The last few months have come and gone so fast. I can’t believe we are heading towards Christmas!

This quarter we have discovered benefits for our clients in unusual places and provided value in uncommon ways.

Sarah’s Story

Sarah is a Bank Teller who came to us because she was in a car accident that left her unable to walk.

As I am sure you know, the share market has been incredibly volatile, so she also needed some help with her investment portfolio.

We began a Centrelink assessment and encouraged her to consider her Estate Planning needs such as Powers of Attorney.

Then an unusual thing happened when we reviewed her superannuation.

The Life and Total Permanent Disablement Cover in Sarah’s super policy expires at age 65 according to the terms and conditions in the Product Disclosure Statement. Sarah is now 68 years old, and her super fund has continued to deduct premiums from her balance for the last three years, while clearly acknowledging in her super statement that she has no insurance at all.

Needless to say, we are currently working with the super policy to get Sarah a refund.

Tom’s Story

Tom had a successful Total Permanent Disablement claim paid to his superannuation policy in 2020, because his progressive neurological condition has significantly reduced his capacity to work. The super and insurance benefits were then rolled over to a new super fund, with the plan of starting a pension in future years.

Upon review of the Rollover Benefit Statement from the original super policy, we found that the super and insurance monies had been classed as ‘preserved’. As super must be classed as ‘unrestricted, non-preserved’ to be accessed, this would mean that despite having had a successful Total Permanent Disablement claim in 2020, Tom would not have been able to access his super under the new policy until he turned 60 years old, which is another five years away.

We contacted the original super fund and requested that they fix the error on the original Rollover Benefit Statement and send a revised copy to the new super provider.

Tom will now be able to draw a pension from his new super account when he needs it.

Feel free to get in touch before the Christmas break if you think it’s time for a review of all things financial. Who knows what extra value we can dig up with just a few more weeks of hard work remaining for the year.

The weather is amazing, and the beach will soon be calling my name.

If I don’t speak to you before the New Year – all the best to you and yours!

Ciara