This amusing infographic reminds us to make the most of life (and to have all our life insurance in place and up to date!). Check out some interesting statistics on what the likelihood is that you will be killed by part of an aircraft falling on you, being eaten by a shark, or just walking…
The rules are changing on 1st April 2014 and it affects you. This DOES NOT affect any Australian superannuation you may have in place. The tax rules around transferring your super to New Zealand have been complicated and unclear. As a result, the Government have ‘clarified’ these tax rules. Although the new legislation is effective…
Top 10 Bizarre Insurance Claims (with thanks to Listverse.com) Have you ever been hit by a flying Christmas tree while driving? Claimed that your mobile phone got wedged in the back end of a cow? Prepare for deep immersion, readers, into the world of bizarre insurance claims – some of them spectacular, some of them…
In New Zealand, we seem to have a love affair with the Family Trust (or correctly, the Discretionary Family Trust.) It appears that we have more Trusts per head of population than other countries. The Law Commission review on Trust law estimates that there are between 300,000 and 500,000 Trusts in New Zealand. Over the…
With the recent Court decision about how much ‘gifting’ can be protected from residential care subsidy assessment (Gifting to Trusts and Residential Care Subsidies – you can gift less than what you might think… ) we thought it would be useful to provide an update on how much of your assets you need to use…
If you have been around for a while like me, you will remember Selwyn Toogood, Teneke Bouchier and ‘the money or the bag’? Its in the Bag was a much watched game show in the 1970’s in NZ. After answering questions correctly, contestants got to choose ‘the money or the bag’. They knew how much…
The best insurance cover is the cover that pays out when you need it. At Moneyworks, our goal is to make sure that your insurance works for you. So, we were thrilled the other day to be able to help a client with an insurance claim, only 4 months after the policy was put in…
Over the last few years, I have had a number of my clients with Family Trusts ask my advice on whether they should retain the Trust going forward. As part of providing financial planning advice, we also make recommendations to our clients about whether a Family Trust is relevant for them or not. Although having…
If you are anything like me, as you are getting older, the bones are starting to creak a little and ache a little (particularly during or after exercise.) Until a universal youth elixir is invented, aging is part of reality. As we get older, there is also a higher risk that we will get injured…
This article is from a Sovereign adviser newsletter. At Moneyworks, one of our clients has greatly benefited from being a Sovereign client at time of income protection insurance claim. Check out her story here. Adriennes story. We thought you might be interested in the Sovereign approach to claims. Placing your clients’ health and wellbeing first…
When are you going to die? Sometimes I think it would be nice to know that, other times I just have no interest in knowing – a long time away I hope!!! But, as a core part of our financial planning, we need to make some assumptions about how long we are going to live. …
Do you own your own home (well, in conjunction with the bank)? Or are you waiting to get on the property ladder? Or are your children or friends waiting to purchase their first home? As New Zealanders, owning our own home has historically been considered almost as a ‘right’. But with soaring house prices in…