Financial Adviser Serving Plenty
We provide retirement-focused financial advice for Plenty households, covering superannuation, retirement planning, investments, cash flow and personal insurance.
Our office is at The Watermans in Bundoora, a short drive west of Plenty. 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 Plenty clients
Retirement planning is different from the financial decisions you make while you are working.
For Plenty 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 PlentyOur office is at The Watermans, about ten minutes' drive from Plenty. We work with clients across 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.
Plenty: big blocks, strong incomes, your own business
Plenty is a suburb of big houses on big blocks. Almost every home is a separate house, and nearly eight in ten have four or more bedrooms, against about a third across Victoria.
Incomes are high. More than half of households earn over $3,000 a week, against about a quarter statewide. One in five working residents is a manager, and more than usual work in trades such as plumbing, electrical work and house building.
Residents in their fifties make up a bigger share than across Victoria. For many here, the next ten years decide what retirement looks like.
Figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census.
If you run your own business
If you are self-employed, no employer is paying your super. You may be able to claim a tax deduction for super contributions you make yourself, within the yearly cap. The rules are on the ATO personal super contributions page.
Selling a small business can come with tax concessions, and amounts from some of them can go into super. Details are on the ATO small business CGT concessions page.
The main residence exemption from capital gains tax generally covers your home and up to 2 hectares of land around it. On a bigger block, part of the land may be taxed when you sell. Details are on the ATO site.
We plan the business, the property and your super together, working alongside your accountant.
What Plenty 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've never had an employer paying my super. Am I behind?
Maybe — but there is often time to catch up. We look at what you have, what you can still contribute, and what that adds up to by the time you stop.
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My business is my retirement plan. Is that enough?
It depends on what the business is worth when you leave it, and whether anyone will buy it. We plan for the sale and for the case where it is worth less than you hope.
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We'd like to sell the business in a few years. What should we do now?
Timing matters for tax and for super. We map out the years before the sale with you and your accountant, so the decisions are made early, not at the last minute.
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Our block is big. Is there tax when we sell?
There can be. The main residence exemption generally covers the home and up to 2 hectares of land. We check how that applies to your property before you sell. Details are on the ATO site.
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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 Plenty
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.
Plenty is about ten minutes from our Bundoora office.
Areas we serve near Plenty
Plenty sits in the Shire of Nillumbik, just 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 Plenty 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 Plenty?
No. Our office is at The Watermans, Level 2, 1/3 Janefield Drive, Bundoora — a short drive west of Plenty, about ten 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 Plenty, by secure video, or at the office — whichever suits you.
I'm self-employed. How do I build up my super?
You may be able to claim a tax deduction for contributions you make yourself. They count towards your yearly concessional cap, and you need to give your fund a notice before you claim. The rules are on the ATO site.
We work out how much is worth putting in each year, alongside your accountant.
What tax concessions apply when I sell my small business?
There are four small business capital gains tax concessions, and you need to meet the eligibility conditions. Amounts from two of them — the 15-year exemption and the retirement exemption — can go into super without counting towards the usual non-concessional cap. Details are on the ATO site.
We plan the sale and your super together with your accountant.
Does the main residence exemption cover our whole block?
Not always. It generally covers the home and up to 2 hectares of land around it. Land above that can be taxed when you sell. Details are on the ATO site.
We check how it applies to your property before you decide to sell.
We still have a mortgage in our fifties. Should we pay it off or add to super?
Often a mix of both — but the right split depends on your interest rate, your tax rate, your age and when you need the money.
We compare the options with your own numbers, so you can see what each choice adds up to by retirement.
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 and tax, 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 Plenty 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, Mill Park, South Morang and Yarrambat?
Yes, along with Diamond Creek, Hurstbridge, Doreen and Bundoora.
Greensborough, Mill Park and South Morang 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.