What a modern retirement plan should look like
It's so much more than understanding your age pension and superannuation plans.
Happy Sunday! It’s a rainy weekend in Brisvegas - so I got busy finalising our next course! And… ta daaa! It’s here.
In this short weekend edition, I’m bringing you two things:
My column which is printed in today’s Sun Herald, Sunday Age and syndicated across the Nine News network, into the Brisbane Time and WA Today.
The ripper of a Prime Time podcast I did on a very similar topic with radio legend, Peter “Grubby” Stubbs. Talking with Grubby is certainly the way to make finance topics more fun to listen to! (Well I think so - you tell me!)
And finally, as I mentioned, I’m launching the Six Week How to Have an Epic Retirement Flagship Course again, bigger and even better! We ran the Autumn Edition as a pilot for more than 250 people, and now those six weeks are done, I’m thrilled to say - people loved it. (You can read their rave reviews in the brochure and on the website!) So, we’ve tweaked, improved and updated it and developed a NEW and improved digital workbook with the help of my publisher, Hachette. And it’s back!
There’s two programs to choose from in coming months:
THE WINTER EDITION: from the 6th June to the 17th July 2024 - BOOK HERE
THE SPRING EDITION: from the 8th August to the 18th September 2024 - BOOK HERE
You can read all about the programs here, and download a brochure and book your spot now.
And, I’m offering a 25% off earlybird discount for a limited time because I want everyone to come along and learn. So don’t delay!
Now, onto your letters. I got some doozies of letters this week thank you. I am going to use them on Tuesday in a big email! I would love to keep a steady flow of them coming on the weekly newsletters. If you have a letter, email me at bec@epicretirement.com.au.
And, get on over to our Facebook group if you’re bored. I renamed it “The Epic Retirement Club” and it’s positively popping with activity this week.
Have a lovely Sunday! Make it epic!
Many thanks! Bec Wilson
Author, podcast host, columnist, retirement educator, and guest speaker
This article was first published in The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald, Brisbane Times and WA Today.
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Anyone approaching retirement knows it ain’t what it used to be. Modern retirement has gone from being a time when we stepped back into the shadows to being potentially one of the most exciting phases of our lives.
But whatever it becomes that is really up to us, and how we plan for, prepare for and live it. So, today, let’s look at what, I think, should be in your modern retirement plan.
Think about your longevity first
We’re all living longer, but most of us are still coded to picture ourselves living much shorter lives. To get our planning under way, we need to explore how long we might live first, then start to build a vision of what the years ahead of us could look like.
Smart actuaries say that today’s 50-year-olds have a good chance of living into their mid 90s, and those younger could easily get to 100 years. That says to me that we need to paint a very different picture of modern retirement in our own minds.
Build your financial confidence as well as your financial plan
Once you know how long you expect to live, and of that, how long you want to spend living off more passive income streams in retirement, you should find yourself quite motivated to build your financial plan. That financial plan could have up to 11 moving parts. And I think everyone should make the effort to understand this stuff, rather than outsource it completely.
There’s building your budget for the period before you retire to nail down your cost of living, planning how much you can save. Usually people try to juggle paying down their mortgage, and trying to contribute more actively to their super as early as they can, leveraging the superannuation tax concessions available, then investing those funds appropriately to drive compound investment growth before retirement.
Then there’s thinking about your income from working and contemplating how that might change over time.
Next, you should build a budget for your retirement years, so you understand your real cost of living after retirement. Please don’t just pluck a number out of thin air. After that, you should spend some time dreaming up a list of the holidays you want to do and allocate a budget to them that you can layer on top of your cost of living budget. And finally, you need to think about your retirement income layers.
I think everyone approaching retirement should start to build a ‘dream trip list’, and talk about these trips more actively.
Contemplate whether you’ll be eligible for the age pension and really think about how much you would like to draw down from superannuation in the early part of retirement and whether that differs from the later parts.
You might also want to think about the opportunity to use the transition to retirement accounts offered by superannuation funds if you think you might want to work part-time and draw some money from super while continuing to contribute using employer contributions in the run-up years.
Finally, you must consider the way your money is invested in retirement, knowing more than 50 per cent of the money you make passively from superannuation in your lifetime is usually generated during your retirement years. Most people don’t realise this – it’s the real magic of superannuation.
Act on your health
If you’ve got the goals and the financial plan to live well into your 90s, then you’re going to have to start thinking about the body you want in your 70s, 80s and 90s, too.
Use that vision to start working on your health much earlier in life. It’s the things you do every day that make all the difference, according to the science of healthy ageing. Be alert to creating a combination of cardiovascular, muscle mass and balance exercises to make your body strong.
Seek out a sense of purpose beyond your workplace
This is a big and important part of planning for retirement. And it’s even more important today when you consider how many healthy years we spend living on a more passive income thanks to superannuation.
So take some time, ideally long before you retire, to explore more deeply what you are passionate about, and what your natural skills are. Then, think about how you might be able to use these in the next phase of your life, and build some social communities outside your workplace as well as inside.
This article continues, read the whole article on The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald, Brisbane Times and WA Today. It is not behind a paywall, but you may have to sign in.
When you think about what goes into your retirement plan, you might start with a long list of financial items, and stop at your superannuation. But there’s so much more to think about than that if you want to have an EPIC retirement.
Today, I’m joined by Peter "Grubby" Stubbs, a seasoned radio personality and a vibrant advocate for living life to the fullest. Together, we're diving into the essentials of a modern retirement plan, breaking down everything from when to retire, how to plan for your desired lifestyle, managing your finances effectively, and why it's never too early to start preparing. And boy does Grubby make it a fun and relatable conversation.
Whether it's continuing work in some capacity, embracing new hobbies, or planning for future financial security, this episode is packed with practical advice and insights that will inspire you to rethink the traditional concept of retirement, ensuring your future is filled with passion, purpose, and plenty of adventures.
Got something to say? Leave a comment or come over to the Facebook Group and start a discussion…