Speaking on The ifa Show, Saikal-Skea Independent Financial Advice founder Andrew Saikal-Skea, who specialises in helping military personnel transition out of the service, said there are a range of unique circumstances that arise around this advice niche.
“[A lot of my clients are], for want of a better word, pushed out of the military. They’ve usually reached a certain rank, offered a command-initiated transfer to reserves or ‘sitter’, where basically they say, ‘Here’s a year’s pay, you’re out’,” Saikal-Skea said.
He added that a large portion, if not all, of these clients essentially have a defined benefit scheme.
“There are interactions with that defined benefit and working that through and making intelligent choices with it. Particularly now, with things like the overlay of Division 296,” Saikal-Skea said.
“They also have quite a lot of medical discharges at the moment [in the military]. That process is not great in terms of when they get offered money and decisions that they’ve got to make and doesn’t really line up with the DVA and CSC administration of the defined benefits.”
That is where Saikal-Skea and his firm steps in. While plenty of financial benefits exist for soldiers transitioning back into civilian life, veterans are often left on their own to navigate the system.
“[We help] navigate through that process and provide understanding to what’s going to happen at what stage and where the decision points lie. Trying to bring it all together is something that’s really, really valuable,” he said.
Another common avenue Saikal-Skea sees his military clients go down is taking jobs overseas.
“A lot of people would get out of the military or the public service and then would take roles overseas that were particularly lucrative,” he said. Though legal, advising overseas clients, military or otherwise, can push legislative boundaries and presents its own challenges.
“[It is] like walking a tightrope,” Saikal-Skea said, adding, “Often they’ll be in tax-free jurisdictions and earning a lot of money. They’re still usually building wealth overseas to bring it back to Australia.”
Understanding a client’s goals, background and the jurisdiction they are in are key, according to the experienced adviser, including for his former military clients.
“We can only advise on Australian assets. For most people, if they’re moving overseas with an intention of coming back here, then it’s still appropriate because they don’t hold a lot of assets overseas,” he said.
“My advice is usually go and find a financial adviser in the jurisdiction that you’re [looking] to build a future in.”
Like any financial adviser working with a niche clientele base, there is a lot of value in understanding the unique challenges they face.
“The way I look at it is that … a lot of financial advisers start out as a bit of a GP in the sense that we’re sitting across all of these different specialisations,” Saikal-Skea said.
“So, general things that we’re advising on, whether it’s super, insurance, investments, estate planning. When you then look at niching or specialisation, I think it’s very important to make sure it all lines up. We wouldn’t do global advisory if we didn’t have a bunch of clients that do jobs that naturally puts them overseas.”
