Checking with an expert can help

Meet Nicole and Jodi

With more than 50 years combined financial services experience, Nicole Bell and Jodi Seaton are just the right people to assist Retirement Essentials members with affordable financial advice.

The team at Retirement Essentials realised quite some time ago that supporting our members with Age Pension applications was only meeting one aspect of their needs.

Of more importance, for many members, was the need to check in with a licensed adviser to discuss single-issue money concerns – things like how to access super, maximise benefits, arrange gifting, mortgage repayments – which are all significant decisions.

Our advisers tell us that many of the members they’ve helped know most of what they need to, but they often want clarification, confirmation and reassurance that their understanding of the rules is correct and advantageous.

To be able to share such concerns and resolve next steps can be a huge relief.

Read on to learn two of the ways in which Nicole and Jodi have helped members this year.

Introducing Nicole Bell

Nicole is really excited to be part of the Retirement Essentials team which works on creating the best customer experience.

A former retail banker and investment analyst with the CBA, she also spent years with the bank’s financial planning division, specialising in retirement income, superannuation and aged care advice.

After a brief stint in stockbroking, she has joined Retirement Essentials with the goal to help as many clients as possible.

‘So many clients can feel intimidated by the financial planning process – or are scared of being ripped off. Those without extensive financial assets can feel that they may not have enough to justify a meeting. Others are simply confused about the process.

I am loving the challenge of explaining the detail in a way they can understand.

And the opportunity to empower them to make the right choices.

If we can pull out and solve one piece of the puzzle straight away, customers are so grateful. I feel as though I am in the right place to make a real difference for them.’

A recent success story for Nicole was working with a couple (husband 67, wife 62). The husband was looking at retiring but was going to delay this, as he believed that he would not qualify for the Age Pension. But then Nicole shared that his wife’s super was not an assessable asset at this stage, and by moving some of his super to his spouse’s account, he would qualify for $210 a fortnight, or over $5,000 a year in extra income. Right away! The result of this consultation made a significant difference to this couple’s plans.

That’s why it’s always worth checking with an expert.

Introducing Jodi Seaton

Jodi previously managed her own financial planning business for 19 years. Before this she worked in corporate superannuation management with a strong background in financial services education and training.

Her specialisation is in retirement planning and Centrelink benefit optimisation, so she’s just the expert who can help explain entitlements in plain English and help you manage your finances to optimise your ongoing entitlements.

‘My whole career experience has brought me to this point. I love what I do because I enjoy helping people make informed choices about their futures.

It’s fair to say that people don’t know what they don’t know. They are continually trying to work out what is true, what is not, which rules apply to them and which don’t.

There’s a reason for this and that is because the rules are so very complex. There’s too much information out there. But all of the choices people might have are not necessarily clear.

Without a doubt we believe that we are helping boost confidence for our members.

A lot come to us and say that they have done some research and they are having a consultation in order to clarify any of those things that they don’t know, that might need to be taken into consideration.

Jodi’s recent success was with a lady who does not qualify for the Age Pension, who is in large house, but has no discretionary income. In short, she is asset rich and very cash poor. The lady read about the Pension Loans Scheme in a recent Retirement Essentials enewsletter and booked a consultation with Jodi to check whether this might be a suitable way of freeing up some cash.

When Jodi stepped her through the detail, it appears it was indeed a very useful strategy for this lady to live a more comfortable life in retirement. The client thanked Jodi, saying that she had helped her feel less alone in her decision-making and how good it was to have access to a professional who could provide clarification.

Do you have a niggling money worry? Don’t let it get you down. Book a consultation now to talk through your concerns and options.