Is 50 too old to invest?

Michael Beresford Director, investment services, OpenCorp

In 15 years of talking with people keen to get into property investment, “Am I too late to get started?” is one of the more common questions I’ve heard. Why is this so?

In a world where many of our views of money are shaped by family and friends, especially previous generations who retired much earlier than workers today, it is easy to see how things may change at 50. But today the average Australian works into their mid-60s at least and the minimum retirement age will only continue to increase.

Investing is about being able to maximise returns by using your income-producing years to hold investments over the long term. So with at least 10-15 years of working life still in front of most 50-year-olds, property investment is definitely a worthy investment to consider.

While you are working, I believe it is never too late to start. Especially when, historically, residential property in Australia has doubled in value every 10 years, positive gains can be made from the age of 50. And these assets can be passed onto your children or beneficiaries after that, and I’m sure they will appreciate the leg-up.

With this said, aspects of investing in property get harder once you’re over 50. You need to ensure you have the cash flow to support the investment, your timeframe risk is increased (you need to select a property that performs) and obtaining a loan gets harder as you near retirement age. While none of these hurdles can’t be overcome, they are important to understand.

As always, your investment choices should be governed by an ability to achieve your financial goals. And to maximise success through property investment, a longterm approach is recommended. But these days, at 50 there is a lot of living left to be done.