When Ron and Jan were looking for a financial adviser, Ron wanted to find someone that Jan could relate to in the event of anything going wrong with Ron’s health.

When they met Russell Tym, they knew they’d met the right person.

“We trusted Russell with the management of our superannuation investments – he is knowledgeable, communicative and reliable. He listens well and explains issues carefully and completely.”

Ron heard Russell speak at a function they both attended. He did a little research, and couldn’t find anyone to say a bad word about him.

“Russell’s public profile is high in Orange and the surrounding areas – he is very involved in the community.”

Ron and Jan were using a financial adviser in Sydney before they retired in Orange. Both admit there was nothing wrong with the advice they were getting, but they felt that with the changes in Centrelink regulations, their investments needed a little more attention that they were getting.

“We approached our move with a strong inclination to develop all the support we needed locally. And it didn’t take very long to decide to select Russell.

When we sold our house in Sydney and bought one in Orange, we put the excess funds into super. We knew we needed to restructure and transfer our super money to a pension fund, and we had to entirely change the way we did everything because we were establishing ourselves for retirement.”

“Russell made me consider carefully each fund our super was invested in to determine whether they were an appropriate balance for my risk assessment. We decided to go a little more aggressive to maintain balance levels for another decade.”

Russell listened carefully to the couple’s desires, wants and needs and thanks to the restructure at Centrelink despite the assets testing, Ron and Jan Smith managed to qualify for a pension card.

“Our aim is to live on our investment earnings and not eat into our capital for at least 10 years. We live on the minimum that we have to draw, plus a small age pension.”

Ron and Jan enjoy ocean cruising so much that they have been on every major ocean on the Queen Mary 2, and since they retired, they’ve been able to do two more cruises.

The couple draw the minimum required from their I00F funds and have sufficient funds that are accessible for their cruising needs.

“After the sale of our home we put the maximum permitted into superannuation and the rest in accessible bank accounts, which have funded some renovations, a replacement car, new furniture and holidays. We live within our income so we think that our desire and capacity to travel will reduce as our funds reduce.”

Ron and Jan admit they’re in a comfortable position provided there aren’t any more
major changes to super and pension laws.

‘We are a lot better off than a lot of people we know.”

And they credit much of that comfort to Russell and MoneyLink.

“Russell exudes a great deal of confidence, diligence and care. And despite market fluctuations, Russell has taken great care of our investments, which has allowed us to do what we love. And I have a level of involvement that I have not had with other advisers.

We are mortgage free, have money in the back and an adequate income. We are dealing with some health issues, but we know we will be able to cope with any medical expenses that came up.”

And remember that initial criteria when choosing a financial adviser?

That’s a big tick. Jan thinks he’s lovely, and that’s exactly what Ron wants to hear.