Retirement Planning – Finance
5 key tips to plan for a secure retirement Retirement is an exciting time of your life where you should be able to relax and take time to smell the roses. But you need to prepare and plan for your retirement if you want to live comfortably.
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our retirement is a stage of your life that you should be excited to reach and work towards over your lifetime.
Securing your retirement plan In most cases, people work towards securing their retirement funding ahead of time, but many don’t think about what planning should accompany it. And do we start early enough? Rosie Bouton is Principal Financial Planner and Aged Care Specialist at We Plan Financial where she helps seniors plan for retirement and beyond. She says that when it comes to retirement planning, it’s a case of ‘the earlier the better’. According to Ms Bouton, people who have engaged a financial planner early into their retirement planning, are less panicked than those who only start to think about what they want and how they are going to fund this next stage of life when they approach the retirement age.
Positive impact Any early planning you do can greatly benefit your retirement outcomes and have a positive impact on you down the track. Ms Bouton is especially insistent that people need to not only
consider their preferred lifestyle requirements for retirement, but also prepare for any increased care needs that may occur as they get older.
Any early planning you do can greatly benefit your retirement outcomes
Her advice is that you should be realistic about when you are going to retire, consider future medical conditions you may develop or if you plan to work for longer to better boost your savings and superannuation.
Top five tips 1. Keep an eye on your super While it sounds simple, Ms Bouton says that people need to know where their superannuation is held. A lot of people end up with multiple super funds across different super companies and are unaware of how and where they are invested. In some instances, your super may be invested in a way that is not aligned with your preferences or appropriate risk profile. She recommends keeping an eye on your superannuation accounts and make sure your super fits your specific risk profile.
2. Protection Insurance can be very important when it comes to large assets; you have insurance for your car or on your home. However, according to Ms Bouton older people don’t protect the biggest asset they have, which is their ability to earn an income themselves. Once you lose the capacity or struggle to undertake your job, this can have a huge impact on your life and financial situation. Ms Bouton recommends people have adequate insurance cover such as personal insurance, which could be life insurance, Total and Permanent Disability Insurance, Trauma Insurance or Income Protection Insurance to protect themselves as much as possible from different events that can occur that may impact on their ability to save for retirement.
Additionally, always keep your expectations in check. While there are dream ideals for how and when to retire, it doesn’t necessarily mean you will be in the position to reach that goal. It’s better to be realistic about your retirement outcomes. YourRetirementLiving.com.au
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