The retirement satisfaction formula
And in today's newspapers, 'The bureaucratic nightmare plaguing our super – and how to avoid it'
In this edition
Feature: The retirement satisfaction formula
Course: Last last call! Really - it kicks off on the 13th Feb
From Bec’s Desk: Back in the hot seat
SMH/TheAge: The bureaucratic nightmare plaguing our super – and how to avoid it
Prime Time: New super savings targets: how much you really need to retire
The retirement satisfaction formula
For years, I’ve been saying that retirement isn’t just about money—it’s about finding purpose, fulfilment and meaning in the things you do. Money is just an enabler. Fact is, the people who thrive in retirement don’t just drift into it; they take charge and shape it - ideally starting before they actually get to day-1 so the change isn’t as overwhelming. And now, some new research backs this up. The happiest retirees don’t just prepare financially—they actively build lives that align with who they are and what matters to them.
This report might seem a bit academic - but hang in there I think there’s something in it for everyone. It identifies four key behaviours of successful retirees, things I think we can all adopt as a ‘retirement satisfaction formula’:
Alignment + Awareness + Agency + Adaptability = Retirement Satisfaction
They’re tough, academic-sounding words to grasp - so I want to simplify it for you.
Alignment is about ensuring your lifestyle reflects who you are and what truly matters to you. It’s the connection between your identity—your values, interests, personality, and priorities—and the way you actually live day to day. A misalignment happens when someone who thrives on social connection suddenly finds themselves isolated in retirement, or when a lifelong adventurer becomes stuck in a routine that feels stagnant. The happiest retirees actively shape their environment, routines, and committments to match the life they want, rather than just letting things happen to them.
Awareness means having a deep and honest understanding of yourself and your needs. It’s about knowing what fuels you, what drains you, and what kind of life will keep you engaged and fulfilled. Many people enter retirement without having really asked themselves, ‘Who am I without my job?’ or ‘What do I actually want from this next phase?’ Without this self-awareness, it’s easy to drift, feeling dissatisfied but not know why. The most successful retirees take stock of their core identities, interests, and values (maybe they even have to go looking for them) so they can design a retirement that truly fits them.
Agency (and this is my favourite) is the ability to actively shape your life rather than just reacting to circumstances. This is about taking charge—setting goals, making decisions, and experimenting with new routines and roles. Agency is what separates retirees who build a meaningful new life from those who feel lost once work is no longer structuring their days. It’s easy to assume that purpose and fulfillment will naturally emerge once work stops, but the reality is that it takes deliberate action. The people who thrive in retirement don’t wait for opportunities; they create them.
Adaptability is the ability to adjust and respond when life throws surprises your way—because it will. Retirement isn’t static, and circumstances change: health issues arise, family needs shift, financial conditions fluctuate. The happiest retirees embrace change rather than resisting it. They stay open to new possibilities, pivot when necessary, and continue evolving over time. Adaptability isn’t about having everything perfectly mapped out—it’s about having the mindset and resilience to navigate whatever comes next.
But here’s my theory: agency is the foundation. It’s an awkward and unrelatable word but it’s an incredibly important ability. It that means our ability to make choices and create our own paths. I believe agency is the single biggest driver and predictor of retirement success. You can have all the money in the world, but if you don’t take control of your time, relationships, and purpose, you risk feeling lost, unmoored, or even irrelevant after leaving work.
Without agency, the other pieces never fall into place. You can’t create alignment without taking action. You won’t develop awareness unless you actively reflect on what you need. And adaptability is only useful if you’re engaged enough in shaping your life to care when things change. Agency is the engine that drives a fulfilling retirement—it’s what turns a passive transition into an exciting, intentional new phase of life.
And here’s the kicker: agency isn’t something you suddenly switch on the day you retire. It’s a muscle you build. The most satisfied retirees start exercising control long before they leave work. They take small steps—exploring passions, deepening relationships, testing out new routines—so by the time they do retire, they’re not stepping into the unknown.
So if you’re planning your retirement, ask yourself: Am I taking an active role in shaping what’s next? Because retirement satisfaction doesn’t come from a super balance alone. It comes from knowing that the life you’re living—how you spend your time, who you spend it with, and what you’re working toward—is one you’ve deliberately built.
It’s a long one this week…
It seems I’ve got a little problem—on Facebook—scammers are out in full force, trying to imitate me. Not only that, but our Epic Retirement Club (our massive Facebook Group) has a couple of fake lookalikes floating around, trying to lure people in. Some even have ‘fake’ Bec Wilsons as moderators to try to make you trust them. We’ve had some insiders from our community sharing with us what these creepy folk are doing - trying to lure people to join ‘secret investing groups’ and ‘secretly give them money’ for a ridiculous return on investment that is not possible to achieve.
Facebook, despite many, many reports, has refused to take them down. (This says something about where Facebook is headed to be honest - and why I use this newsletter as my core communications NOT Facebook).
So, I want to point out that I am in the process of setting up the Facebook Blue Tick on my profile - a verified status so you know it’s really me. Here’s a link to my profile. There’s not a lot else I can do to stop them - so I will instead focus on scams education so you’re smarter than them!
🚨 A few important things to know:
My only Facebook Group is called The Epic Retirement Club—there are no others run by me.
I will never ask you to join an investment scheme or invest via me or any associated company EVER - it’s not what I do.
So if some creep slides into your messages or feed trying to pull a scam, tell them you saw them coming a mile off—and report them.
Stay sharp, and thanks for keeping an eye out! 👀💙
Rant over. Now to the good bits of my week.
The pieces that will make 2025 really exciting are starting to come together.
The first How to Have an Epic Retirement Flagship Course of the year kicks off on Thursday! I’m beyond excited, and from all the lovely emails I’m receiving as people open their welcome packs, so are you! This session has more participants than ever before, which should make it even better. If you’re keen to lock in for the course last minute, you can use the coupon code LASTMINUTE15 for 15% off the full-priced program. The course kicks off on February 13 and runs for six weeks. More details are on our website here.
This week, I sent my Prime Time manuscript back to the editor for the final time after some incredibly experienced people gave it a thorough review. Now, it’s ready for the next phase—page layout! This is the fun bit. Those 125,000+ words will soon be transformed into beautifully formatted pages, complete with pullout boxes and proper spacing, bringing the book to life.
The podcast we recorded this week with Xavier O’Halloran was a cracker. We gathered all your questions from my recent article about the new Super Consumers Australia Benchmarks and put them to him. He broke down the benchmarks, how to use them, and we dived into how super and the age pension interact. He also shared some early insights on some research they are doing on benchmarks for renters and those who won’t ever qualify for the age pension. Well worth a listen.
Now everyone’s back I’ve been booking in some exciting speaking gigs for the months ahead - and can’t wait to share how to have an epic retirement with rooms full of people. I’ll let you know when there’s public events you can come along to - watch this space!
And, I’ve been boggled by the performance of How to Have an Epic Retirement (the book) which this week sat as high as 32 on the Amazon Bestseller list and was completely sold out in Big W again! Back into reprint we go. 😊 I have a little request though - would any of you who have bought your copy of the book via Amazon be able to leave a review (I know there’s many thousands of you). I’d be thrilled! It’s very important for us authors to have reviews - particularly from people who like the book! (Thanks Geoff for this one!)
Over the last few weeks, I’ve been watching all the media coverage about CBUS and AustralianSuper with a real sense of sadness—wondering what we can actually do to help people. The topic of life insurance in super seems complicated to many and, let’s be honest, irrelevant to most. But I want to make one thing clear: it’s not irrelevant. It’s actually incredibly important to understand what happens to your super and insurances when you die, how your fund handles it, and what you can do to set yourself up properly. So, this week in the Sunday newspapers, I’ve done a deep dive—breaking it all down in a way that makes sense. It’s not the sexiest topic, but it’s one that really matters. Have a read below.
Finally—remember you can always email me simply by replying to this email. I love it when you tip me off on things that I can help with or reply with insights.
Many thanks! Bec Wilson
Author, podcast host, columnist, retirement educator, and guest speaker
The bureaucratic nightmare plaguing our super – and how to avoid it
Extract of article published in print in The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald, Brisbane Times, WA Today on Sunday 9th February 2025.
Superannuation is the biggest financial asset most Australians will ever have – yet when it comes to what happens after we die, it’s a bureaucratic minefield.
Forget the simple idea of passing on your savings to loved ones – thanks to outdated rules, endless paperwork and hidden taxes, your super and insurance payouts could be tangled in red tape for months, or even years. Worse, a big chunk of it could disappear in tax before it ever reaches your family.
For years, the government struggled to get Australians to take out life insurance. So they bundled it into superannuation, giving super funds the power to offer coverage at reduced rates.
This made life insurance inside super a convenient, set-and-forget safety net. Many Australians don’t realise they have it, while others assume it will be a seamless support system when their family needs it most.
But what happens when that insurance is actually needed? If you’ve ever had to claim a death benefit from super, you’ll know it’s often long, complicated and frustrating. And if you haven’t yet – trust me, you don’t want your loved ones to go through it.
In December, ASIC put 10 super funds on notice, warning that their handling of insurance claims and death benefits for members could be inadequate and demanding further information. They have already taken action against CBUS and have now launched an investigation into AustralianSuper, the country’s largest super fund, for delays in paying out death benefits and insurance claims.
AustralianSuper has admitted that more than 7000 beneficiaries have been affected, with some waiting up to four years for their death payouts – a period they acknowledge is far longer than their own goal of four months.
And they’ve apologised. But this isn’t just about these two funds – insurance and death payouts from super are one of the biggest problem areas in Australia’s financial system.
The problem, as I see it, is twofold. Superannuation, and insurance inside super, operate within a tangled web of rules that many people aren’t aware of until they’re forced to deal with them. Your super balance and your life insurance payout aren’t necessarily treated the same way, and the process can become a bureaucratic nightmare.
If you haven’t set things up properly, your loved ones could be left waiting while insurers, trustees and legal teams sort out who gets what. And, alongside this, super funds and insurers are struggling with massive claim volumes as their members age (something they should have seen coming), and many – from what I hear – have significantly under-resourced claims teams as they battle to compete on low administration fees.
This article continues — Read on, in The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald, Brisbane Times and WA Today.
New super savings targets: how much you really need to retire
Ever wondered how much you really need to retire or how the age pension fits into the mix for retirement income? Do you want to understand a bit more about the benchmarks really mean for retirees? Then you’re going to love this episode.
In this episode of Prime Time, we dive deep into Super Consumers Australia’s retirement savings benchmarks with CEO Xavier O’Halloran. But we don’t just cover the numbers for homeowners and Age Pension recipients—we also break down what retirement looks like for renters and those who may never qualify for the Age Pension.
Super Consumers Australia released a whole new set of retirement benchmarks just a couple of weeks ago — and these new benchmarks also include some real guidance on how much of your income will probably come from the age pension during your retirement. It’s interesting stuff. When I covered these numbers in the Epic Retirement Newsletter recently, the response was overwhelming—people wanted to know more. So today, we’re unpacking how these benchmarks were created, what they really mean, and how the different levels within the benchmarks work to guide you.
LISTEN TO THIS EPISODE OF THE PODCAST HERE:
We have included all the benchmarks on our Prime Time newsletter this week here.
Last of all, if you haven’t read the book, you can order your copy from Amazon online and soon they should be back in stock at Big W online too. Or pick up a copy at your local Dymocks, or QBD stores.
Loved this article
I’m planning transition to next phase after 42 years at work. I’m spending a lot of mental space envisioning what I can do in my next life phase. And started with writing a list of opportunities to do new things, learn & grow. In my phone — I add to the list almost everyday- it’s getting long & exciting
Thanks Bec for the ideas & resources you provide
Agency is my favourite too. It is very neglected muscle for some many people-particularly females who have spent a lifetime of caring and putting themselves last .I am hearing so many women feeling stuck in trying to really choose to do things they want to do and what others want them to do!