No need for shares panic

FINANCE experts say a hit to superannuation balances thanks to a global sharemarket fall won’t leave Gold Coast retirees short.

Robina-based Oasis Financial Planning director Steve Pollard said the turbulence, which saw billions wiped from the ASX this week, was more of a wake-up call than a crash.

“If you’re retiring in the next year or two then you potentially should be a little bit concerned,” the senior financial planner said.

“And for those coming up to be retired in the next four or five years then this should be a lesson to them.

“I always say to people you shouldn’t be exposed fully to the share market if you’re retiring in the next four years.

“You can actually choose a more conservative option.”

Mr Pollard said some investors chose to withdraw five years’ worth of post-retirement living expenses from the sharemarket before they retired to provide a cushion in case the market dropped.

“So as for those who are going to be retiring in the next few years this is a good wake up call to start adjusting the way you’re investing,” he said.

“For those who’ve got a number of years, you should be celebrating because it’s a buying opportunity.”

Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASFA) chief policy officer Glen McCrea said the key message from a superannuation perspective was “don’t panic”.

“Super’s a long-term investment,” he said.

“It’s not very comfortable watching equity markets go down but the reality is markets go up and the markets go down and the ASX and Dow Jones are higher than they were this time last year.”

Mr McCrea said people nearing retirement should go and talk to their super fund or a financial adviser if they were concerned about the stock market drop.

“Although it is not great today, if they’re careful, the future will still be secure for them,” Mr McCrea said.