At our last meeting we had the pleasure of meeting Lennon Matthews-Rowell, who founded his own company, LMR & Co. in 2024 to provide services to Perth’s retirement and aged care community.
Lennon is a financial planner who helps people identify their financial goals and create strategies to achieve them.
During his informative delivery he covered the main topic of “Retiring Comfortably”, which of course is on our minds as we enjoy our golden years.
Lennon started with a recap of superannuation, focussing on the Accumulation and the Pension phase, with simple explanations of both aspects. He explained how to make additional member contributions until the age of 75 years of age and the internal taxation implications; mirrored with the tax-free investment environment of a well-positioned pension and accessing your super.
There are different types of contributions - Concessional and Non- Concessional, alongside the annual cap amounts and various taxation rules currently in place. Then there are downsizer contributions. While most of us have an idea about superannuation and pensions, it was excellent to receive an update to assist future disbursements.
This was followed with a thought-provoking discussion about Retirement Standards and expectations with our retirement spending ... exploring the aspects of a modest and comfortable lifestyle.
The most interesting part of this guest speaker’s delivery was the “Home Equity Access Scheme”, as this was something I had not heard about. This allows Australians to access the equity in their homes without the need to sell. People can explore this approach alongside the Reverse Mortgage scheme which is offered by some of our banks.
From the “Q & A” aspect and after the club meeting, there was a genuine level of interest to engage with Lennon, who was very happy to share his knowledge and advice.