Living the retirement lifestyle you want takes careful planning. And while everyone’s ideal future retirement is unique – and could involve a sea or tree change, travel and time dedicated to hobbies – most of us want to continue with the standard of living we enjoy during our working years. Whatever your ideal retirement lifestyle looks like, to make it a reality, you need to start planning now.
To turn most dreams into reality you need to implement a plan and retirement is no different. The first step is to define – in as much detail as possible – the lifestyle you want to live and how much each element of it will cost. Be bold! Remember, if it’s not in your plan, it won’t be budgeted for.
To help you define what retirement will look like for you, it’s important to understand what income you will need and what income sources might be available to help you achieve this.
The annual income you’ll need in future retirement will depend on what sort of lifestyle you want. Replacing your car every five years and taking overseas holidays costs more than road trips around Australia and sticking with the car you’ve got, so make the time to do an honest budget for the lifestyle that suits you.
For your future retirement budget, you’ll need to remember that what you spend your money on today might change in retirement. Your work expenses will dramatically reduce or disappear, but you may spend more on things like medical costs, travelling and hobbies.
With healthcare and standards of living improving, someone retiring today can expect to live 20, 30 or more years in retirement. Life expectancy estimates the average time people of a particular age may live. For example, at age 65, it is 19 years for men and 22 for women. But 60% of people will live longer than life expectancy. This means it’s a good idea to assume your retirement savings will need to last well past life expectancy.
Will your money run out?
If you’re close to retirement and worried about not having enough super, you may want to consider these options:
Delay your future retirement
Review your investment strategy
Live on less
We’re here to help
A financial adviser can provide you with advice to help you save more in super. To find out more, contact Avante Financial Services on 1300 788 650 today.
