6 minute read
FINANCIAL
PROTECTING YOUR WEALTH AND FAMILY
By Damian Gibson Financial Adviser, Elevate Wealth Solutions
How would you pay your mortgage and meet your other living expenses if your income stopped?
Think about the risks that you face in everyday life.
Some risks cannot be removed entirely.
However, for many risks that we cannot eliminate, we can mitigate their impact by taking out suitable personal insurances.
If you do not have adequate insurance, an unforeseen death or illness could have severe consequences for you or your family.
If you already have personal insurances in place, it is just as important to make sure you hold the correct types and levels of insurance.
The term ‘life insurance’ is an umbrella term that is used to define a series of insurance types.
Here we discuss the four main types of insurances that fall under the ‘life insurance’ banner.
LIFE (OR TERMINAL ILLNESS) INSURANCE
Life or terminal illness insurance is designed to provide a lump sum payment to your family or nominated beneficiary in the event of your death, or, in other cases, it will provide you with an early payment if you are diagnosed with a terminal illness.
The payment can allow your family to stay in their home, help provide for your children’s education, and give your spouse financial security and maintain their lifestyle if you are no longer around.
TOTAL AND PERMANENT DISABILITY (TPD) INSURANCE
TPD insurance is designed to provide you with a lump sum payment if you are no longer able to work due to an injury or illness, including mental health conditions.
The payment should provide you with financial security to support your living expenses.
There are two types of TPD insurance – own occupation and any occupation.
Own occupation will provide a lump sum if you can no longer work in your own field of work in which you specialise in and are trained for.
Any occupation, which is generally cheaper, will only provide you with a lump sum if you can no longer work in any occupation that might be suitable based on your training, education and previous employment.
CRITICAL ILLNESS
Critical illness insurance (or trauma insurance) is designed to provide you with a lump sum payment if you suffer from a severe medical issue such as cancer, a heart condition, a stroke or a major head injury.
The lump sum will give you the ability to access high quality medical treatment and cover rehabilitation costs, to allow you to focus on recovering rather than worrying about your finances.
INCOME PROTECTION (IP)
IP insurance is designed to supplement your income if you are unable to work because of a serious illness or injury.
IP policies generally cover up to 75 per cent of your employment income and are paid monthly.
IP payments can help you financially maintain your existing lifestyle and provide for your family while you recover.
Two main aspects of IP are the waiting period and the benefit period.
The waiting period is the amount of time you must wait before starting to receive any payments.
Waiting periods are generally between 14 days and two years.
The longer the waiting period, the cheaper the policy.
The benefit period is how long the monthly payments will last.
Benefit periods range from one year up to 10 years, or up to a specific age, such as age 65.
The longer the benefit period, the more expensive the policy, but your income will be protected for longer if you cannot work for an extended period.
With so many life insurance providers and products to choose from, finding the right cover for your situation and budget can be very difficult, time consuming, and confusing.
Elevate Wealth can help ensure you have the right insurances in place to protect you and your family’s lifestyle and assets.
The first step is having the conversation.
A job seeker’s guide to mutual obligations
Hank Jongen, Services Australia
IT’S been a challenging year and I know there are a lot of Tasmanians who are new to Centrelink.
This month, I wanted to share some important information about mutual obligations.
Mutual obligations are the tasks or activities people may need to do to get certain Centrelink payments.
If you’re a job seeker, employment service providers are available to help you with this.
They will connect you to employment, education and training opportunities.
We’ll tell you if you need to meet mutual obligation requirements.
If you’re a job seeker, there’s three key steps you’ll need to follow: 1. Visit the jobactive website and complete the Job Seeker Snapshot
The Snapshot is a series of questions to help us work out the support you need to find a job.
Depending on the level of support you need, you may be referred to an employment service provider.
Otherwise, you can self-manage your job search efforts in the Online Employment Service.
The jobactive website is www. jobactive.gov.au. 2. Review and agree to a Job Plan
Once you’ve done the Snapshot you need to review and agree to a Job Plan.
A Job Plan is a list of tasks and activities, like searching for jobs, you agree to do in return for your Centrelink payment.
These are your mutual obligations.
3. Do the activities you agreed to in your Job Plan
If you connect with a provider, you’ll need to attend appointments with them.
You can do so over the phone, or in person when it’s safe to do so.
If you self-manage, you’ll see tasks to complete in your online dashboard.
It’s important for people to stay connected with the job market through job searches, training and other activities, and be job-ready as the economy starts to reopen.
If you don’t meet your mutual obligations, or you refuse a suitable offer of employment without a reasonable excuse, penalties will apply.
For more information about mutual obligation requirements, visit servicesaustralia.gov.au/ mutualobligation.
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