ARE YOU SCARED TO RETIRE?

Retirement used to be seen as a time to think about entering a new era of holidays and travel. It was an ideal with the idea you could spend more time with the grandkids, family and friends. But these days more and more people are focusing on the money side of retirement.

Do I have enough to survive inflation?

I can’t quit work because I still have ten years on my mortgage.

What will I leave my children if I use it all?

What if I use all of my retirement fund before I die?

Too many stressful questions that we push aside and think, ‘I will think about retirement when I am 65.’ And no, I am not talking about the younger generation. I am talking about those less then ten years away from retiring. 

Just last week I spoke with three men and one woman, all of which were over the age of 55 and this is what I uncovered:

Not one had a definite plan of how they would afford to retire.

Half were relying solely on their super for retirement.

All still had a mortgage and some dependents.

All believed they could not afford to retire till there were at least 65 years of age.

All wanted to retire now if they could.

All were earning over $80K or more. 

As you get closer to the last couple of years of work, you can start to worry how you are going to afford to retire. Not knowing will only cause you more stress over the long run and could cause health problems. Especially if you start to think about what would happen if illness or redundancy forced you to an early retirement. When I posed this question to the four people I saw last week they had no answer.

What is the solution?

A plan for starters!

This is the fun part. Start with picturing living in retirement. Do you want to travel? Where to? How long for? Is there a hobby you want to spend more time in? Perhaps even do some volunteering?

Now for the financial questions. From your current budget, if you cut your wage in half – what would you get rid of? Start to think about transport costs to work, lunch take away expenses, daily coffees, corporate clothing purchases etc. Think of what you don’t need. Now cut your income into a quarter. What else don’t you need? Cut it.
But retirement isn’t all about lowering expenses to a fit into a smaller budget. If you want to continue to live the lifestyle you have now financially, then you need to work out a plan to fund that for the near future.
We all need a plan. And every plan is unique. Speak with Aperio Financial Solutions about your future and live life. Call on or email info@aperio.com.au.