The power of deciding for yourself what retirement means

We all have different preconceived notions of what retiring means. And we forget that to each of us, it means something very different.

In this edition

• Feature story: The power of deciding for yourself what retirement means

• Juicy titbit: Keep an eye on the Aged Care Taskforce report and what happens next - it might impact you more than you realise.

• From Bec’s Desk

• Your letters

• Prime Time Podcast

The power of deciding for yourself what retirement means

We all have different preconceived notions of what retiring means. And we forget that to each of us, it means something different. Our own definition is built from our personal influences, experiences and judgements. Think about it. 

For some, the image of retirement is coloured by people who have parents who worked well into their late 60s or 70s. For them the question then arises: was this a positive or negative for their lives? 

In contrast, others have experienced the untimely loss of parents, partners or friends who never had the chance to embrace the joys of retirement. This might serve as a powerful reminder that life is fleeting and you must seize the moment, seeking it out sooner than later. 

And for others retirement is something they associate with growing old and beige, having watched their parents or grandparents live less fulfilling and quite sedentary lives than are common in 2024. 

One of the big challenges we face is the stigma associated with the term ‘retirement’. To some it feels like a label that implies the time when you withdraw from life, and step back from the vibrant and active existence they once knew into the shadows and slink into a recliner to pass the time. If this is you, I think it’s worthwhile taking a deeper look at your inner thoughts and reframing them. 

In the freshly launched Epic Retirement Flagship Course, one of the first challenges for people is to share when they think they might want to retire. This week, Kathy in the cohort pointed out that some people might say she is retired now, simply because she isn’t earning a wage at the moment after a career change that didn’t quite work out the way she’d planned. But she doesn’t ‘feel retired’ so she’s decided that she isn’t retired yet. During the course she’s keen to define what being retired means to her, not let other people define the meaning of retirement for her and badge her with it before she is ready. I really appreciate this perspective. I know a few friends in their 50s who don’t work, but equally they don’t want to call themselves ‘retired’. 

Over the last year I’ve looked the word ‘retirement’ up in a few dictionaries to get some perspective on why we think this word is so negative. It seems dictionaries are not ‘up with the times’ that I roll in. They haven’t caught on to the Epic movement. 

In the Oxford Dictionary ‘retirement’ is defined as ‘the action or fact of leaving one's job and ceasing to work’. 

In the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, it’s “withdrawal from one's position or occupation or from active working life.”

And in the Cambridge Dictionary it’s “the act of leaving your job and stopping working, usually because you are old”. 

I’ve written a new definition, far more suited to people approaching retirement today in my opinion.

 To me, retirement is simply defined as “the stage of life where you move from living off your own exertion, to sourcing your income from pensions, investments and work you really enjoy and choosing what you do with your time”. 

It is not a statement of ‘ceasing to work’ or ‘withdrawing’. It is not even about our sense of identity. It is simply a statement that acknowledges retirement is a phase where we draw our income from passive sources not active sources. That’s it. Then you get on with living life however you want. You can sit back in a recliner and rest, or you can get out there and make it epic. 

This might seem like a lot of fuss over a definition, but anyone facing retirement head on and trying to work out what this stage of life means for their identity will understand what I’m talking about. 

People define you with this word once you no longer have a title. When we are asked “What do you do?” during our working lives, giving the answer is fairly easy. We are judged based on on our level of social or commercial hierarchy. But if you respond with “I am retired,” the next part of the conversation is left hanging because so much of our identity is unclear after that. I’ve found the key is to respond with passion, to break the stereotype and to give people a new-word picture. I’m retired, and loving it…. Then tell them about the things you feel a sense of purpose or higher meaning in. 

Remember always, that retirement is not an identity. It is only a statement of how you draw your income in the next stage of life. You decide your identity and what you do with your time, and yes, it can be epic!

JUICY TITBIT: Keep an eye on the Aged Care Taskforce report and what happens next - it impacts you

Don’t skim past this. It might not seem relevant but if you have ageing parents it could well be important.

The Aged Care Taskforce has dropped its big report this morning, a really important report for all of us that will form the basis for political discussion in the next few weeks. Keep your eyes out for this one. Some say the next political moves could be to tie the funding of aged and home care to superannuation balances - but that could be just media hot air. Let’s wait to see how it pans out.

This report talks about our parents and calls out a variety of changes they say are needed to the aged care and home care systems to make them fairer and more sustainable. Let’s watch this space. I think the recommendations on the report are interesting and seem quite fair. It will be anyone’s guess where politics takes it.

Quotes like this will leave us wondering:

“Generally, older people are expected to be wealthier than their predecessors, largely due to the maturing superannuation system. As a result, the proportion of people over 65 years of age accessing the Age Pension or other income supports will decline by around 15 percentage points by 2062–63. Of those receiving a pension, fewer will be full-rate pensioners and more will receive a part-rate pension due to increased accumulation of income and assets. Over the next 20 years, the number of people with superannuation balances at age 85 will grow considerably, with a greater proportion of people having significant funds available.

The Taskforce notes the superannuation system supports Australians to save for retirement. The government’s proposed objective for superannuation is: ‘to preserve savings to deliver income for a dignified retirement, alongside government support, in an equitable and sustainable way’. Income from superannuation should be drawn down in retirement to cover health, lifestyle, other living expenses and aged care costs. These superannuation trends, combined with high asset wealth through the family home and other investments, mean increasingly people still have accumulated wealth and income streams when they need to access aged care services. As a result, there is more scope for older people to contribute to their aged care costs by using their accumulated wealth than in previous generations.”

Just an important area to be across - particularly if you have ageing parents or are trying to budget for your own costs of ageing in the future.

Back in the real world, without politics. Another juicy week. It was all about women last week, with my Prime Time Podcast interview with Mary Delahunty from the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia hitting just before International Women’s Day when the government announced they would finally pay superannuation on maternity leave. It was an awesome conversation.

You can listen to it here.

Here’s a fun clip. The podcast is called ‘Practical ways women can fill the superannuation gap: With Mary Delahunty’ and it’s a ripper. If you haven’t signed up for the podcast newsletter you can do that here at primetimers.net.

Too little too late for today’s retirees though, so in the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age on the weekend I did a written feature on ‘the practical ways older women can fill their superannuation gap’.

The How to Have an Epic Retirement Flagship Course launched on Monday and now I get to soak in the stories and experiences of hundreds of pre-retirees who are building their picture of the next stage of their lives for the next six weeks. I could not be more in my happy place than in our private Community Zone hearing the stories of hope, excitement and fear and offering robust education on the things people really need to know. If you’ve missed this start date, you can sign up for the next course event which will probably be in May/June. Express your interest for the earlybird release here.

I’m off to the Central Coast of NSW for an event next week for the 2024 Seniors Festival Community Book Talk. It’s on Friday 22nd March 2024 10.30-12 at Brentwood Village. More info here. If you’re in the region, come along.

Finally, last week I celebrated International Womens’ Day with the wonderful team at Services Australia (Brisbane), who put on a really cool panel event. Thanks for the invite team.

Wishing you a wonderful week! Make it Epic!

Many thanks! Bec Wilson

Author, podcast host, columnist, retirement educator, and guest speaker

In case you haven’t got a copy yet - you can buy How to Have an Epic Retirement, the book on Amazon and Booktopia and in many of the major bookstores.

One juicy letter today, from Bron.

Hi. 
I am slowly reading your book and taking notes as I really want and need that epic retirement. I have two questions.

I’m 57 and have just over $350,000 in my super. I only earn about $76,000 gross but I salary sacrifice $200 per fortnight. I also save about $350 per fortnight.  My husband and I paid our house off years ago. But after that we got a $75,000 house loan to do a couple of renovations. It’s now down to about $20,000.

I keep hearing you should pay your mortgage off but then I hear you shouldn’t because a bank will not loan you money over a certain age. So is it a yes or a no? And what’s all the fuss about credit cards? We don’t have one.

My other question is a bit of a request for help. I am trying to work out how much super I would need for a retirement that would include road trips, perhaps a new car, and 2-3 overseas trips before I’m 80?
Cheers Bron

Hi Bron, 

I am afraid that I simply cannot answer these personal financial questions as I am not legally able to give financial advice.  I do think they are something that your superannuation fund’s financial advice team should find easy to help you with. 

The things I can comment on are the items of fact! So let’s talk about paying down your mortgage and what people mean when they say this… and about credit cards and budgeting for retirement. I hope you have a copy of my book. It covers all this! You can order a copy here.

Anyone can hold their mortgage at $1 for many years if they are within the term of their loan - paying down all but that last dollar - so it stays open, but the interest payments are all but gone. And that way people still have access to that wonderful redraw facility if needed. Whilst it is nice to get your mortgage papers back from the bank - the popular opinion is that the access to cash if you need it might be worth any annual fees required to keep the mortgage open if interest payments are nil. It’s something your should consider personally.

Now, credit cards - just be aware that after you no longer have a pay cheque it might be very difficult to get one. Banks don’t take ‘retirement income streams’ as an income source at this time. They can be handy for travel, even if you don’t use them at home all the time. It’s a really personal decision though. 

And, to work out how much super you need, the best step is to take control as I talk about in the book, and set up a detailed post-retirement budget so you know how much you need. This is a really personal answer I’m afraid so you need to work through the process, plus, you’ll be much more confident if you do. You can read all about how, then download the excel template and build your cost of living, your one off purchases and your epic retirement goals, budget them out and then you will have a clearer picture. Here’s where you can access the excel budget:  https://www.epicretirement.com.au/resources-and-tools

Hope this helps… make it epic! Bec

Got a letter for me? Email me at bec@epicretirement.com.au.

Practical ways women can fill the superannuation gap with Mary Delahunty