Blog 9 Mar24

When we were children, there were no barriers and we had no fear, so we dreamt of being a fireman, a hero or a super star. Then as we got older into our teens and twenties, we dreamt about sporting heroes, fabulous careers and making lots of money.

Some of us had huge amounts of confidence and therefore big dreams with no limits. Others were more restrained, but that didn’t stop them from swinging out from their comfort zone. The freedoms of youth!

As we got older, we didn’t stop dreaming, but somehow life got in the way. We finished schooling, decided on a career, built a family and probably got into debt with a mortgage. Life gave us other priorities.

So, for those approaching retirement, there is an opportunity to revisit those dreams. I often hear people say: “I’ve always wanted to do blah blah”. It could be to learn to play a new musical instrument, complete some higher study, take on a new hobby like sailing, golf, woodworking, quilting or a thousand other interests, do some volunteering, travel Australia or the world or maybe just spend more time with the grandkids.

Improvements in medicine and health care have greatly increased life expectancy, giving 20 plus years to fulfil on those dreams. We may no longer want to be a fireman or a super hero, but the call of dreams is the call to the inner self, a powerful place to find purpose and meaning in retirement.

There’s even plenty of time to create some new ones.

Most of us had a purpose while working. Maybe it was building a career, earning money or saving for the future. 

Purpose gives us the reason and the inspiration to do what we do. Creating a new purpose in retirement can be very rewarding.

Ask yourself: “what will inspire me to get out of bed every morning” and “what are all the things I have wanted to do, but couldn’t because of my career”.

In the 90’s we learnt a great technique from Landmark Education courses we attended. To create something new and powerful, get together with your partner or a trusted friend, then share what your purpose and goals have been and what you have and have not achieved.

Once you get that off your chest, there’s an opportunity to create your new purpose “from a blank canvas”. It’s not about fixing what you haven’t done. It’s a powerful way to create a new life that inspires you.

Whether it’s creating and fulfilling your “bucket list”, helping out in the community, volunteering, learning something new or travelling to places you’ve always dreamt of, creating a plan for retirement through a new purpose, is a powerful way to start your next journey.

Maintaining a healthy balance between mental stimulation, physical wellbeing, relationships and community can all form part of an inspiring purpose.

There are so many negative connotations surrounding the use of the word retirement, such as getting old or becoming less useful or do I have enough money?

Many people do not engage in what they will do after they finish working. This results in less planning and fewer conversations (with family and friends) about their future. Hence, they fear retirement.

But there are many positive things about retirement.  It’s an opportunity:

• To engage in things you’ve wanted to do, but couldn’t because of work.
• To spend more time with family and friends.
• To travel Australia and the world.
• To learn new leisure activities, pastimes or hobbies.
• And much more.

They haven’t invented an alternative to the word retirement, so let’s have your retirement be the best it could be.

I have been doing a bit of personal retirement over the past few months, with a driving trip to Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and back to Darwin. Eleven thousand kilometers, caught up with over 50 friends, saw my godson married and had a ball. I’m back and keen to inspire people to have an awesome retirement, and my seminars will start back up again on Tuesday, 6th of February 2024.

Happy New Year to you all and let’s make 2024 something special.

Maybe jumping out of a plane is not on everyone’s retirement bucket list, or maybe it is!

We potentially have 20-30 years in retirement, which is a lot of living still to do. What’s really important is to start the process of “what do I want to get up to when I finish up at work”.

It doesn’t have to be extreme adventure. What about taking up a new hobby or expanding your academic qualifications or taking on that gardening project or spending more time with the kids/grandkids or visiting that place you have always wanted to go to or volunteering or mentoring or …

Also, the list doesn’t have to be the right list or the final list. You can change your mind whenever you want to. The trick is to get the list started. Otherwise, you cannot visualize a future in retirement, and can easily get stuck in working longer as the only way forward.

There may be financial considerations when you wind down the clock on your career, but you can also be creative. What about reducing your working hours, so you can get used to more leisure time. There is part time work or consulting that could generate extra cash and give you more flexible leisure hours. You may be able to use your skills and qualifications to sit on a Board.

Here's my tip. Get a piece of paper and write down three things you really (I mean really) want to do when you retire. If you have a partner or best friend, get them to do the same thing. It won’t take long for your lists to grow and you will have started your own “bucket list”. Then all you have to do is delete the ones you have completed, then review and add additional ones, to make the golden years of retirement truly memorable.

It’s never too late and You get to Shape Your Destiny.

Q. How long will you live?

Q. How much will you need for retirement?

Q. How do you get the best out of what you’ve got/ will have?

Do you know what you are going to get up to, for the 20-30 years you are likely to have in retirement, AND how you are going to fund it? That’s an entire lifetime.

For people in their 50’s and 60’s, now is the time to research and find out the best options for life after work.

You have spent your working life contributing to superannuation and building personal assets and investments. But the rules surrounding superannuation, tax and retirement benefits are quite complex and changeable. In addition, many options for improving financial outcomes have a sunset clause.

It is really important to find out what you can do and when you can do it, to allow you to plan your financial moves and generate your best possible retirement. Many of these options are lost when you reach the official retirement age of 67.

So, what don’t you know, and is it stopping you from creating an extraordinary retirement? Don’t leave it too long, whether you embark on my seminar or start your journey of researching and planning your retirement options through books and the internet.

It’s never too late and You get to Shape Your Destiny.

Everyone’s journey is different. Ours started in late 2003.

We went to a party in Sydney, where we met some people from the NT, who were travelling Australia. We commented that that is what we wanted to do when we retired. They said “why are you waiting?”

A month later, we were still trying to answer that question. Eighteen months later, we had sold our house of 23 years, closed down two working businesses, bought a 4WD and camper trailer and started exploring. Our travels covered most of Australia, sometimes going clockwise and sometimes anticlockwise, where the views can be remarkably different. After almost five years on the road, we found ourselves in Darwin, experiencing a tropical wet season. As so many people have found, after a year in Darwin we decided to stay and re-establish a home and community.

Sue wrote a book (now about to release her fourth book on Darwin) and I started the Darwin Branch of the Association of Independent Retirees about 7 years ago. In late 2022 I started Pathways to Retiring, focusing on people with 1-20 years still in the workforce. I share my retirement experiences, both financially and personally, and provide up to date information on retirement and superannuation benefits.

It’s great to have a plan and it’s great to have a purpose. We love meeting people and joining communities and community activities. We have been retired for nearly eighteen years and probably have another twenty or so years still to go. We have recently upgraded to a 3BR townhouse, so plan to stay in Darwin for some time yet.

What will be your retirement story?

 With continual tinkering of superannuation by governments, how much confidence do you have in your retirement savings?

The changes to the tax treatment of super in the recent Federal Budget has highlighted, yet again, that the government can change the rules on your retirement savings whenever they feel like it.

Saving for retirement is a long term decision, spanning decades. For those who have already retired, there are virtually no options to build, or rebuild retirement savings.

What is worse, is that by destroying the confidence of saving for retirement, many people will choose NOT to increase their contributions, with the result that many people are considerably underfunded when they decide or are forced to finish work.

Confidence in the superannuation industry is vital, to encourage people to engage and save for the 20-30 years of their retirement. For younger workers, there are the benefits of compounding via yield and growth. For older workers, once their major commitments have been reduced, there is the opportunity to top up their retirement savings to generate a comparable lifestyle when they finish work.

The lowering of confidence in superannuation affects all of these people and the outcome is often devastating for those who have retired.

With 3.5 trillion in the Australian superannuation pool, considerably larger than the ASX, should the regulation of the superannuation industry be left to politicians managing a three year electoral cycle. Maybe it’s time to rethink how superannuation savings should be controlled, because the pot is only going to get bigger.

The message. Stop changing superannuation rules.

Will you be fit enough/healthy enough to enjoy your retirement years?

As we approach retirement, we start to develop a wish list or bucket list of things we want to do or achieve when we stop work.

It could be a special holiday destination, an adventure, a new hobby or spending more time in the garden.

Whatever it is, you want to have the physical (and mental) strength and stamina to fully enjoy it.

Studies have shown that, although we will likely live to our mid-eighties, we are (on average) likely to develop a disability that will impact us before we reach 75. This could be something relatively minor, such as a heart imbalance, hip or knee replacement or drugs, each of which slows us down and requires management, but still leaves us able to do most things. Sometimes, they can be the result of an accident or illness and are more major, leading to profound core activity limitation, such as mobility, self-care and communication. Unfortunately, we don’t know what and we don’t know when.

The point is, we need to do the things that are important to us, while we have the health and fitness to fully enjoy them.

Another useful tip is to budget or plan to spend a little bit more in the early stages of retirement, to fulfil on your wish list. Those adventure holidays and activities can cost more and you want to schedule them while you are young(er) and fit(ter).

After finishing work, Sue and I travelled around Australia in a 4WD and camper trailer for five years. In addition, there were driving holidays in Italy, Namibia, Ireland and Iceland. We really appreciated these extended holidays, having the fitness and stamina necessary to fully enjoy them.

Time to plan. Time to act. Don’t wait until it is too late.

What do you want to do when you finish up working?

Many people haven’t thought about this question. By the time you reach 65, you still have 20-30 years left to enjoy life. Have you created a “bucket list” of things to do before you die? Is there something you would like to learn or do that would make you really happy?

Putting some thought and planning into life after working can be rewarding, both personally and financially.

So, when do you need to do this? Mostly, the answer is as soon as possible. However, the wrong answer is generally when you turn 67 or sometime later when you’ve retired.

The change of lifestyle in retirement is quite significant. The circumstances and motivations that have carried you through your working life of 30 or 40 years are no longer present. Relationships will change, given there is less focus on work and with lots of extra time now available. There are also likely to be new interests, hobbies and friendships. All of this generates opportunities to create something different and maybe even a bit exciting. But you can’t leave it to the last minute. It takes time and planning.

In addition, the rules around superannuation and retirement finances are complex and change frequently. Your age determines many of the financial options available to you in retirement planning. Once you turn 67, many of those options disappear. The earlier you start the planning process, the better the outcome.

Everyone’s situation is different. A great way to start planning is to get a broad understanding of the challenges and options available and focus on those items relevant to you.

So don’t leave it too long to create a pathway to the next chapter.