There have been a couple of moments in Amanda Cassar’s life that have brought home to her the importance of what she does for a living.
The first came about 15 years ago when her brother was diagnosed with a serious heart condition.
Cassar was in the early days of her planning career, but had spent six years previously working as a personal assistant to a life insurance agent before the insurance industry evolved to incorporate planning.
“My brother was suddenly hit with this condition and his wife had a young child to look after,” she says.
“He was one of those people who didn’t believe in insurance and he ended up living in a caravan at the back of his in-laws’ place.
“I remember thinking how much I would have loved to have been able to write a trauma cheque for him for $250,000.
“I know the difference that would have made.”
Another defining moment came when she was helping an older woman with her finances, after the woman’s philandering husband had left her.
“He had been giving her a weekly allowance and when they split up she didn’t even realise she was entitled to the age pension,” Cassar says.
“So it was rewarding being able to help her in that way.”
Negotiating the aged care sector
Older women relying on their husband’s super is a common trope in financial planning offices.
“I see it a lot, especially women of my mother’s generation,” Ms Cassar says.
“Some of them come in and they don’t know how to pay a bill.”
Retirement planning is also chief among Cassar’s interests.
She has most recently launched a sideline business – Trusted Age Care Services – to help people negotiate the minefield that is the aged care sector.
“I live on the Gold Coast and it is an aging population,” she says.
“There really needs to be some kind of help available for people wanting to know how best to go about finding the right aged care home.”
Cassar’s business was also prompted by her own experience with the sector.
“There came a time when we were looking for a suitable place for my great-grandmother and my family turned to me for help,” she says.
“I realised I didn’t know much about the sector, other than in the limited way planners advise clients, so I decided to look into it.”
Cassar completed an accreditation as an Aged Care Professional, and her business provides everything from one-off financial advice in relation to aged care to comprehensive research on suitable homes.
An industry of change
She remains equally committed to her career in planning, and thinks the industry is facing some interesting times ahead.
“I think the number one thing I have learned about planning is that it is an industry of change,” she says.
“Whether that be legislative or in terms of compliance, it is always changing and planners need to embrace that change.”
She is heartened by the push to lift education standards in the industry, too, but not at the expense of experience.
“I would love to see the industry move from an industry to a profession,” she says.
“And some of the older guys will struggle with the introduction of an (obligatory) degree qualification because they are close to retirement and they don’t want to go and study at that age, which I understand.
“And some of these guys do need to go, but there are also a lot of older guys out there who have really beautiful experience and we need to value that, too.”
Planner profileAmanda Cassar Name of firm: Wealth Planning Partners and Trusted Age Care Services Name of licensee (if not self-licensed): Financial Services Partners Years in the industry (previous jobs?): 15 years advising, started in industry in 1991 Academic qualifications: MFP (Masters of Financial Planning) Dip FP (Advanced Diploma via Deakin University) Accreditations: SMSF Specialist Advisor, Accredited Aged Care Professional, AFP Professional association memberships: SMSFA (SSA) MDRT, FPA, AFA – Gold Coast Chapter Chair and Queensland Inspire Committee Member |
