It's Time To Talk

“Even if the timing of your retirement isn’t what you anticipated, at least you’re prepared,” says Steve Beattie, Certified Financial Planner and a founding partner of Perth retirement specialists Wealth Management Partners. “Thinking ahead and maximising all the options enables you to retire on your terms.”

Retirement can be a time of conflicting emotions. The last thing we want is to be worrying about paying the bills. “The peace of mind that planning and preparation can provide is everything when you give up that regular paycheque,” Steve says.

Whether it’s a caravan and the open road, long-awaited voluntary work, moving into the city, out of the city, or to a new city, brushing up on your Spanish or moving closer to family to look after the grandbabies, we all have a picture of what we hope retirement might look like. And while the pandemic has thrown a blanket of uncertainty over many things, there’s no reason we have to relinquish our retirement goals and aspirations. “The key is knowing what we want to do and having a financial plan to make it happen,” Steve says.

Meet the RIC. The Retirement Income Covenant, new legislation effective from 1 July 2022 resulting in superfund trustees offering comprehensive new income products for retirement. As if things weren’t complicated and noisy enough. But as Steve explains, “super funds are not licensed to provide personal financial advice. They can highlight the features and benefits of their products, but they can’t tell you whether the product is right for you. Neither can they tell you what role it could play as part of your overall retirement strategy. A licensed financial planner can.”

Spur-of-the-moment choices don’t usually make for the best outcomes. Taking time to map out the journey, anticipating any bumps in the road, roadblocks, detours and sensible shortcuts, is more likely to get you to your destination. “Will I have enough money to last me the rest of my life? Are my investments too risky? Too conservative? Am I maximising government benefits? How can I plan for the unforeseen? How will I fund those special milestone events or big purchases? These are all questions best answered ahead of time, before they become critical,” Steve says.

What if you could give up work now, or at least cut back on your hours? A sit-down with your financial planner could reveal that part-time work is already financially feasible. You could dial down your working commitments and dial up your lifestyle without compromising the security of your longer-term plans. No one wants to miss out on opportunities and experiences because they’re worried the money will run out.

When you retire, a big chunk of money in the form of your superannuation effectively drops into your lap. But it doesn’t have to just sit there waiting for you to draw on it bit by bit in lieu of a paycheque. It’s there to work for you. And a financial planner can develop a strategy that makes it work as hard as possible.