helping make good choices

HESTA member Anna is enjoying semi-retirement thanks to some good advice.

Anna is a Consultant Psychiatrist who now works part time in her own practice at home. She also has two supervision groups of psychologists, social workers, art therapists and a GP, and they meet once a month for a two hour supervision session. “I am passionate about passing on my skills to the next generation of therapists, and leaving a legacy. I also feel very privileged and humbled to be able to see my patients change and grow as a result of the therapy,” says Anna.

At the same time as working, Anna draws upon her HESTA Income Stream, which she has built up over her working life. “Superannuation has been very important to me throughout my working life. I have always contributed extra and this has enabled me to have a healthy superannuation balance in my retirement.”

Why Anna chose HESTA

For Anna, the choice to join HESTA in 2003 helped her to get control of her super. “In my early working life, my accountant managed my super, but not well. I was in a number of funds, I paid high fees and the funds did not perform well. I then decided to join HESTA as it’s an industry fund for health professionals, so it was the obvious choice.

“After I joined, I sought advice from HESTA. I was provided with a professional report and found the advice to be very good and rolled all my super from my multiple accounts into HESTA,” says Anna.

When advice counts

"The Global Financial Crisis in 2008 really rattled me. As I had already reached my preservation age at that point, I pulled about a third of my super out of my HESTA account so I had cash.

“In hindsight, this was clearly a mistake, most notably because I was no longer eligible to contribute to super because of my age. However about three years ago I sought help from a HESTA Financial Planner who put together a financial plan for me so that I was able to invest that money, which I eventually used to help my son buy a house.”

The rest of Anna’s super has remained in HESTA Income Stream. “I have chosen to invest in the Sustainable Growth option, which has not only performed very well, but has meant that I am invested ethically and not contributing to global warming,” says Anna.    

“I’ve been very happy with HESTA. It’s a super fund that invests responsibly and has given me a very good retirement income. Above all, I believe HESTA looks after its members very well.”