Not long ago, retirement seemed remote and far away from your day to day life. In the middle of working hard and paying the bills, it may not have been something that you spent any time to think about. Until you realised that retirement is around the corner and you aren’t sure if you are on track and/or there are hurdles that you must overcome before retiring.
Unfortunately, this is the reality of many hard working Australians. And as our director, Tony Borg, who has been creating retirement plans for over three decades says:
A comfortable retirement doesn’t happen by chance. It requires planning and discipline.
—Tony Borg, Director & Senior Financial Adviser of Navigate Financial Manly
Meaning, there is no set-and-forget strategy as circumstances can change. It is crucial that you have a specialized team to support throughout those changes and hurdles in your life in order to meet your retirement goal.
Therefore, if you want to increase the probability of reaching your goal you want to start planning as early as possible. I know that may be obvious to you but the dissimilarity of 10 or 20 years can be massive. Take a look at the case study below.
Assumptions
John is 40 years old and has an Annual Salary of $100,000 p.a. He has a Super Balance of $50,000, with Average Returns of 7% (no CPI). He wants to retire at age 65, and has done $130,000 total in extra contributions.
Case 01
Case 02
Case 03
Super Balance Comparison
- Total Balance for Case 1
- Total Balance for Case 2
- Total Balance for Case 3
Therefore, the difference between someone that started investing in their 40s vs 60s would be almost $150,000 and around $60,000 between 50s and 60s. This is due to the compounding effect of the assumed investments returns in these extra years. There are obviously more variables that we must take into consideration when preparing your retirement plan, and those are assumed returns. However, the fact that the compound interest plays a crucial part in your retirement doesn’t change.
Staying on top of changes
Last but not least, having professionals that are working behind the scenes to make sure they are on top of the constant changes to the legal and tax systems, and applying this knowledge to act in your best interest, helping you to achieve your goal, is as important as starting early. It is important to review your circumstances regularly as things change. You could miss out on strategies that were not available when you set up your original plan.
For instance, earlier this year, Senior Adviser Sonia Hawley from our Manly office published an article about the relaxation of some superannuation laws, taking effect on the 1st of July 2022. Such as:
- The Partial removal of the “work test” for those aged between 67 and 75.
- Extending the non-concessional bring forward age limit from age 67 to 75 allowing potential candidates to contribute up to $330,000 into their super.
- The eligibility age for making downsizer contributions will reduce from 65 to 60 years of age allowing candidates to contribute further $300,000 with proceeds of the sale of their principal residence.
Changing circumstances such as these will have a direct impact to retirees and to people that are in a transition to retirement.
Navigate Financial has always been proactive for all our clients. We will ensure they have the opportunity to take advantage of those new laws. This is just one of many other reasons why it is is important for you to have an ongoing and close relationship with your adviser. So that they can assist you not only with your own changes in circumstances but with the change in legislations, market volatility due to COVID or war and many other things that are out of our control.
Contact one of the team at Navigate Financial Group who are here to support your financial decision making to lead you confidently into your financial future.
Disclaimer: This article contains information that is general in nature. It does not take into account the objectives, financial situation or needs of any particular person. You need to consider your financial situation and needs before making any decisions based on this information.
