Many of us spend a lot of time daydreaming about the day when we’ll finally retire and have time to do all the things we haven’t been able to do whilst working. Like finally take that 6-week European holiday, hire the sailing boat to meander the Whitsundays, learn another language or take the grandkids to Disneyland. What are some of your retirement goals?
According to the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia’s Retirement Standard, in order to live ‘comfortably’ in retirement single people will need $545,000 and couples will need $640,000. Australia’s Retirement Standard is a really interesting piece of research which is updated four times a year to take into account rising prices of items such as food and utility bills, as well as changing lifestyle expectations and spending habits. It also includes the cost of health, communication, clothing, travel and household goods. The table below outlines the incomes required by both singles and couples, based on a moderate and comfortable lifestyle.
| Modest lifestyle | Comfortable lifestyle | |||
| Single | Couple | Single | Couple | |
| Total per year | $29,632 | $42,621 | $46,494 | $65,445 |
Budgets for various households and living standards for those aged around 65-84 (March Quarter 2022, national)
Ideally, you need to have as much behind you as possible by the time you retire in order to realise some of those goals. So, it’s worth planning for retirement well before it’s upon you.
There are many strategies we use to help clients build up their retirement savings. These range from making simple additional superannuation contributions, to more complex ‘Transition to Retirement’ strategies. In addition, Shaun has been working with retiring clients since the early ’90s and as a result, has much experience navigating the ever-changing Centrelink Age Pension rules and regulations and helping our clients maximise their entitlements.
We believe in working very closely with our clients to help them achieve as close to their retirement goals as possible. If you’re already in retirement we believe in reviewing your existing position, understanding and recommending any improvements which can be made to the strategy, costs, investments, etc. and then working with you on an ongoing basis.
Please call us today on 0431 107 198.
