Three Actions You Must Take If You Want To Enjoy Your Retirement Years

Is this the year you’re going to plot your pathway to a comfortable retirement lifestyle?

Maybe you’re on the cusp of retirement or there’s still a little time till you pull the pin on your 9-5 job…

Whatever position you’re in, do you know if your retirement lifestyle is achievable?

Why?

Time is ticking away…time is a finite resource…

You need to know if you want to make the most of your retirement years. Making the most of your time while you are fit and able…

Thinking you can let the years pass by without figuring out whether your retirement is achievable and whether you’re on track.

Every day, every month and every year that passes by is less money you’ll have to enjoy in retirement. And the longer you’ll need to work…

Maybe you’re on track but don’t know. Perhaps you are a long way off your target. Or maybe you have more than enough but are unaware.

Either way, you need to know so you can safely and confidently prepare for a comfortable retirement.

What’s Your Retirement Vision?

No, we’re not being an airy fairy here…

Full retirement or semi-retirement is a time for all the things you’ve never had time for.

You can’t plan confidently and with certainty without understanding the lifestyle you want to live post work.

Take some time to consider what you are going to do with your time. How you are to fill in your days, weeks and months?

While you may be thinking I’ll play golf all week. There’s only so much golf one can play.

Sure, if you’re like most people thinking about retirement. There’s going to be travel of some sort in there. Whether that’s overseas or travelling around Australia in a caravan.

What are you going to do with the rest of your time?

Hobbies, giving back to the community, looking after grandchildren, sporting interests, keeping fit and meeting up with friends to name a few. For some that will include work they love…

One of our recent clients who has just retired wanted to spend a large part of his time reigniting a woodworking hobby of his. He has now been asked to assist with woodworking classes.

Helping clients over the last 20 years there is one thing we’ve seen that is key to a successful retirement…

Remaining active in your retirement years.

It might be helpful for you to pull out a calendar and fill in what your ideal week might look like.

Successful retirees retire to something. Not from something.

A Feasible Plan…

Abraham Lincoln once said “Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I’ll spend the first four hours sharpening the axe.”

Many look for the magic number…”How much do I need for a comfortable retirement?

But that is only the tip of the iceberg…

There is so much more that needs to be planned for if you want your money to last through retirement. Without risking a retirement disaster…

One of the biggest concerns of pre-retirees is having enough money to see them through retirement. Is this you?

The reality is few have a written plan to not only answer this question but guide them safely as they approach and transition into their retirement years.

It’s a complex and risky task if you don’t know what you are doing.

Backed by recent research undertaken by Fidelity…

In their research paper “Retirement: The Then And The Now”, found that 3 in 5 have vague plans at best. With only one in ten having a documented plan.

If you want to retire comfortably and with confidence. Knowing your money will provide you the lifestyle you desire and last the distance.

You need a plan that can answer the below questions:

#1 How much money do you need for a comfortable retirement?

#2 How much money can you spend on a yearly basis without fear of running out of money?

#3 When can you retire with confidence?

#4 What safety margin do you need to build into your plans to avoid a retirement disaster?

#5 How long will my money last?

#6 How much investment risk can I or need to take?

#7 How do I set it up safely?

#8 How long will my money last?

#9 Can I spend more if I want to?

#10 What risks do I need to be aware of and plan for?

The main theme you need to focus on is the feasibility of your current plan.

You need to spend a significant amount of time on answering these questions. Prior to working out what investments you need or the investment products you need or don’t need.

Monitoring and Course Correcting…

Just because you have a plan does mean you can park it and leave it…

One thing that we’ve experienced over 20 years of helping people plan and live a comfortable retirement. Rarely do things work out the way you thought.

Whether that’s from the plans you had to the way investment markets behave.

In 2022, we had a large cohort make the decision to retire. However, investment markets suffered a large fall which impacted their investment balances.

For these couples we’d been planning and setting in motion plans for years. They were structured to withstand such an event.

However, some were still very concerned as you would be. In these cases we updated their long term cashflows. This showed they were still going to be okay.

There’s one certainty when it comes to planning your retirement…uncertainty.

While you can’t plan for every conceivable situation or event. You look on the horizon and see what you may need to plan for.

One key aspect that can derail your retirement is how you react to situations and challenges you’ll encounter along the journey.

Using a proven process or framework is key to guiding your way through the retirement maze safely and with more confidence.

Work With An Expert…

Recent research by MYMAVINS shows that those that work with an expert are more likely to feel more financially secure than those that don’t.

In fact, the research showed 9 out 10 who had an active relationship with an expert adviser felt more financially secure. Compared to three in five for those that did not have have active relationship with an adviser.

The research also showed that pre-retiree’s and retirees who worked with an adviser were twice as likely to envisage and experience a comfortable retirement than those who did not work with an adviser.

The benefits of working with an expert to plan your retirement goes far beyond the financial benefits.

These include:

• Greater confidence in having a comfortable retirement
• Improved financial wellbeing
• Improved financial decision making
• Improved money management
• Peace of mind and general wellbeing
• Improved ability to achieve desired standard of living

These are facts and proven by academic research both locally here and overseas…

While you might think meeting with an expert is all about investments and products. And that’s where most experts focus on.

These are important to anyone’s plan. However, our discussions focus mostly on creating time to live the life you want. Before it’s too late…

While making sure you have the financial resources and strategies in place and make it a reality.

That’s what real financial planning is all about. Helping you work out whether you have the financial resources to live the life you want.

If not, how can you bridge that GAP before it’s too late?

If you’re ready to take action and it’s a priority to make sure you are on the right path to your comfortable retirement. Book your Retirement Clarity Call here and let’s have a chat about what you need to action to get on the right path to live a comfortable retirement lifestyle.

Glenn Doherty – CFP – Financial Planner | Retirement Planning Made Simple for aspiring grey nomads and avid travellers within 7 years of retirement 

We work with people in Adelaide and around Australia via virtual meetings!

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