Financial planning in your 40s and 50s
Peak earning. Peak leakage.
This is when you earn the most and, for most families, keep the least. Mortgage, school fees, tax at the top rate, and a super balance that has never had a strategy applied to it. It’s also when the most can still be fixed.
The decade that decides it
Nothing is badly wrong. Nothing is coordinated either. The next ten years decide whether work becomes optional at 60, or stays compulsory at 67.
Sound familiar?
Doing well, and still not sure it’s being done right.
These are the questions people bring to the first meeting. Usually more than one of them, and usually after years of meaning to deal with it.
Solid progress, no plan behind it
You’re doing well and wondering what the next move is, so your income and lifestyle hold up in retirement instead of falling off a cliff.
Happy to pay tax. Not happy to overpay.
You want to know you’re using every legitimate strategy available to reduce tax and build super, not just the ones your payroll does by default.
Balancing now against later
School, sport and holidays for the family now, while preparing properly for a future that’s closer than it feels.
No time to stay across it
Life’s too busy to track the rule changes. You’d rather have one experienced person you trust than fifteen browser tabs and a podcast.
Where a good income goes
The money that compounds is the smallest slice.
Gross income flows out through tax, the mortgage, school and living costs, then lifestyle creep. What’s left to build wealth is often a fraction of what people expect. Our job is to widen that last line.
Gross income. Strong, and probably the highest it will ever be.
Tax. At the top marginal rate, often without the structures that could legitimately reduce it.
Mortgage. Minimum repayments on a loan structured for the bank, not for you.
School and living. Real, important and expensive.
Lifestyle creep. Every pay rise quietly absorbed.
What actually compounds. The line we work to grow.
How we help
The whole household, not just the investments.
A lot of advice at this age starts and finishes with which fund you’re in. That’s the smallest part of the job. The bigger wins usually sit in how your income, debt, super, structures and tax work together, and that’s where we start.
The aim is simple: grow your wealth in a way that supports the life you have now and the one you want later, rather than asking you to give up one for the other.
- Cash flow first. Where the surplus actually goes, and how to point more of it at things that compound.
- Tax, legitimately. Concessional super strategies, how investments are owned, and whether a different structure suits. Where accounting is needed we introduce you to our referral partner Altiora Advisory.
- Debt with a purpose. Home loan structure, offset use and the order you pay things down, with lending through WE. Mortgage Solutions if a change makes sense.
- Super with a strategy. Contributions, investment mix and cover inside super, set deliberately rather than left on the default you picked at 25.
- Protection. Making sure an illness, injury or death doesn’t undo the plan for the people relying on your income.
Your complimentary session
What 45 minutes gets you.
Usually by phone or Teams, typically within a week of your enquiry. It isn’t a sales pitch and no products are presented.
Where you are
A clear read on your current position and the strategies actually available from here.
Where you want to be
Your goals turned into a plan that doesn’t require gutting your current lifestyle.
Redirecting tax
How to legitimately keep more of your income and turn it into future retirement income.
Closing the gap
Practical ways to build super and savings faster, so the distance between here and there has a plan.
Many people leave the session realising there’s a gap between where they are and where they want to be. Most are relieved to find there’s a clear, workable path to close it.
If you decide to go further
From first conversation to a plan that runs.
There’s no obligation after the session. If you’d like us to keep going, this is what happens next.
Discovery
We define your ideal future in specifics: when work becomes optional, what the lifestyle costs, what you want for the kids.
Strategy and fixed quote
We map the full picture, model the options and give you a written fixed fee before any advice work starts.
Implementation
We put it in place with you, alongside your accountant and lender where needed. You aren’t left with a document and a to-do list.
Review and adjust
Rules, markets and your life all change. We review the plan regularly so it keeps working as intended.
An illustration
A typical picture at 48.
Where they started. A couple in their late 40s, two kids at school. One runs a small business, the other is salaried. Income is good. The mortgage is paid at the minimum. Super has sat on default since their 20s and neither knows what it’s invested in. Tax time is a shock every year.
What they wanted. Work to be optional by their early 60s. They had never put a number on what that means.
Where the conversation went. Not to investments. To cash flow, the home loan structure, how the business income is taken, whether concessional super contributions are being used deliberately, and whether their cover would hold the plan together if something went wrong.
The common thread. Nothing was badly wrong. Nothing was coordinated either. Get those pieces aligned and the investment decisions become much simpler.
Illustrative scenario only. Not a real client; outcomes differ for every household.
Who you’ll be talking to
“We sit on your side of the table. If we can help, we’ll show you how. If we can’t, we’ll tell you that too.”
Andre Dirckze
More than two decades advising Australians, with offices in Melbourne and on the Gold Coast and clients right across the country. Andre works mostly with professionals and business owners in their 40s, 50s and 60s who want the years of highest income to count. We’re a family business ourselves, so we know the decisions are rarely just about money.
45-minute session
Get your Retirement Map while the runway is long.
A free Retirement Strategy Session shows where you are now, the gaps between your current path and the retirement you want, and what you can still work on. By phone or Teams. No pressure, no product pitch.
See how other families in their 40s and 50s brought their super, mortgage and insurance together. Read our client stories →
Questions we’re asked
Before you book.
Is the strategy session really free?
Yes. There’s no cost and no obligation. If you’d like us to go further afterwards, we’ll give you a written fixed fee quote before any advice work starts, and you decide.
Will you try to sell me a product?
No. The session is about understanding your situation and showing you what’s possible. No specific financial products or investment recommendations are presented.
How does the session work?
It runs for about 45 minutes, usually by phone or Teams, and is typically scheduled within a week of your enquiry. If you’d like to keep talking afterwards, we’re happy to meet in person in Melbourne or on the Gold Coast.
What should I have handy?
Rough figures are fine. Your latest super statements, your home loan details, an idea of household income and spending, and your most recent tax return all help us make the time count.
We already have an accountant. Why would we need an adviser?
Your accountant mostly looks back at the year that’s been. We plan forward: super, investment, debt, protection and retirement. The two work best together, and we’re happy to work with your existing accountant. If you don’t have one, we can introduce you to our referral partner Altiora Advisory.
Is it too late to start in my 50s?
Rarely. Your 50s are often when income is highest and the kids’ costs start easing, which can open up options. What does change is how much time each strategy has to work, so earlier is better than later. If work could stop within ten years, see planning for retirement.
How are you paid?
We’re fee for service. We agree a fee with you up front and don’t take commissions on investment products we recommend. See how our fees work.
WE. Insights
Tax, structures and building wealth.
Your next step
The best time was ten years ago. The second best is now.
Book a 45 minute strategy session and leave with a clear view of where you stand and what to do next. Rather test the waters? A free 15 minute call tells us whether we can help, and tells you whether we’re worth paying for.
Illustrative examples are not real clients. General advice only. This page does not take into account your objectives, financial situation or needs, so consider whether it is appropriate for you and read our Financial Services Guide before acting. Wealth Effect Group (CAR 424768) and Andre Dirckze (AR 395157) are Authorised Representatives of Boston Reed Pty Ltd, ABN 89 091 004 885, AFSL 225738. Accounting and tax services are provided by our referral partner Altiora Advisory, not by Wealth Effect Group; we may receive a referral fee. WE. Mortgage Solutions is a trading name of Wealth Effect Pty Ltd ATF Wealth Effect Unit Trust, ABN 78 766 858 328, Authorised Credit Representative 480612 of BLSSA Pty Ltd, Australian Credit Licence 391237. See our important information.