There’s a lot happening in financial advice right now.

New super contribution caps. Division 296. Budget announcements. Rule changes. It can feel like every few weeks there’s something new to absorb, worry about, and act on.

If you’re already going through something hard – a bereavement, a separation, the early stages of retirement – that noise can feel completely overwhelming.

So I want to tell you something I shared recently on the Financial Standard podcast, in an episode called Catching EOFY Curve Balls: An Evolutionary Process: I don’t pass all of that on to my clients. And I think that’s one of the most valuable things I do.

The problem with “keeping clients informed”

Early in my career, I felt a responsibility to share everything. Every proposed change, every budget announcement, every reform that was being floated. I thought that’s what good advice looked like – keeping people across it all.

What I noticed over time was that it wasn’t helping. It was overwhelming people. And worse, a lot of those announcements never actually became law. I was creating anxiety about things that never ended up mattering.

The people I work with – mostly women who are often navigating the financial side of life for the first time, going through bereavement or divorce – are not sitting down with spreadsheets. They’re not reading the financial press. They’re dealing with grief, or the end of a marriage, or a retirement they didn’t quite plan for.

The last thing they need is a stream of “have you heard about this change?” emails from their adviser.

My filter now looks like this

I tell clients about a change when two conditions are met: it’s clearly going to pass into law, and it specifically affects them.

That’s it.

If it’s proposed but uncertain, I wait. If it passes but it doesn’t touch their situation, I don’t raise it. If it does affect them, I bring it up in our next meeting – in person, one-on-one, where I can explain what it actually means for their circumstances and answer their questions properly.

I’ve found this reduces anxiety enormously. And honestly, for a lot of the regulatory noise that gets generated, nothing changes for the client anyway.

What I’m actually watching right now

That said, there are things worth being across this financial year.

The concessional and non-concessional contribution caps increased from July 1. For pre-retirees – people who are still working and building up their super – this is worth paying attention to, particularly if you’re in a position to contribute more. The five-year carry-forward rules make this worth planning carefully over a multi-year horizon. It’s not a simple decision and it’s not something I’d try to navigate alone.

For retirees, the main thing to stay on top of is making sure you’re drawing the minimum required from your super – no more, no less than what the rules and your cashflow needs dictate.

For those in between – a year or two from retirement, or a few years into it – that’s the most complex period, and the one where getting proper advice makes the biggest difference.

Division 296, which affects super balances over $3 million, is on a lot of people’s radar right now. If this does apply to you, it’s worth a conversation about how your estate planning and super strategy might need to adjust over time.

Being the steady hand

The thing I keep coming back to is this: my clients have been through huge change. They’ve lost a partner, or a marriage, or the life they planned for. They’re already managing more uncertainty than most people face.

What I try to be is the steady hand. The person who says: yes, there are changes. Yes, the rules shift. And we will deal with it together, as it happens. You don’t need to carry all of this.

That’s not me being dismissive of the complexity. It’s me doing the complex work on your behalf – watching the changes, filtering what’s relevant, and bringing you what you actually need to know, when you need to know it.

That’s what advice is for.

You can listen to the full conversation on the Financial Standard podcast: https://open.spotify.com/episode/1tEZIDGQrzaBpyhLFB1VCp

If you’d like to talk through your situation, I’d love to help. You can book a free initial call with me at planningsolo.com.au/book-a-call – no pressure, just a conversation.

This article contains general information only and does not take into account your personal situation. You should consider whether the information is appropriate to your needs and, where appropriate, seek professional advice from a financial adviser.