Your Retirement, Your Way: It’s Time to Choose Your Own Retirement Adventure

Retirement isn’t just one of life’s milestones; it’s a grand adventure waiting to be embraced. In a world where individuality is celebrated, why should retirement be any different?

Retirement in the modern world means different things to different people. It’s as diverse as one’s travel preferences…

For some, it’s about travelling the world or embarking on the big lap; for others, it’s about pursuing hobbies, pottering in the garden, or spending time with loved ones.

It may involve work, either because you want to or your need to because you don’t have enough.

While this may be an exciting phase in your life, many struggle to plan well leading up to retirement.

In a recent study conducted by Challenger (2024 Challenger Retirement Happiness Index), they found two-thirds of over 60’s would be “much happier” if they didn’t have to worry about their finances.

The majority of Australians are still worried about running out of money in retirement. Is this one of your biggest fears? If so, you’re not alone.

It’s no wonder, retirement planning is complex. Today’s modern retirement is longer than any past decades. Which means you need more money to last longer through your retirement years.

It’s about working out how much you need to live on for the next 20-30 years without ever worrying about running out of money. Then there’s taxes, inflation, investments and income to name a few.

If this sounds complex or overwhelming, next you’ve got to figure out how to safely extract your desired level of income. Without depleting your assets or putting yourself at risk of running out of money.

On top of that, you’re probably going to live longer than you think. Another component you need to navigate. It’s a complex problem…

It’s no wonder many struggle with their retirement planning. If you’re not already overwhelmed or confused it’s likely financial media is adding to your anxiety and stress around planning for your retirement.

After two decades helping couples and individuals navigate the complex landscape of retirement, we’ve identified the one thing the majority are lacking in…

…a framework or structure to think through their retirement options in a methodical manner.

Sure, you might get one or two components right, but there’s always going to be blindspots you’re going to miss for one simple reason.

You’ve been hardwired to accumulate money over the last 30-40 years. While this works for you in your accumulation years, you’re far more likely to come unstuck in the decumulation phase in retirement. One misstep and you’re at risk of blowing up your retirement plan. No one wants that.

The decumulation of your money in retirement presents it’s own set of challenges. On the one hand, you don’t want to run out of money, but you also don’t want to be the richest person in the graveyard.

Spending down your money in retirement might seem like “a nice problem to have”, but many struggle, emotionally and psychologically, with this change in mindset.

It’s a complex balancing act…

This is where a framework to think your retirement through becomes critical. It helps you block out the noise and distractions and focus on what’s going to make your retirement successful.

This is where you have control to choose your own retirement adventure.

Before we walk through a couple of real choose your own retirement adventures, let’s discuss the cost of inaction. The inaction villain, if unaddressed, may leave you with less time to enjoy your retirement years…

The cost of inaction…

The cost of not taking action can be huge, not only financially but also emotionally. It may be one of your blindspots.

Holy crap, it’s here…

A comment from a conversation I recently had. A couple who had started thinking about their retirement plan three years ago. But like most things, life got in the way, and for some reason or another, it was put on the back burner.

For this couple and many like them, it crept up because they choose to drift rather than take decisive action. The longer you drift the harder, the more time compounds which means your left rueing the missed opportunities.

It was evident they were stressed and the unknown was causing a great deal of anxiety. They didn’t know what to do.

As we spoke, it became clear this couple has missed a great deal of opportunities to not only improve their financial position but gain confidence and reduce their stress and anxiety. Missed opportunities costing tens of thousands and quite possible an early retirement.

While they could continue to rue the mistakes they had made, they could now do something about it and set a path which they would be comfortable with. They needed a framework to think through their retirement options so they could make decisive and confident financial decisions.

Choose Your Own Retirement Adventure…

Running out of money in retirement is everyone’s biggest fear…

But what if you had a glimpse into the future to see how things could potentially pan out. Would that change the decisions you make now?

Once you understand how you’re positioned financially for retirement, it will unlock every financial decision you need to make. From how much to contribute to super, investment risk, type of investments you use, tax strategies, and ultimately when you can retire with confidence.

Knowing you’ve built in enough safety margins to extract your retirement income for the next 30-40 years without worrying about running out.

Understanding your retirement feasibility will unlock your blind spots and highlight your opportunities.

That’s the main component we explore prior to recommending any strategies, tactics or financial products, if they’re needed.

These three couples did exactly that and chose their own retirement adventure.

The Not Enough Couple But Choose The Work Longer Path…

Harry and Jane had worked hard, squirrelled a reasonable sum of money away over their working.

In their mid 50’s, they were looking forward to a retirement full of travel adventures. Knowing they had a window to make the most of it while they were fit and able, they wanted to know when they would be in a position to retire.

Jane had a stressful job, wanting to exit asap, but happy to work for a few more years if required. While Harry had a high paying job, he was growing tired of the long hours and stressful workload. 

They wanted to retire now, but there was one nagging question, if they did would they have enough to retire on. Would they be at risk of running out of money?

Harry and Jane had dreams of travelling internationally regularly early in retirement, realising it would be harder the older they got. Wanting to join a sailing club and spending more time with their two daughters and grandchildren when they arrived on the scene.

For Harry and Jane, they had accumulated a reasonable sum, but didn’t know what that meant. They were struggling to make sense of it all…

After working through what their ideal retirement looked like and what was important to them we crunched their numbers to determine if they retired today, would their plan be feasible.

Unfortunately, we had to deliver some bad news. If they retired today, they would run out of money in their early 70’s. Deep down they thought it might be a stretch, but wanted to know for sure. One option was to cut back their retirement spending, meaning they’d have to downsize their travel, something they were not willing to compromise on.

Once Harry and Jane knew this, their attention turned to what they needed to do.

Working till 65…working till 60…what if Jane retired earlier than Harry, how would that impact the feasibility of their retirement plan?

By applying this framework, it became apparent some of their retirement goals on reflection were not that important to them. This freed up capital and income for other things.

The outcome, Harry and Jane landed on Harry working to age 60 and Jane ceasing work 2 years earlier than Harry. The compromise, rather than waiting for retirement to experience their international travel, they would do that while they continue to work.

After Harry and Jane had chosen their retirement path, it was time to make their plan resilient, robust, and optimised. This entailed building in safety margins, building their funding strategy for retirement, identifying risks and building in mechanisms to address these and much more.

Harry and Sally now had a retirement roadmap they had confidence in. They knew all the tactics and strategies they needed to implement (some they were taking advantage of) over the next five years.

Leaving them with a roadmap that gave them more confidence, peace of mind, and control over their retirement adventure.

Just Enough But Some Decisions Needed To Be Made…

Barry had had enough of how work. He was paid well, but had sacrificed a lot for long hours and good income. He’d worked for the same employer for over 30 years and missed a lot of family time due to his work. While Sally had been retired for some time.

They’d talked to a lot of people about retirement, work colleagues, attended a number of retirement seminars, however, were more confused than ever.

Wanting to retire, they thought they had accumulated enough money, however, they were terrified of making a wrong decision.

For Barry in particular, he wanted to make up for lost time. Wanting more time to just live life with plans of a couple of big overseas trips while getting out there and enjoying life when they still had their health.

Firstly, we worked with Barry and Sally to map out their ideal retirement and what was important to them. This helped identify the financial aspects which needed planning for.

Based on their initial retirement feasibility assessment, it seemed their retirement dream was just out of reach. But as we worked through the components of their retirement plan, it became apparent their income requirements were not as high as first thought.

On their Retirement Feasibility Session, we worked through a number of scenarios, where we adjusted their income needs based on their stages through retirement. There were a few tweaks and Barry and Sally negotiated their feasible retirement plan.

While Sally was keen for Barry to retire, it required a few compromises but nothing which would ruin their retirement.

Knowing this information, they were keen to get things moving and start planning for Barry to retire in the next 12mths. This involved planning an overseas trip the minute Barry retired.

As Barry and Sally were on the cusp of retirement, it was critical more than ever to ensure their plan was resilient and they optimised any opportunities in the next 12 mths.

After identifying a number of retirement risks and blindspots, we build out their robust retirement funding strategy, build in safety margins for when the unexpected happened and dialed down their risk levels.

Based on Barry and Sally’s plan, they did not need to expose themselves to the risk levels they had accepted while working. Their plan would work without being exposed to big financial storms in their retirement years.

I could see the joy and relief they had. It was like a huge weight had been lifted off their shoulders.

Too Much But Still Worried About Running Out Of Money…

Yes, that’s right, you can have too much and still be worried about running out of money. In fact, the biggest issue for people in this position is dying with too much.

If you die with too much, it means you didn’t do enough…

Jack and Caroline were in that exact position, recently selling a business they’d worked in for years, saved aggressively and sitting there looking at their money, thinking “are we going to be okay?

They had a clear idea on what they wanted to do. No less than the lifestyle they’d been living which meant they needed a good income year to year. On top of that they wanted to travel regularly overseas and they wanted to help their kids get into the property market.

They wanted a sanity check on their numbers…

For Jack and Caroline, there was more than good news which came from their retirement feasibility assessment.

They were in the enviable position of not having to worry about running out of money. In fact they had the opportunity to dial up their lifestyle even further.

Jack and Caroline could plan more international travel and more importantly help their kids with more money than they first thought to help them get into the property market.

On the numbers side, it was a good news story, but bubbling under the surface, they were exposed to significant risks.

Jack, being an avid investor, had built up a significant investment portfolio in his SMSF. Jack had to be commended, he did a great job, however, like most self-directed portfolios, there were a few investments which did well and drove the returns.

Jack had accumulated over 50 different investments, it was a mess to say the least, he’d overcomplicated it. Not to mention the risk he was exposing their retirement too.

He was in the high risk category…not something most retirees would be able to cope with in their retirement years. They were at risk of seeing their investment portfolio halve when investment markets had a shock. And they’d experience quite a few bad falls through their retirement…

Curious, we’d asked Jack and Caroline how they’d feel if their portfolio dropped by 50%…

Jack’s response, “we’d cut back on our spending”.

We put in a number of safety margins to ensure they’d never ever have to do that. This involved simplifying their portfolio, reducing the number of investments they held significantly. They did not need over 50 different investments to achieve the same result.

Reducing investment risk and building a safe funding strategy so they could weather any storms without it impacting their ability to live a good life.

While Jack and Caroline were financially in a great position, even they had blindspots which if not identified would have hurt them financially in retirement.

Now they have the confidence and peace of mind to live out their epic retirement.

Your Retirement Is A Blank Canvas, It’s Time To Choose Your Own Retirement Adventure 

Yes, your retirement is a blank canvas, waiting for you to paint your own masterpiece.

Everyday that passes without a plan and clarity is one less day embracing in your retirement adventure.

If you want a retirement full of adventure, experiences and memories, you’ve got to have a framework to methodically work through the complexity of planning your retirement.

If you don’t get your finances right, you’ve going to expose yourself to the risk of running out of money in retirement.

It’s time to shrug off overwhelm, confusion, fear, worry and anxiety when it comes to your retirement.

Your retirement adventure awaits, filled with endless possibilities and opportunities.

Don’t let time drift and pass you by…

Seize the moment, embrace the unknown, and set a path to embark on the greatest adventure of your life – retirement.

Book your Retirement Clarity Call by clicking here to gain insights into resolving your retirement challenges and concerns once and for all.

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

We work with people in Adelaide and around Australia virtually via zoom!

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