Financial Planning for Every Other Stage of Life
We Help People at Every Stage Build Prosperity and Freedom
Take stock of where you stand after a change, what needs deciding now and what can wait until you’re ready. We help you put the decisions in order and plan at a pace that suits you.
Our Financial Advice Team Is Here to Help You
We Can Help You
- Take stock of what you own, what you owe and the cover you hold
- Rebuild the household budget on a single income
- Understand what a property settlement may mean for you, including super
- Decide what to do with a redundancy payment
- Coordinate wills and estate matters with your solicitor after a change, and update nominations
- Understand what your cover may pay and how a claim works
- Find the super accounts you have lost sight of
- Get a second opinion on the advice you already have
Who We Help
- Career changers with an income that changes with the move
- Separating couples working out the whole position again
- Bereaved partners with decisions to work through at their own pace
- People after a redundancy taking time to decide what comes next
- People facing a health change whose plan needs to move with it
- Carers supporting someone for the long term
- People receiving an inheritance taking time to consider their options
- Anyone at a turning point who wants a plan that fits where they are now
What we advise on
How Our Advice Works When Things Change
Financial Planning & Advice
We’ll rebuild your plan around the situation you’re in now.
When circumstances change, some of what was decided earlier may no longer fit, including cover, the budget, the timeline or the goal itself. We start by establishing where things stand, then help you decide the order in which to approach the remaining decisions.
Together, we’ll work through:
- Rebuilding the plan around the position you are actually in now
- What is still true from before, and what has stopped applying
- Which decisions may be urgent, and which can reasonably wait a while
- Any deadlines in the paperwork, identified as early as possible
- Who else needs to be involved, and in what order they are brought in
- What the next twelve months look like, before anything longer is attempted
- How the plan changes again if circumstances change once more
- A pace that suits you, rather than a schedule imposed on you
Cashflow & Financial Wellbeing
We can show you what a change in circumstances does to your monthly position.
One income where there were two, a gap between jobs or a period without work can all change what comes in each month against what has to go out. We look at essential costs and which commitments may be paused or renegotiated, then build a short-term plan around them.
Together, we’ll work through:
- What a change in circumstances does to the monthly position, in numbers
- The fixed costs, and how much room there genuinely is inside them
- How long the current position can be sustained without changes
- One income where there were two, and what that means month to month
- Which regular payments could be reduced or renegotiated while things settle
- What a period without work would cost, and how long it could run
- Where a settlement or a payout should sit while decisions are being made
- A short-term structure, and the point at which it gets revisited
Property Investment Advice
We can help you understand what a property left to you, or divided in a settlement, may cost.
An inherited home and a property divided on separation are taxed differently. An inherited main residence may be sold within a set period without capital gains tax, if the conditions are met, and its cost base can depend on when the deceased acquired it. A transfer on separation may qualify for a rollover. We work alongside your accountant and solicitor on both.
Together, we’ll work through:
- The two year window for selling an inherited home, and when it can be extended
- Whether the property was bought before capital gains tax started, and how that may affect its cost base
- How moving into an inherited home may change the tax position, checked with your accountant
- A property transferred on separation, and how a rollover may carry its tax position across
- How tax and costs may affect a settlement negotiated on gross values
- What refinancing on a single income may involve, worked through with your broker
- Whether a transfer needs a court order or formal agreement to qualify for the rollover, with your solicitor
- What to do with a property nobody in the family wants to manage
Superannuation
We’ll explain how super can be affected when your circumstances change.
Super can be split as part of a property settlement, and it’s generally paid according to the fund’s rules and any nomination rather than your will. A career that changed direction may also leave accounts behind. We check whether a nomination still names somebody from a previous arrangement.
Together, we’ll work through:
- What happens to super when a relationship ends, and how it is valued
- Whether a superannuation split will form part of the property settlement
- The accounts left behind by a career that changed direction more than once
- Whether contributions should pause or continue while this is being resolved
- Early access on compassionate or hardship grounds, and the strict conditions that apply
- Nominations reviewed immediately, since an old one may still be valid
- What a claim on the fund’s cover may pay, depending on its definitions and your situation
- Which fund to keep, if consolidating is part of simplifying things
Personal Insurance & Protection
We can check what your cover may pay, and who would receive it.
Where something has already happened, we start by establishing what you hold and what it may pay, including cover inside super. The insurer assesses any claim. Where nothing has happened yet, we review whether the policies and their beneficiaries still suit a household that has changed.
Together, we’ll work through:
- What your cover may pay, and who would receive the benefit
- Whether a policy tied to an employer has already ended
- Premiums still coming out of a super account that is no longer funded
- After a new diagnosis, what the cover you already hold still provides and what a new application may involve
- How a separation changes ownership and beneficiaries on each policy
- Whether a claim may be possible on a policy you already hold, and what the insurer would need
- Which cover may be worth keeping through this, and what could be reduced
- What is worth putting in place now, before circumstances change again
Tax & Wealth Strategies
We’ll help you understand how a year unlike your others may change your tax position.
A redundancy, a settlement, a sale, a year without income or an inheritance can each change your tax position, and some include parts that are taxed differently. The financial year a payment lands in can matter. We help you plan around it and work with your accountant on the tax implications.
Together, we’ll work through:
- How a year unlike your others may change the tax planning available to you
- The components of a redundancy payment, and how each may be taxed
- What a settlement is treated as, which is not always what it feels like
- Capital gains where an asset is transferred rather than sold
- A year of unusually low income, and any planning it may make possible
- An inheritance, and whether any tax attaches to what you received
- PAYG instalments that no longer match the income you are actually earning
- What your accountant needs to know about the change, and when
Retirement & Aged Care
We’ll help you see what a change now may mean for the far end of your plan.
Time out of work, a settlement or a career change can each affect a retirement position. Carry-forward contributions may help later if income returns and the eligibility rules are met. Understanding where the plan stands now gives the decisions in front of you a clearer starting point.
Together, we’ll work through:
- What a change now does to the retirement end of the plan
- Whether the retirement date has moved, and by how much
- How a settlement, or time away from work, moves the retirement projection
- What may still be possible to rebuild in the working years ahead
- Whether working longer is a choice, a necessity, or neither
- Where the super position lands once everything else has been settled
- What an inheritance changes about the timeline, if anything at all
- A projection updated for the position you are actually in now
SMSF
We can talk you through what happens to a self-managed fund when circumstances change.
Self-managed funds can be part of separations, estates and business break-ups, where the question is what to do with an existing fund rather than whether to start one. Trustee obligations continue throughout, and assets may need valuing before anything can be split. We work alongside your solicitor and accountant where needed.
Together, we’ll work through:
- What happens to a self-managed fund when your circumstances change suddenly
- How a self-managed fund is valued and treated in a property settlement
- What happens to the fund if a member loses capacity or dies
- Whether the fund should continue, or be wound up in an orderly way
- The trustee obligations that continue regardless of what else is happening
- How assets are transferred or sold if the fund is closing
- How the timing of a wind-up may affect tax on the assets, with your accountant
- Whether the fund still matches what it was originally set up to achieve
What We’ll Work Through Together
A Written Picture of Your Position
Set out what you have, what you owe and the cover you hold.
What Needs Deciding First
Agree an order for the decisions ahead, starting with any deadlines.
Rebuilding on One Income
Start from what the household costs and the income you can rely on.
Dividing Assets in a Settlement
Understand how tax, super and timing may affect a split, alongside your solicitor.
Insurance You May Have Forgotten
Review the policies you hold, including any cover inside your super.
What to Do With a Payout
Consider your options for a redundancy, settlement or insurance payment before committing it.
Funding a Break Between Jobs
Estimate what you may need, for how long, and where it could come from.
A Second Opinion on Your Plan
Review the numbers and your cover against your current circumstances.
Proactive, Holistic, and Experienced Financial Planning
Not everything arrives in the order you planned for. A separation, a redundancy, an inheritance, an illness, a business that ended, or a second opinion you’d like on a plan somebody else made. Any of those can change what the right next step is. We’ll start with where things stand, then help you work out what needs deciding now and what can wait, and give each decision the time it needs.
There may be somebody else in it with you, or somebody depending on how it goes. We’ll go at your pace, we won’t rush anything that doesn’t need rushing, and nothing here needs to be explained or justified. What we’re working towards with you is a position that feels more settled, and a plan that fits the life you have now rather than the one you were expecting, with room for what’s still ahead.
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.
Start by understanding how long your money could last, then make the bigger decisions.
The first things to look at are what the payment is made up of and how each part may be taxed, what your essential costs are each month, and what cover may have ended with the role. Redundancy payments can include parts that are taxed differently, so we work with your accountant on the tax position.
Knowing your runway can make the decisions ahead feel less pressured, and give you time to consider what comes next.
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.
Super can be split as part of a property settlement, and it’s treated as property rather than income. A few things worth knowing:
- A split doesn’t generally give either person early access. The money usually stays preserved until a condition of release is met.
- Valuing a defined benefit for a split is a specialist exercise, and the result may differ from the amount on a statement.
- Nominations are worth reviewing promptly, since an old nomination may still be valid.
The settlement itself is a legal process handled with your solicitor. We help you plan what its outcome means for everything else you hold, including rebuilding super where that suits you.
Take the time you need, while checking whether any deadlines apply, such as the period for selling an inherited home.
The things worth working through: whether any tax may apply, which is more likely with an asset than with cash; what it changes about your existing plan; and whose name it should be held in, particularly where a relationship or a business is involved. We work alongside your solicitor or accountant where needed.
Holding it somewhere accessible while you decide can be a reasonable approach.
An online tool can help with some of the calculations, and it can be a useful starting point.
Tools may be designed around standard situations and broad assumptions, and features vary. When your position has changed, it helps to consider what’s still true, what has a deadline attached and what the change means for decisions made under different assumptions.
We can work with the figures you’ve already gathered and bring them into a plan that reflects your circumstances.
It can, and a useful first step is understanding what you already hold before making new decisions.
That means what your cover may pay and under what conditions, including any cover inside super; whether early access to super may be available on compassionate or incapacity grounds; and what your income could look like if work changes or stops.
Then nominations, and wills and powers of attorney to discuss with your solicitor. We’ll go at whatever pace suits you, and explain what can wait.
Start with what you’re committed to paying each month, then the cover that protects the income behind it.
Fixed costs affect how much time you have and how much pressure the next decision is under, and some may be adjustable once they’re written down.
Cover is worth checking next because it may have changed without notice: a policy tied to an employer, or premiums still coming out of a super account that’s no longer receiving contributions. Once those two are reviewed, the remaining decisions can be worked through in order.
Always. Tell us what has happened and what you’re weighing up, and we can start there.
Our first conversation is free of charge. We’ll explain how we can help, whether anything may need attention soon, who else might need to be involved, and what we’ll need from you to get started.
Some people get in touch to work out whether they need advice at all, which is a good reason to call.
Who We Help
Advice for All Stages of Life
From first job to retirement, we help you build wealth, protect it, and live well.
Starting Out
First jobs, first home, first super, HECS debt, budgeting and more.
Growing Families
First home buyers, new parents, school fees, single incomes, young families and more.
Medical & Health
Doctors, dentists, pharmacists, allied health, nurses and more.
Professional Services & Tech
Lawyers, accountants, brokers, engineers, consultants and more.
Trades & Business Owners
Electricians, plumbers, builders, sole traders, franchisees and more.
Corporate & Executive
Executives, senior managers, directors, board members and more.
Public Sector & Defence
Police, firefighters, paramedics, ADF personnel, teachers and more.
Approaching Retirement
Pre-retirees, transition to retirement, Age Pension, aged care, estate planning and more.
Other Stages
Any income, any stage, career changers, separation, second opinions and more.
Reviews
Testimonials from Our Clients
Grow & Protect Your Wealth Today
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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