What’s your retirement number?
How you’d like to spend your retirement is as unique as you. You can design it for yourself. So, the amount of money you may want in retirement is not one size fits all. Your state of mind, where you live, how you spend your time as well as your goals, all play a big part.
Australia has one of the highest life expectancies in the world, and it’s likely to increase well into the 90s over the next 40 years. That means we could be looking at around 30 years in retirement. So whether your goal is to travel, get involved in your community, pursue a passion, care for family, work part-time or all of the above. It’s important to be prepared financially.
Assuming you own your own home, recent research shows that to retire comfortably, couples will need about $640,000 as a lump sum to retire on. Yet, a recent survey by Roy Morgan shows many Australians aged 50–64 may not have the amount they need to retire comfortably at 65, and in fact many may still be in debt. It can be easy to feel overwhelmed by these figures, but your finances may be in better shape than you think. There are a number of different financial strategies that can help you manage your money to support the type of retirement you’d like to live.
There are also a number of things you can do yourself now, that can really make a difference to your future retirement – both financially and mentally. That includes thinking about how you’d like to manage your income and lifestyle to reflect your changing needs. Here are some ways to get started:
1. GET CLEAR ON YOUR RETIREMENT GOALS AND HOW YOU WANT YOUR LIFE TO LOOK
Your options are endless so it’s good to get a clear idea about the lifestyle you want and the top things on your list, including:
• Knowing how you want to spend your time.
• If you have a partner, comparing lists, so you’re on the same page.
• Working out where you want to live.
2. WORK ON SIMPLIFYING YOUR FINANCES
It’s a great idea to get your finances organised sooner rather than later.
Some of the things you can work on now include:
• Tracking your spending.
• Working out where you can make savings.
• Getting your super sorted.
• Taking advantage of any government incentives you may be entitled to.
Other tips and information are also available on amp.com.au/retireright and moneysmart.gov.au.
3. THINK ABOUT YOUR NUMBERS
Have a realistic look at how you can achieve your goals, and live the lifestyle you want within the budget you have available to you. You may need to reassess some things in favour of others, or be stricter on the smaller things (like eating out) so you can enjoy bigger things in retirement (like a holiday).
4. PUT A PLAN IN PLACE TO HELP ACHIEVE YOUR RETIREMENT GOALS
Once you know where you want to go, a plan will help you step out how you’ll get there. It can make all the difference in helping you reach your retirement goals.
5. TALK TO AN EXPERT
Most of us need some help to create a plan for our retirement goals. And making the most of your super, investments, government entitlements and incentives can be hard to do on your own. Having an expert work with you to navigate different options for your retirement planning can help you feel confident in your future.
Our team at Hallerwealth are here to help and talking to a financial adviser can help you work out how much you’ll need to live on and ways of generating an income in retirement. Our team has tools and calculators to take into consideration possible future expenses, superannuation savings, planning for now and in retirement. We want to be your retirement partner and continue finding ways to keep you doing the things you love, and new things you’d like to do.
Wayne Haller Pty Ltd (ABN 18 010 334 102), trading as Hallerwealth is an authorised representative and credit representative of Hillross Financial Services Limited ABN 77 003 323 055, Australian Financial Services Licence and Australian Credit Licence No. 232705
This information is of a general nature only and does not take into account the objectives, financial situation or needs of any particular person. Therefore, before making any decision, you should consider the appropriateness of the advice with regard to those matters.
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