Preparing for retirement

Preparing for retirement

Most people don’t plan on working forever. And many who do, won’t be able to due to the frailty that comes with age.

So by choice or by necessity, at some stage most of us will need an income that is not linked to a job.

The age that most of us will have to wait for before receiving the Age Pension is 67 years old. If we want, or need, to stop working before that, we’ll need something other than the Age Pension.

Furthermore, the Age Pension fortnightly allowance is currently around 65% of the minimum full-time wage. Just over a quarter the size of the average wage/salary.

So for most of us, we will either need to plan an income stream to fund our lifestyles between the time we finish work and the time we become eligible for the Age Pension, and also to supplement or replace the Age Pension once we’re eligible.

The key questions to consider are:

  1. How much time do I have left before I want to retire?
  2. What is my life expectancy?
  3. How much income will I need to fund my desired lifestyle?
  4. What level of wealth will I require on retirement, to deliver that income stream?
  5. How much can I afford to put away on a regular basis between now and retirement?
  6. Do I want to retire completely, or would it suit me better to reduce my working hours for a period of time, before retiring fully?

Once you know the answers to these questions, you can set about making a plan that will make the most of your objectives, your situation, and the benefits and tax savings available to people who use the superannuation system effectively to plan their retirement.

We highly recommend you speak with a financial adviser to discuss your needs or visit