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What does an idyllic retirement look like for you? Are you thinking about travelling the world? Do you want to get more involved in charity work or your favourite hobby? Or are you hoping to move somewhere you’ve always wanted to live? 

The list of options for how to fill you time in retirement are endless. But when you’re thinking about retirement you need to make sure you’re planning ahead for what you want to do, rather than just winging it. Without careful planning, there could be a shortfall between what you want to do in retirement versus what you can afford to do. 

The thing to remember is that if you retire at age 67, you are likely to live 20+ years in retirement – and that’s just the average. You could outlive this benchmark and still be going strong well into your 90’s, so you need to make sure you plan to ensure you have enough money to support the lifestyle you want. The sooner you do this, the better.

What does retirement look like to you?

As we said above, your retirement is all about what you want to do and how you want to enjoy it. It might be travelling, it might be getting into your hobbies, it might be volunteering, or just simply enjoying time with family. Or it could be a combination of all these and more.

When you start planning for your retirement, it’s a good idea to think about the dollar value on the things you want to do. For example, if you want to travel overseas to your favourite destination, get some quotes for what that might cost, so that you’re aware of how much money you need to have in reserve, to make this happen. 

Don’t forget about the simple things in life too. How often do you want to eat out? Will your hobbies cost money that you’ll need to allocate funds for?

Other considerations might include, whether you need to make any renovations to your home; if you need a new car now or in the future, and if you need private health insurance or will you rely solely on Medicare?

Think about anything else that might be important to you during retirement. Write them down and determine if you can afford to do these things in the future. If you don’t think you can, you’ll need to think about potentially reducing your list or increasing your savings to cater for your retirement wants.

If you are married or have a partner, share your thoughts with them. If you have different dreams and expectations about the way you want to live in retirement, it is worth discussing these differences and working together to reach an agreement you’re both happy with.

Next steps

To help you on this path of discovery, we have a range of articles available, which address some key topics and link to useful tools.

Topics include

Important information

This is general information only and is not intended as financial, medical, health, nutritional or other advice. You should obtain professional advice from a financial adviser, or medical or health practitioner in relation to your own personal circumstances. This information was prepared by Resolution Life Australasia Limited ABN 84 079 300 379, AFSL No. 233671 (Resolution Life). A copy of the Product Disclosure Statement can be obtained by contacting Resolution Life. This general advice has been prepared without taking into account your particular financial needs, circumstances or objectives. You should consider the appropriateness of this information in light of your circumstances. This advice is based on our understanding of current law as at July 2022, and is based on its continuance unless stated otherwise. While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information, it is not guaranteed. Resolution Life do not actively monitor breach of superannuation contribution caps. You should keep track of the contributions made to your account in respect of the caps applicable to you. You should obtain professional advice before acting on the information contained in this communication. Taxation considerations are general and based on present taxation laws and may be subject to change. You should seek independent, professional tax advice before making any decision based on this information. Resolution Life is also not a registered tax (financial) adviser under the Tax Agent Services Act 2009 and you should seek tax advice from a registered tax agent or a registered tax (financial) adviser if you intend to rely on this information to satisfy the liabilities or obligations or claim entitlements that arise, or could arise, under a taxation law.

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