to cut back work to help with family. Can we afford it?
Often, yes. From 60, a transition to retirement pension lets you draw some super while you keep working part-time. Moneysmart explains it on its getting your super page.
We work out what cutting back costs you now and by retirement.
The house is paid off. Should we put more into super?
Often, yes. Extra before-tax contributions count toward your yearly concessional cap, together with your employer's. If your balance is under $500,000, you may be able to use unused cap amounts from earlier years. The rules are on the ATO site.
We check how much is worth putting in, and when you will need it.
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 Montmorency 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 Greensborough, Eltham, Lower Plenty and Briar Hill?
Yes, along with Watsonia, Yallambie, Viewbank and Bundoora.
Greensborough, Watsonia, Yallambie and Viewbank 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.