Planning for your retirement can be easily overlooked and you may think that you have plenty of time to worry about it later. The following are some key facts to consider before delaying planning for retirement any longer.

 

Retirement may last more than 30 years

A recent report found that men aged 65 years have a future life expectancy of 15.4 years, while for women its 19.6 years1. These numbers represent an average and are increasing gradually. As these trend continue, your retirement can extend to over 30 years.

 

The age pension may not be enough

According to the Department of Human Services, the full single rate age pension only provides $907.60 per fortnight2. Furthermore, to qualify for the age pension may become more difficult in the future, as a result of the ageing population.

 

Relying on an inheritance is not advised

You can’t assume that your parents will leave you anything, as they may have spent all of their savings and downsized their home to cover their living expenses. Therefore to avoid being disappointed, don’t rely on an inheritance to fund your retirement.



You may not have enough

Compulsory employer contributions from your employer will ensure that you’re off to a good start. However, assuming that these contributions will ensure that you have enough super to get you through your retirement and you could be let down. Many Australians may not have enough super to support their retirement.



Start planning now

With the right preparation, its possible to plan for a long and comfortable retirement. Salary sacrifices, making lump sum contributions or using a transition to retirement strategies can all be valuable to boosting your super, and many include tax benefits as well. Also, it may be possible to start a pension that pays you a regular income. Some pensions even guarantee to pay you an income for the rest of your life, negating the risk of outliving your savings.  



Our experts can help

The ideal way to see how your retirement savings are progressing, and determine what you could do now to increase your super for retirement, is to speak to a financial adviser. They can help you set realistic goals and create a plan in place to achieve them.



1 Australian Bureau of Statistics, October 2017.

2 Department of Human Services, March 2018.





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