If you’re approaching retirement and your finances feel scattered across multiple super funds, direct shares, investment properties, insurance bonds, and various cash accounts, you’re not alone.

For many Australians, wealth has been built gradually over decades. Each investment decision made sense at the time. But what begins as a series of smart, independent moves can often result in a fragmented portfolio that’s inefficient, expensive and hard to manage, particularly as you near retirement.

The good news? Consolidation isn’t about undoing the pst. It’s about bringing order and structure to everything you’ve built, so it can work harder for you in retirement.

The Hidden Cost of Fragmentation

While it might not seem urgent at first glance, fragmentation in your portfolio can be quietly eroding your financial position.

• Lower returns: Holding large amounts of cash might feel safe, but it’s likely underperforming compared to a structured portfolio of diversified growth assets.
• Inefficient tax outcomes: Insurance bonds may be taxed internally at 30%, while superannuation (especially in pension phase) is taxed at 15% or even 0%.
• Unnecessary fees: Managing multiple accounts, especially older or legacy insurance bonds, can mean paying higher ongoing fees than necessary.
• Overlapping cover: Duplicate insurance policies within different super funds may lead to over-insurance or loss of cover if not carefully managed.
• Lost opportunities: Without consolidation, your overall asset mix is likely not working as a cohesive investment strategy tailored to your retirement goals.

What Good Looks Like

Consolidation done well doesn’t just simplify your financial life, it makes it more powerful.

For one of our clients, age 62, we helped reduce ten disparate accounts down to just three, saving more than $6,000 in unnecessary insurance premiums. They previously held super, insurance bonds, direct shares, and cash. With advice, they:

• Rolled multiple supers into one low-cost fund each (retaining one for insurance)
• Sold down shares and insurance bonds to fund super contributions
• Commenced account-based pensions for both partners
• Invested their retirement capital into a diversified strategy aligned with their risk profile and lifestyle goals

This allowed them to draw the minimum pension while continuing part-time work, giving their super a chance to grow during the early years of retirement.

They now have a clear picture of their assets, a single reporting structure, control over their investment mix, and the ability to measure performance. As we often say, what gets measured gets managed.

How Consolidation Works: Step by Step

A well-structured consolidation plan typically follows this sequence:

1. Inventory: Gather everything in one place, super, investments, cash, and insurance.
2. Insurance & needs analysis: Assess whether cover is appropriate and cost-effective.
3. Tax planning: Understand CGT consequences on sales and use deductible super contributions to offset tax where possible.
4. Super contributions & rollovers: Identify which accounts to retain and which to roll.
5. Asset allocation: Build a consolidated, diversified portfolio that aligns with your retirement income needs and risk profile.
6. Commence pensions: Start drawing tax-free income and structure accounts for longevity.
7. Ongoing review: Ensure the strategy evolves with your lifestyle, health and goals.

What Happens If You Don’t Consolidate?

You may be unknowingly leaving money on the table:

• Higher investment tax bills
• Underperforming assets (particularly cash and legacy products)
• Unnecessary fees
• Missed super contribution opportunities
• Complicated estate planning, especially if one partner passes away unexpectedly
• Decision fatigue and reduced financial confidence

Our Advice? Don’t DIY This

One of the most common mistakes we see is people trying to consolidate without a strategy.

• They hold onto underperforming super funds because of old insurance they’re afraid to lose.
• They sell down shares without understanding the capital gains consequences.
• They miss key opportunities to use personal deductible super contributions to offset tax.
• They retain a scattered asset mix that’s hard to administer and even harder to transfer smoothly in the event of death or incapacity.

This is where good advice makes all the difference.

Book Your Consolidation Check

If your wealth is spread across multiple accounts or you’re not sure how all your assets fit together, now is the time to get clarity.

Book a 20-minute Consolidation Check with Lighthouse Financial Group. We’ll help you map what to keep, what to move, and when, so you can retire with confidence and control.

Lighthouse Financial Group Pty Ltd, Authorised Representative 000287794 ABN 221 13 759 952 is a corporate authorised representative of Fortnum Private Wealth Ltd ABN 54 139 889 535 AFSL 357 306. The information contained within this article does not consider your personal circumstances and is of a general nature only. You should not act on it without first obtaining professional financial advice specific to your circumstances.