Financial Planning for Airline Pilots
Financial Advice Empowering Airline Pilots to Build Wealth and Freedom
A licence and a medical you keep current, the training behind them and time away from home all shape your money as a pilot. We help you plan cover, super, cashflow and the later years of flying as one.
Our Financial Advice Team Is Here to Help You
We Can Help You
- Plan income protection, TPD and trauma cover around a career that depends on keeping your medical current
- Take any loss of licence cover you hold into account when planning your income protection, TPD, trauma and life cover
- Fit the repayment of any training loan around your first years of airline pay
- Build a budget on reliable pay, with any allowances for night work, location or travel kept separate
- Plan for flying to end earlier or later than you expect, with super and savings mapped for either
- Plan super contributions in your highest-earning years, with access from preservation age in view
- Review cover, super and cashflow at a command, a type conversion or a move to another airline
- Weigh where to live against your sign-on base, including travel to it, which the ATO treats as private
Who We Help
- Cadets and new first officers starting an airline career, some with a training loan
- First officers working towards a command
- Captains in their highest-earning years
- Long-haul pilots with regular nights away from home
- Pilots living away from base including interstate
- Pilots changing airline or base and what it means for super and cover
- Pilots in their 50s and 60s, planning the final years of flying
- Former military pilots now building a civilian airline career
What we advise on
How Our Advice Works for Airline Pilots
Personal Insurance & Protection
What would look after your income if illness or injury grounded you for a while?
Income protection can pay part of your income after a waiting period, under your policy’s definition of disability.
We can weigh income protection, TPD, trauma and life cover with you, around a career that rests on your medical.
Income protection usually bases the benefit on your earnings in the 12 months before an illness or injury, and each policy has its own definition of disability. Own occupation TPD is usually only available outside super (Moneysmart). Loss of licence cover is separate general insurance, outside the cover our financial advisers advise on: we plan your other cover around any you hold, and a general insurance broker can explain that policy. The insurer sets the terms and decides any claim.
Together, we’ll work through:
- A pilot who can no longer fly but could do other work, and how own occupation and any occupation TPD definitions treat the claim
- Income protection based on your earnings in the 12 months before a claim, and whether a policy counts flying allowances
- Any loss of licence cover you hold, taken into account so your income protection, TPD and trauma are planned around it
- Trauma cover for serious conditions a policy lists and defines, subject to its exclusions, weighed alongside your income protection and TPD
- Waiting and benefit periods chosen with care, since a return to the flight deck needs a current medical certificate
- Each application answer given with reasonable care not to misrepresent anything, from your medical history to the flying you do
- What happens to any employer-arranged cover when you change airlines, read in its terms before you resign
- Life cover worked out from any training debt, any mortgage and yearly living costs, for the beneficiaries you name
Retirement & Aged Care
Whenever flying ends for you, how would you like to spend the years that follow?
Planning super and investments early can give you more choice over when you stop flying and what comes next.
Together, we’ll plan your super and investments for a flying career that could finish earlier or later than you expect.
Australia hasn’t legislated a retirement age for pilots, though from 60 an air transport pilot licence needs a Class 1 medical every 6 months, with extra flight reviews (Airservices Australia, May 2026). Countries applying the international standard can limit multi-pilot international flying from 65. Preservation age is 60 for anyone born from 1 July 1964, and super can generally only be accessed once you meet a condition of release, such as ceasing employment at 60 or over.
Together, we’ll work through:
- Two possible finish dates planned side by side, an earlier one and a later one, with super and savings mapped for each
- The six-monthly Class 1 medical from 60 on an air transport pilot licence, factored into when you plan to stop
- International flying from 65, which countries applying the international standard restrict, weighed against a plan to keep flying domestically or to stop
- A move into training, simulator or ground roles, if it appeals, planned on the income it could pay
- Your super, accessible from preservation age once a condition of release is met, timed against the last year you plan to fly
- Savings outside super, sized to carry the household through any years between your last flight and preservation age
- A retirement income stream from super, with how much to draw each year matched to the life you’d like after flying
- Beneficiary nominations on your super, reviewed with you for whether they’re binding, since only a valid binding nomination binds the fund
Tax & Wealth Strategies
After a strong year on the flight deck, how could more of your pay go to what matters to you?
Tax planned through the year can mean fewer surprises and more of each pay set aside for your plans.
We’ll go through the tax side of flying for a living with you, with an accountant advising on what you can claim.
Ryker’s financial advisers plan tax and set tax structure and strategy, working alongside your accountant, who prepares and lodges your return. The ATO’s guide for pilots treats licence renewals and the medicals CASA requires for them as deductible, but not your initial licence or training that gets you a pilot job. Loss of licence premiums are deductible only where the policy pays regular amounts that count as income. An accountant confirms how each applies to you.
Together, we’ll work through:
- Medical examinations and licence renewals, which the ATO’s pilot guide treats differently from your initial licence, confirmed by an accountant
- A type conversion course you pay for while employed, which the ATO’s examples show can be deductible, confirmed with an accountant
- Training taken to get your first pilot job, which the ATO says isn’t deductible, kept separate from study for a job you already hold
- Loss of licence premiums, deductible only where the policy pays regular income, with an accountant confirming how your policy is treated
- Travel allowances for nights away, generally included as income, with an accountant on what you can claim against them
- A VET Student Loan for flight training, repaid through the tax system, with salary sacrifice into super counted in the repayment income the ATO uses
- Commuting to a sign-on base far from home, which the ATO treats as private travel, planned for in your after-tax budget
- Union or professional association fees and luggage for work, listed as deductible in the ATO’s pilot guide, with records kept for an accountant
Superannuation
Could your highest-earning years as a pilot be doing more for your super?
A contribution plan matched to your pay can add to your super each year, with life after flying in view.
We can plan your super with you, for your highest-earning years as a pilot and a finish date that may move.
When you start a new job, your employer generally pays into your existing super fund unless you choose another; a default fund applies only if you have no fund. From 1 July 2026 the general concessional cap is $32,500, and caps are indexed. Own occupation TPD is usually only available outside super (Moneysmart), so where cover is held is worth weighing alongside how much you hold.
Together, we’ll work through:
- Salary sacrifice in your highest-earning years, weighed against the general concessional cap and the cash you need each month
- Any invitation to join a new airline’s own fund, weighed against keeping yours, with insurance and fees compared side by side
- Cover inside super compared with cover outside it, since own occupation TPD is usually only available outside super
- Any default cover in your super, reviewed for whether its amount and type still suit an airline career
- Contributions planned for two possible finishes, before preservation age or well after it, with super set up for either path
- Any super from earlier work, including the forces, brought into one picture with your airline super before you decide anything
- A partner’s super, if you share finances, weighed beside yours, including any contributions you could make to theirs
- The investment mix in your super, set for the risk you’re comfortable with and a finish that could come early or late
Cashflow & Financial Wellbeing
Which goals could your allowances help fund, kept apart from your regular pay?
Setting regular bills against pay you can count on can free any extra for savings and your plans at home.
We can set up a household budget with you that starts from your reliable pay and treats allowances separately.
The ATO’s guide for pilots lists allowances such as night-time operations and location allowances as income, and allowances can change with the flying you do. We can set regular bills against the pay you can rely on, give any training loan repayments and the cost of travel to your base their own place in the budget, and keep a buffer for times when flying is reduced by events outside your control.
Together, we’ll work through:
- A monthly budget built on base salary, with any night or location allowances you receive directed to savings or goals
- Money spent on meals and incidentals while away overnight, tracked against any travel allowance you receive
- Training loan repayments, if you have them, built into the budget from your first airline payslip
- A partner’s income, if you share finances, and how bills are split when one of you is away on trips
- Commuting costs to a distant base, such as flights or a second place to stay, priced into the household budget
- The cost of each Class 1 medical and licence renewal, set aside in advance rather than paid from a single month’s pay
- A pay rise at a command or a move up the pay scale, with a share planned for super, savings or debt first
- Automatic payments for regular bills, set up so due dates during trips away don’t depend on you being home
Financial Planning & Advice
What would a command, a new aircraft type or a new airline mean for your money?
Looking at each step together, early, can help you choose the move that suits your career and home life.
We can map a flying career with you, from a first airline role to the years after the flight deck.
A command, a type conversion, a move of base or airline and turning 60 can each change your pay, your cover, your super and the timing of your plans. Cover linked to an employer may not continue if you leave. We can set a review point with you at each of those moments and keep one plan built around two possible finish dates, an earlier one and a later one.
Together, we’ll work through:
- A first command, with the higher pay planned for super, cover and household costs before the upgrade begins
- A type conversion or a move to long-haul, with time away, pay and any training costs planned before you accept
- A move to another airline, with what happens to employer-linked cover, super and leave worked through first
- Changing base, compared on housing, commuting and household costs before you apply for a transfer
- Turning 60, when medicals on an air transport pilot licence move to every 6 months, set as a point to revisit the plan
- Fewer days of flying, where an airline offers part-time work, costed against the change in pay, cover and contributions
- Your goals outside flying, such as time with family or interests at home, written into the plan alongside each career step
- An industry downturn or stand-down, if one comes, planned for with a buffer built up in steadier years
Property Investment Advice
Would a home close to your base, or one further away, suit your time on and off duty better?
Comparing locations against your budget and travel time can help you find a home that suits work and days off.
We can look with you at where and when to buy, weighing your sign-on base, travel time and household budget.
The ATO treats travel between home and your usual sign-on point as private, so living further from your base is a cost you carry yourself. Lenders decide how they assess salary and allowances, and a broker arranges any loan. Together, we can set a purchase against your other goals, and against the cover and savings it calls for, before any loan application goes in.
Together, we’ll work through:
- A home near your base compared with one further out, on price, commute and the hours that travel takes from days off
- Repayments tested against your reliable pay, with allowances treated as extra rather than counted on
- Deposit savings and any training loan repayments planned together, at amounts your monthly budget can carry
- Cover amounts lifted to match a new home loan, if needed, once a broker has arranged the borrowing and before settlement
- Shared accommodation or a rental near your base, weighed against the cost of commuting from home
- A transfer to another base, and what owning a home in one city while flying from another would cost
- A home’s location weighed for early sign-ons and late finishes, when travel time adds to a long duty day
- Stamp duty, moving and settlement costs, set out with your deposit before you commit to a purchase price
Your Flying Career, Worked Through Together
Cover Around Your Medical
Income protection, TPD and trauma weighed for a career that depends on a current medical.
Planning Around Loss of Licence Cover
Your income protection, TPD, trauma and life cover planned around any loss of licence cover you hold.
Flying’s Later Years
Super and savings planned for a finish that could come earlier or later than you expect.
Training Debt in the Budget
Any training loan repayments planned against your first years of airline pay.
Pay and Allowances
A budget set on reliable pay, with allowances for nights away or location kept separate.
Living Away From Base
Where to live weighed against travel to your sign-on base, which the ATO treats as private.
A Command or Conversion
Cover, super and cashflow reviewed before a command, a type conversion or a move of airline.
Super Towards Preservation Age
Contributions planned in your highest-earning years, with preservation age and your finish in view.
Proactive, Holistic, and Experienced Financial Planning
Earning a seat on the flight deck takes years of training, study and hours in the air, and the job carries real responsibility every time you sign on. We’ll take the time to understand what you want from flying and from the rest of your life. Then we can help you plan for each step of the career ahead, whichever direction it takes, with your money choices built around the life you’d like to live.
Time away from home can be part of the job, and the people and interests in your life outside work matter just as much as the flying. Your cover, your super and your household budget can all sit in one plan, reviewed with you whenever your career or your life changes. Wherever you are in your flying career, we’ll work with you on a plan built around what matters to you, now and in the years after your last flight.
Every financial decision impacts the next
Your Financial Life Is Connected
Great advice starts with understanding the bigger picture. Every stage of life presents new opportunities and challenges, from buying property and changing careers to growing your family, planning for retirement and protecting what matters most. At Ryker, we help connect every piece of your financial world into one clear strategy.
Your
Wealth
- Property & Investing
- Career & Income
- Tax Strategy
- Insurance & Protecting Your Family
- Super & SMSF
- Wealth & Investments
- Life Events & Changes
- Business & Wealth
- Legacy & Future Wealth
- Retirement Planning
Frequently Asked Questions
We’re invested in your long-term success. What we do is personal, and we take it personally.
Your financial decisions connect, so we consider the parts of your financial life that are relevant to the advice you need:
- Property & Investing
- Career & Income
- Tax Strategy
- Insurance & Protecting Your Family
- Super & SMSF
- Wealth & Investments
- Life Events & Changes
- Business & Wealth
- Legacy & Future Wealth
- Retirement Planning
This is how we help you make decisions today with your longer-term goals in view.
Everybody’s situation is different, so we listen first, understand what matters to you and explain your options clearly before we make a recommendation.
It depends on the policy and on the reason you can’t fly. Moneysmart says income protection is for when you’re unable to work due to illness or injury, and each policy has its own definition of disability and conditions that must be met before a claim is made. It usually bases the benefit on your earnings in the 12 months before the illness or injury.
Loss of licence cover is separate cover that pays on its own terms. We can read the definitions in your income protection with you, and plan your cover around any loss of licence cover you hold. The insurer makes the final decision on any claim.
Your accountant and financial adviser bring different expertise to the same decisions. Your accountant can advise on tax reporting, structures and consequences; we help you plan how cashflow, debt, super, investments and protection work towards your goals. We can coordinate before important decisions.
What an accountant does
- Prepares and lodges tax returns, BAS and financial statements
- Advises on tax structures such as companies, trusts and partnerships
- Manages bookkeeping, payroll and ATO compliance
- Provides tax advice on the consequences of a transaction
What a financial adviser does
- Sets a long term strategy across retirement, investing and cash flow
- Builds wealth from early in a working life, starting with cash flow, a first home and super
- Recommends specific super funds, investments and personal insurance
- Operates under an Australian Financial Services Licence, which is required to give personal advice on financial products
- Handles retirement planning, Centrelink and aged care strategy, and estate planning considerations
Professional roles and authorisations matter. We provide financial advice within our authorisations and work with your accountant for specialist tax advice and lodgements.
Where they work together
- Tax position. Your accountant confirms your marginal rate, deductions and carried forward losses, which shapes decisions on super contributions, investment structures and the timing of asset sales.
- Business and entity structures. Your accountant advises on the structure itself and your financial adviser works within it for investments, insurance and succession planning.
- Cash flow. Your accountant’s figures can help us understand what’s available for debt repayment, protection and longer-term goals.
- Before key decisions. We can coordinate with your accountant on contributions, asset sales and other material choices in time to consider relevant tax consequences.
They’re separate kinds of insurance with different triggers. Loss of licence cover is general insurance that can pay if you lose your licence or medical certificate, on the policy’s own terms, as a lump sum, regular payments or both. Income protection is a type of life insurance that can pay part of your income after a waiting period if illness or injury stops you working.
Loss of licence cover sits outside the insurance our financial advisers advise on, so a general insurance broker is the person to ask about that policy. We can plan your income protection, TPD, trauma and life cover around any loss of licence cover you hold.
Australian law doesn’t set a retirement age for pilots. Airservices Australia’s record of Australia’s differences from the international standards (May 2026) says the international age limit isn’t implemented here, and that pilots over 60 in commercial air transport have extra medical and flight review requirements, including a Class 1 medical every 6 months on an air transport pilot licence.
The international standard limits pilots in multi-pilot international commercial flying to age 65, and countries that apply it can restrict flights involving older pilots. Whether an airline has its own policy is a question for your employer.
We can plan super and savings with you for a finish that comes earlier or later than you expect.
It depends on when and why you paid for the training, and an accountant can confirm your position. The ATO’s guide for pilots says you can’t claim self-education that gets you a job as a pilot, such as a cadetship, or the initial cost of your licence. Study connected to your current job, such as a type conversion you pay for while employed, can be deductible, and so can licence renewals and the medicals CASA requires for them.
If your training was funded with a VET Student Loan, that’s its own study and training loan, repaid through the tax system: compulsory repayments apply in any year your repayment income is above the minimum repayment threshold. We can plan your budget and super around the result.
Cover arranged through an employer, a union or an association, or bought online, can be a real foundation, and it’s worth knowing what it includes first. Group cover is set for many members at once, so its definitions, amounts and end dates may not match your own position.
Advice starts with any cover your employer, union or association provides and what you hold in super, then looks at your debts, household and career plans. A comparison tool can show features and premiums, but it may not take in your whole position. We can show you where existing cover already fits, and where a gap might sit, before you change anything.
Planning for two finish dates, rather than one, can give you choices either way. Points worth planning:
- Savings outside super for any years between your last flight and preservation age.
- Income protection and TPD definitions that suit a pilot’s work.
- How any loss of licence cover you hold sits beside the rest of your cover.
- Other work you might enjoy, such as training or ground roles.
- Super contributions in your highest-earning years.
Preservation age is 60 for anyone born from 1 July 1964, and super can generally only be accessed once you meet a condition of release, such as ceasing employment at 60 or over. We can build the plan with you and review it as your career moves.
Yes. Wherever you are in a flying career, from a cadetship or a first airline role to a command or your final years on the flight deck, the conversation starts with your own position.
There’s no cost for the initial conversation. Any advice after that is a paid service, with its scope and fee agreed with you in writing first.
Useful things to have with you: a recent payslip showing any allowances, a super statement showing any cover, any training loan balance, details of other cover you hold, including any loss of licence cover, and your next medical renewal date. Meetings can be in person or online.
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Advice for All Stages of Life
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Whatever’s on your mind, we’re here to help. You’ll speak with an authorised financial adviser who’ll listen first and get to know what matters to you.
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