Prepare for that good retirement
Wayne Davy says it is important to plan for and stay connected in retirement.
WHETHER you’re two or 20 years away from retirement, Seniors Week this week presents us with the perfect time to think about planning for retirement to ensure we can live our desired lifestyles when we retire.
With everyone’s ideas about retirement being different, planning what your retirement might look like, how much money you might need to fulfil this vision and how you can make it happen needs to start now, regardless of your life stage.
How much money you will need in retirement depends on the lifestyle you want. The ASFA Retirement Standard benchmarks the amount needed by Australians to fund either a comfortable or modest standard of living in their post work years. According to this standard, at the retirement age of 65 you’d need a lump sum of $545,000 in savings for a single person to live a comfortable lifestyle.
Living your desired lifestyle and staying connected in retirement involves care and planning.
For most Tasmanians, the most important thing right now is to work out whether you’re on track to achieve the retirement lifestyle you want. To find out, follow these three simple steps: CHECK your current super balance. TRY MoneySmart’s Retirement Planner (www.moneysmart.gov.au) to help you find out how much you’re likely to have at retirement and how long your super may last. IF YOU’RE not happy with the balance you see, you can look at ways to boost your super. A first step could be chatting to a financial planner for tailored advice you can trust.
And while financial planning is incredibly important, when it comes to living an enjoyable and fulfilling retirement, there’s also a lot more than just financial planning. Social planning should also be considered.
With “Connections” the theme of this year’s Seniors Week — connections to community, family and loved ones are a vital component of retirement planning — make sure you think about how you’re going to stay in touch with people and get involved in the community if that’s something you’d like to do.
For many people, work comes to define them, providing not only an income but also a sense of purpose. When work isn’t there any more, it can leave a gaping void. But just because you might not work any more, doesn’t mean you have to give it up entirely. You could study something you’ve always been curious about, do some voluntary work, use the skills you’ve developed over your career to mentor others, or take a job you always wanted to do but didn’t think paid enough.
But most importantly, now’s the time to really pump up your super to make sure you achieve your retirement dream — whatever that may look like for you.