When should you retire?

I just got out of a client meeting where we had been discussing this very issue…

Long term clients of mine, let’s call them Jack and Jane.

Jack had been retrenched about 10 years again and forced to find other work.

Luckily for Jack he was able to find some work. Work that he loved but did not pay him what he had been used to.

Jane had worked for the same company for years, however, the culture had changed for the worse. To the extent Jane would come home exhausted and at times in tears.

We’d had many discussions over the years of her packing it but the difficulty of finding work in her 60’s was frightening.

Then one day Jane received a tap on the shoulder and asked if she’d take a package. It was enough to cover a couple of years worth of salary.

In the meantime, they’d converted a room in their hills property into an AirBNB. Something to generate a little income on the side.

It had taken off.  They couldn’t keep up. This room was better than most 5 star hotels.

We worked with Jack and Jane to work through the numbers and various options.

The decision for Jane was to take the package, retire, open up more nights and focus on the Air BNB.

In the meantime Jack would continue to work. His expectation was to go until age 70. Mainly because he enjoyed it.

What changed…

Over the last 5 years, Jane had also been caring for her father, who was in a nursing home.

Sadly, he passed away in the last couple of months at the right old age of 97.

Our attention turned to the estate Jane was about to inherit. Mainly land to be sold which was now worth a handsome amount.

While they could have managed to survive without the inheritance. It was going to make life a little easier for them.

Jane revealed that after all these years of caring for her father and looking after their guests in the AirBNB.  She had developed some stress related issues.

In her words, “I’m tired of looking after other people, I just want my life back”.

Over the last few years we’d had discussions about wanting to open up another room and a space to hold weddings.

To the extent it was a little bit of a shock to me.

It was time to let the AirBNB dreams go…

On the other hand, Jack wanted to retire at the end of the year.

Why?

In his words “I’ve achieved everything I wanted to in my role and it’s time to hand it over to someone else”.

Our discussion led to what he was going to do with his time…

Jack had an interest in woodworking and he wanted to spend more time tinkering around in his shed and making furniture.

Get your PDF copy of ENOUGH? here…

Their views on life had changed…

Over the years, they’d seen the impact of their friend’s health deteriorating…

It was a wakeup call for them.

They were now staring down the barrel of some major changes.

Not only were they about to inherit a reasonable sum. They were now considering downsizing from their labour intensive but beautiful home.

The property had now become too much for them to maintain.

They wanted a low maintenance property where they could pack up and leave at any stage.

This would also mean, they’d realise a reasonable amount of equity in the home on the changeover.

It’s now always about having Enough…

The pursuit of having enough money can be never ending. For some people they will never have enough. It will consume them…

For Jane and Jack, they continued on their journey because they wanted to. Knowing that with every year that passed was less they would be drawing from their nest egg.

But having the knowledge of how they were positioned, what was possible as every year passed.

For Jane and Jack, they got to a point where it was not about making their nest egg bigger.

But more about making the time to enjoy life more while they were fit and able too.

They’d achieved what they wanted from work.

Now it was their time to live life to the full while they were still able too.

The fact I could sit there and tell them they’d be okay. Watching the relief lift from them was a special occasion…

Request a Retirement Clarity call here…

When should you retire?

While work can provide many benefits, both financial and sense of worth and contribution.

There are two components that need to be the focus.

#1 The money – you need to have the money to enjoy all the things retirement brings. The last thing you want is to run out of money.

#2 Time – time to enjoy all the experiences and activities you want to spend your time doing.

We were speaking to Tim recently. He had some health issues realising that if didn’t go out and experience life. His health would eventually restrict his ability to do all the things he wanted too.

There’s always going to be a balance between the two.

Knowing your numbers and options available is key to achieving this very balance.

You need to know what’s possible before it’s too late…

Don’t forget, “Life’s not a rehearsal”.

Want an easy, less stressful way to plan your comfortable retirement?

It all starts with a quick phone call to discuss your current retirement challenges.

If you are struggling with putting your retirement roadmap together. Confused with the next steps you should be taking. Or more importantly not knowing how much you need for your comfortable retirement…

This call will help you very quickly know what your next steps need to be to achieve your comfortable retirement with less stress…

Email me at gdoherty@jigsawprivatewealth.com.au or request a call by clicking here.

Glenn Doherty – CFP – Financial Planner | Helping people within 10 years of retirement achieve a successful retirement

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

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Achieve some clarity and maybe a roadmap on how you can achieve a comfortable retirement.

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