True Wealth February 2017

true wealth Will you be

FEBRUARY 2017

RETIREMENT READY? PLAN EARLY AND REAP THE BENEFITS

+PERSONALITY MONEY TYPES Expert advice on your investment biases

+SUPER-SMART WOMEN Five ways to boost your super

Your fund.

Your wealth.

Your future.

GROWING YOUR WEALTH STARTS WITH KNOWING MORE

Members have asked for more straightforward and engaging information on personal finance and investing.

So your new online Knowledge Centre is designed to help you better understand the subjects most important to you. Contributors including ABC Finance presenter Alan Kohler address subjects such as how to make your super work harder, investing in property or the financial markets, better budgeting, and retirement planning tips. You can personalise the site to focus on the issues top of mind for you right now.

Issued by NGS Super Pty Limited ABN 46 003 491 487 AFSL No 233 154 the trustee of NGS Super ABN 73 549 180 515

It’s free and exclusive for members, so go to ngssuper.com.au/yourknowledge, register and see how a little more knowledge can help you make the right choices as you grow your wealth.

WELCOME As we start 2017, NGS Super remains committed to digital innovation and to continuously improving your financial journey towards retirement.

Our new online Knowledge Centre launched in November (knowledge.ngssuper.com.au), providing you with access to exclusive content from Alan Kohler—a highly respected finance journalist and ABC presenter—together with other contributors.

We also launched our new website in December, which means we can now streamline communications with you, making it easier for you to receive news and updates.

In addition to changes on the digital front, another big change planned for this year is the insurance we provide. After an extensive tender process, NGS Super has appointed TAL as our new insurer.

This change brings continued improvements in how we can deliver quality insurance. Changes will come into effect on 1 June 2017 and you will receive updates ahead of time.

On World Teachers’ Day, 5 October 2016, we announced the lucky scholarship recipients from our Dedicated to the Dedicated Awards.

A big congratulations to the six deserving winners who have demonstrated dedication to the education industry. You can read more about the 2015 winner on page 6.

NEWS AND NOTES

The latest from NGS Super, including an investment update and an informative new website.

WHAT’S YOUR INVESTMENT PERSONALITY?

Your personality traits and your attitude to risk influence how you make decisions about super.

BUILDING CONNECTIONS

How teacher and speech pathologist Dr Charlotte Forwood continues to develop expertise beyond her PhD.

ARE YOU READY FOR RETIREMENT?

If you are dreaming of retirement, it might be time to see what you can do to get there sooner.

RULES FOR SUPER10 5SMART WOMEN It’s not too late to boost your super.

These simple steps will make all the difference to your retirement.

TO 12 FAREWELL FOLDING MONEY? With every passing year we use cash less and less. Here’s what our spending habits look like in Australia today.

SETBACKS TO 13 USING YOUR ADVANTAGE We all fail from time to time. Here’s how to bounce back from career mistakes in the best way possible.

Anthony Rodwell-Ball, CEO, NGS Super

www.truewealth.com.au

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THE TRUE WEALTH TEAM NGS Super Loyce Cox-Paton Senior Manager, Brand and Digital

Tania Lopez Campaign Marketing Manager

Published by Hardie Grant Media

Deputy Managing Director Clare Brundle

Managing Editor Rebecca Douglas

Art Director Dan Morley

Cover image iStock

Publisher Alison Crocker

Sub Editors Sophie Hull, Sarah Causton

Designer Luke Atkinson

The information in True Wealth is general information only—it does not take into account your objectives, financial situation or needs. Please assess your own financial situation, read the Member Guide (PDS) for any product you may be thinking of acquiring and consider seeking professional advice before acting on this information. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance.

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A NEW INSURANCE PROVIDER

+ TOPPING UP YOUR SUPER At NGS Super, we are committed to helping you live comfortably in retirement.

Figures published by The Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASFA) suggest that a couple aged around 65 would need $34,560 per year to live a modest lifestyle in retirement, or $59,619 per year for a comfortable lifestyle.

Unless you have other substantial savings or assets, relying on a combination of your super and the age pension may not be enough. The good news is, if you were to top up with just a small amount regularly out of your before-tax salary, you could grow your super much faster.

To find out how, visit www.ngssuper.com.au/topup and watch the video, or contact us on 1300 133 177.

Source: ASFA Retirement Standard: Budgets for various households and living standards for those aged around 65. (September quarter 2016, national.)

NEWS

In September 2016 we announced the appointment of TAL, one of Australia’s largest life insurers, as the new insurer for NGS Super.

We believe the partnership will deliver several long-term benefits to members, including an enhanced overall experience, digital capabilities and better insurance options.

Quality insurance plays a significant role in helping our members secure their financial future, and NGS Super and TAL agree on the importance of insurance in super to help Australians going through difficult times.

NGS Super is committed to making sure the insurance process is as easy as possible for you and we believe focusing on communication and digital tools will help deliver outstanding service to you when you need it most.

TAL’s investment in new technologies and communication methods will enable you to communicate with NGS Super anywhere and anytime.

NGS Super expects to introduce the new insurance by 1 June 2017 and you will be notified of any changes to your insurance in advance.

The Knowledge Centre has been created for our members to enjoy an online financial resources hub. With carefully curated content and access to unique articles on investments from thought leaders, including Alan Kohler from The Constant Investor, this new hub will guide you through understanding financial concepts and overall wealth management so you can meet your financial goals.

Access is exclusive to NGS Super members. New materials are added weekly, so be sure to check the site regularly to continue your journey to financial success. The information is not only useful for understanding super and financial investing, but offers world news that is compelling, topical, and relevant to you.

To find out more visit knowledge.ngssuper.com.au.

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Images: iStock

Financial info on tap

NEWS & NOTES

We chat to Hooria Goodarzi, NGS Super Financial Planner.

INVESTMENT UPDATE It has been a positive start to the 2016/17 financial year after Donald Trump’s unexpected US election win in November saw the Australian market down almost 2%. This gave time for market participants to analyse Trump’s policies in more depth and witness him deliver a far more conciliatory acceptance speech than previously imagined, causing the US S&P 500 Index to rise just over 1%.

It is difficult to forecast what the ultimate financial impact will be from the Trump victory but some initial points of consensus are emerging.

At NGS, we continue to analyse the risks and opportunities from the changing global geopolitical landscape and utilise investment managers who can quickly respond to these changes.

Inspirational reads

Everyone encounters stress and setbacks in their life, but why do some people bounce back with ease while others struggle to come to terms with negative experiences?

Solving this mystery could be the key to conquering all sorts of challenges and achieving professional success and personal fulfilment.

After 20 years of studying human behaviour, Dr Susan David has developed the concept of emotional agility to describe the resilience some people display in the face of adversity, no matter their intelligence,

creativity level or personality type.

Dr David is a psychologist, coach and faculty member at Harvard Medical School. Drawing on her decades of research and experience, Emotional Agility (Penguin, $35) shares her tips for navigating difficult experiences by acknowledging them while detaching from them, loosening their stranglehold on us and enabling us to channel our actions in a more beneficial direction.

What does your role involve?

I’m a financial adviser at NGS. This involves meeting with members and providing them with a financial plan.

What is the most satisfying part of your job?

Hearing about members’ lives and discussing how to achieve their dreams and goals, that’s what I really enjoy.

What sets NGS Super apart from other funds?

We run a lot of workshops and seminars, so we can update members on new changes in legislation, regulations and other things that will impact a member’s financial situation.

What’s your best investment advice?

The best investment is in ourselves. We can learn as much as possible, educate ourselves around financial matters and understand what we need to know by attending workshops and seminars.

What is your top tip for looking after your finances?

We are bombarded with information and it is very hard to filter that through to what is relevant to us. It’s about educating yourself and seeking professional advice to be able to understand what it all means for you.

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What’s your

INVESTMENT PERSONALITY? Your personality traits and your attitude to risk influence how you make decisions about super. By Angela Tufvesson

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o you research your investment options thoroughly before making a decision about super or are you more likely to go with your gut? Perhaps you’re a cautious investor who frets about losing money or an over-confident type who takes risks.

Just as age, gender and financial position influence how you approach super, so too does your personality type.

And as any psychologist will tell you, there’s no better or worse personality type as each has its benefits and

shortcomings. Here’s how to make the most of your investment personality— and overcome those pesky shortfalls.

Cautious investor

Cautious investors are careful with their money. They’re risk-averse people who prefer defensive options, says Lucas Hartmann, a Senior Investment Analyst at NGS Super.

“Cautious investors are very worried about losing money and want to protect what they’ve got,” he says.

INVESTING

“When they lose money, they feel loss a lot more heavily than when they make a gain.

“You definitely see this with a lot of super investors and while the positive of this type of investor is that they make careful decisions, the negative is they don’t take enough risk. When you invest, you need to take some risks to grow your wealth over time—and given you’ve got a long time you should be taking some risk.”

Hartmann says focusing on the long term and bigger picture, and trying not to worry about short-term dips, will help cautious investors take calculated risks and, in turn, grow their super.

“Cautious personality types should look into the future in terms of loss,” he says. “If you’ve got a cautious personality type you don’t want to see any losses in the short term but if you look longer term and you’re too conservative it means there’s a risk of not having enough wealth.”

Illustration: Jasu Hu

Analytical investor

If you’ve researched every detail of your investment options and asked a heap of questions but still feel paralysed with indecision about where to invest your super, chances are you’re an analytical investor.

“Analytical investors really do their research to understand investments and which funds they should invest in before they make their decision,” says Hartmann. “This can be very positive if they’ve got confidence to act on the information they’ve gathered, but it can also be a little bit destructive if they take too long to invest or even end up not doing anything as they’re focused too much on risk.”

Hartmann says analytical investors can also fall victim to a confirmation bias where they search only for information that confirms preconceived ideas about investment, leading to errors of judgement.

The solution? “Don’t get too caught up in over analysing and make sure you come to a decision,” says Hartmann.

“And be cautious about having a decision already made beforehand.”

Intuitive investor

Going with your gut may simplify a complex decision-making process and reduce stress, but Hartmann says making intuitive decisions about super isn’t usually an effective strategy.

“People generally run on autopilot in the way they interact with people and the way they make decisions, but when you take that approach to investing you’re very susceptible to behavioural biases,” he says. “You’ll be using rules of thumb to invest when perhaps you should be doing a little bit more analytical and critical thinking.”

Hartmann says intuitive investors can be particularly susceptible to hindsight bias—which overemphasises more recent returns when predicting future returns.

“This is where investors frame their expectations based on what they’ve seen in the past rather than analysing what’s changed,” he says. “As a result, they generally [underestimate risk and] take far too much of it.”

Developing an investment process or a set of rules to guide your decisionmaking can help to ensure you make investment choices based on fact.

“Devise a list of processes you need to go through to come to a conclusion that isn’t going to see you get caught out by these biases,” says Hartmann.

Over-confident investor

Intelligent and successful people think they know more about investing than the average Jane or Joe, especially if they work in the industry, but Hartmann says this can make them more susceptible to taking unnecessary risks.

“You may think you are better than the average person at investing, so you take more risk,” he says. “Over-confident investors think that because they’re smarter than average they can take more risk, but they end up getting caught in the same way everyone else does.”

If you’re vulnerable to over confidence, Hartmann says speaking to your peers and like-minded investors can act as a sense-check and help to discourage you from taking unnecessary risks.

CAUTIOUS PERSONALITY TYPES SHOULD LOOK INTO THE FUTURE IN TERMS OF LOSS.

What about the do-nothing investor?

While most people are interested in their super, many consider it boring or a low priority. Indeed, research from Suncorp Group shows that Australians rank mortgages, holidays and buying other personal items as more important than topping up their super payments.

However, while doing nothing in the form of sticking with the default fund isn’t often recommended, Simon Russell, Director of Behavioural Finance Australia, says putting in some effort early on and making sensible decisions about super can give you the freedom to do nothing later on—and watch your super grow.

“If doing nothing means not contributing or being stuck in the wrong fund or not having insurance, that can be bad, but if you’re in the right fund, in the right asset allocation, contributing and you do nothing different, that’s fine,” he says.

To ensure your investment decisions are wise, talk to an NGS Super financial planner by calling 1300 133 177.

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Building

CONNECTIONS

Photography: Eamon Gallagher

How teacher and speech pathologist Dr Charlotte Forwood continues to develop expertise beyond her PhD.

By Libby Hakim

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EDUCATION

D

r Charlotte Forwood, Leader of Advanced Learning at Strathcona Baptist Girls Grammar School, holds a Doctor of Philosophy and a Master of Education and is qualified as both a teacher and a speech pathologist.

Her commitment to further learning and professional development is ongoing. In September 2015 she set off on a three-week study tour of the UK after successfully applying for an NGS Super Scholarship Award.

Applying for the award

Dr Forwood’s role at her school in Melbourne’s inner eastern suburbs is broad and diverse: “It involves overseeing student learning from Early Learning Centre [under five year olds] up to Year 12 and focuses on all students advancing their learning rather than particular groups of students.”

However, it was her particular interest in adolescent language and literacy, linked to her PhD research, that prompted her to apply for the award.

“I’ve done a lot of study around developmental language disorders and I have some good connections, certainly within Victoria and Australia,” she says.

“I wanted to see whether what we are doing in our school for secondary students with developmental language disorders is actually best practice when you look further afield. In the UK they are very much leaders in what they do.”

A 2,000km trek around the UK

The trip consisted of a combination of meetings with researchers and school visits, with diversity being one of the defining characteristics of the visit.

“Some [schools] centred around solid Victorian red brick buildings while others incorporated harsh modern angles and high-tech materials. All were going about their business of providing the best education they could for their students.”

Diversity was also apparent within the government, private, single sex, co-educational and specialist schools Dr Forwood visited, with a variety of

2016 Award Winners

education systems from conservative to innovative approaches observed.

People were also an Congratulations to the 2016 NGS integral part of the tour. “I Dedicated to the Dedicated Award winners: spent a day in a dyslexia school with Speech and + Adam Burford – Teacher at Language Therapist, St John’s Grammar, Belair, SA Becky Clark. Clark is + Dale Kelly – Teacher at St Stephens School, Duncraig, WA part of a campaign + Joanne George – Drama Teacher at called RALLI (Raising Knox Grammar School, Wahroonga, NSW Awareness of Language + Evan Watts – Teacher (Head of Year 9) Learning Impairments). at Eltham College, Research, VIC Another highlight was + Catherine Louise Sydes – CEO at meeting Professor Julie Marist Youth Care, Glebe, NSW Dockrell—an expert in + Liane Simpson – Visual Arts Assistant at literacy and language.”

MLC School, Burwood, NSW Many different professionals involved in education assisted Dr Forwood with getting to know the educational community, including Billie Lowe, a Lincolnshire-based Speech and The trip also helped to “broaden and Language Therapist. “[Lowe] organised refine” Dr Forwood’s knowledge base a visit to The Thomas Cowley High and implement some practical changes School as well as a group of specialist back in Victoria. speech pathologists. It was a very Dr Forwood explained some of informative couple of days.” these practical changes, especially in relation to the Middle Years Language Boosting networks and Consultancy Program she designed kn owledge for Independent Schools Victoria: “I didn’t change the structure of the The trip expanded and invigorated program, but because I’d been talking Dr Forwood’s professional networking opportunities. “I think one of the benefits with experts I was able to incorporate different ideas and resources they of the trip is that I’ve become more active had shared with me. What I ended up in terms of my interactions with people doing was creating a blended learning beyond my workplace and the networks program that incorporates online that I have here. I am now regularly components as well as face-to-face interacting with people who I met in the elements. To be able to do this was a UK, sharing ideas and asking questions real highlight for me.” and that’s been really valuable.”

Charlotte’s professional developm en t tips + Be brave and aim high: take time to think about what you really want to learn and ask for it.

+ Put your hand up: “You just never know where it will take you. I just happened to see the [NGS Super] scholarship in passing and thought, ‘Oh, why not? I’ll give that a go.’”

+ Make time to tweet: “I use Twitter to ask questions and follow people and groups who share access to

relevant journal articles. It’s where a lot of my learning happens.”

+ Look for learning opportunities beyond your own workplace and think about the different ways you can connect with others.

+ Reflect and be honest about your strengths and weaknesses and set some goals around those—not just the things you’re good at or that spark your interest.

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ARE YOU READY FOR

retirem en t ?

If you are dreaming of retirement, it might be time to see what you can do to get there sooner. By Christine Long

W

hen you reach your 50s, retirement is no longer a distant dream. Often a lot needs to happen in the next decade or so to ensure you are ready to call time on your working life. Dascia Bennett, Executive Manager, Customer at NGS Super, says one of the best ways to check if your retirement plans are on track is to schedule a conversation with a financial adviser.

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“If someone from the age of 50 to 60 is considering retirement, the most important thing that they can do is come in and get some advice from a financial specialist,” Bennett says. “At NGS Super we want to understand your goals and what you are wanting out of life now and all the way through to retirement, as well as your goals after retirement.”

Bennett says a lot of women, in particular, can find themselves having

to adjust their retirement plans when life delivers something unexpected.

“A member might come in and you write a plan for them today and they are going to stick to that plan and then tomorrow their daughter gets divorced; or they get divorced; or they have a grandchild they weren’t expecting; or they get made redundant; or they experience some other life-changing event,” she says.

RETIREMENT

Images: iStock

WHEN YOU HAVE PUT A STRATEGY IN PLACE IT SHOULDN’T BE SEEN AS SOMETHING YOU SET AND FORGET... WORK WITH YOUR PLANNER ON AN ONGOING BASIS.

In her own situation, divorce and her daughter’s wedding plans prompted a review of her retirement plans. Her aim: to see how she could refine her spending and maximise her savings to achieve her goal of retiring in 10 years at the age of 65.

“The financial planner sat down and did a gap analysis of where my super was at and how much I was putting into my super today. We did a household budget of what I spend my money on and we worked out that if I wanted to have a comfortable lifestyle in retirement, I was going to have to work

until I’m about 67 or 68,” she says. “So I could either make some adjustments on my spending and my savings patterns over those next 10–12 years or I’d have to work for an extra one to three years.”

Apart from refining spending patterns to free up more money to contribute to super, a financial planner may also suggest changes to your investment strategy. For instance, d Bennett’s financial planner suggested that with another 12 years of workingg life ahead of her, she could shift some of her retirement savings out of the very conservative investment option, where it is currently, to more of a growth option.

Darryn Studdert, Manager, Advice at NGS Super says, “Even when you have put a strategy in place it shouldn’tt be seen as something you set and forget—it’s making sure that you work with your planner on an ongoing basis so that you are able to meet your goals.

That means checking: are we doing the right thing with super to get you through to retirement? What about investing outside of super—is that something you want to look at? Should we look at providing a savings plan so you’ve got access to money in the short term instead of being in super where you might not be able to get it until retirement?”

Then when you reach retirement, your planner will help you set a strategy that focuses on how best you can use those assets and any other Centrelink or auxiliary benefits such as the Health Care Card to provide for your needs.

“It is scary to think that you get to retirement and all of a sudden you have

to start providing for yourself,” says Studdert. “By coming in to us, there’s the surety that we’re putting a plan in place and we’re going to work with you so that you are able to achieve your goals.”

To talk with an NGS Super financial planner, visit www.ngssuper.com.au or call us on 1300 133 177.

When can I access m y super?

As you make your plans it helps to be aware of the rules that govern when you can access your super savings.

The official retirement age is 65. At that point you can access your super as a lump sum or as an income stream without having to retire.

It is also possible to access super when you reach ‘preservation age’, as long as you have permanently retired from the workforce. Your preservation age depends on when you were born.

For those born before 1 July 1960 it is age 55 and it rises to age 60 for those born after 30 June 1964.

See www.ato.gov.au for more.

There are also special rules that govern those aged between 60 and 65. They are able to access super without actually retiring if they terminate their employment arrangement.

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Image: iStock

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RETIREMENT SAVINGS

5 rules for

SUPER-SMART WOMEN How to boost your retirement savings in five simple steps.

By Dascia Bennett

H

aving enough money in super is a major issue for all Australians but women fare worse than men for a few reasons. On average, women end up retiring with approximately $100,000 less superannuation than men.

Disappointingly, the gender pay gap in this country is alive and well. On average, over a lifetime, a woman will be paid $600,000 less than men. This has a direct effect on women’s retirement account balances and puts them behind their male counterparts from the word go.

Add to this the fact that women take career breaks to have children—they are often out of the workforce or working on a casual or part-time basis for up to eight years after having children. With an ageing population, it’s more important than ever for women to be taking a hard look at their financial futures.

Despite these challenges, it’s not too late to boost your super. There are a few simple things women can do now, that will make all the difference to their retirement.

RULE 1. Get educated and get help Many of us are indifferent when it comes to our super, or we simply don’t understand it. Self-directed education with tools such as ASIC’s MoneySmart (www.moneysmart.gov.au) is a fantastic starting point.

If you can afford it, it is wise to get advice from a professional financial planner early on. If you don’t feel comfortable with a professional planner, get a financial mentor. A financial mentor can guide you, challenge you and support you, and will help you grow and develop when it comes to wealth management.

RULE 3. Contribute extra The 9.5 per cent superannuation guarantee (the minimum super wage contribution employers have to pay) isn’t enough to build healthy retirement savings.

Consider salary sacrificing, which not only increases your account balance but is also a tax-effective way to save for retirement. Or, when you get a pay rise, save half into super—you won’t even miss it!

RULE 4. Avoid procrastination risk For many of us, retirement is still a long way off. But the magic of compound interest means that topping up your super regularly throughout your life—especially if you continue to do this during times when you’re out of the workforce—will make a significant difference when you’re ready to retire.

RULE 5. Create financial equality in relationships For those of us in relationships, especially long-term relationships, it’s important to maintain financial equity.

Be across the decisions being made, particularly those that are an investment for the future, and make sure you have a say in where your money is being invested.

Regardless of your situation or age, it’s important to take an active role when it comes to the management of your retirement funds.

Dascia Bennett is Executive Manager, Customer at NGS Super

RULE 2. Make a plan Sit with a financial planner or your financial mentor to set out your life goals and how you plan to achieve them from a financial perspective—both short term and longer term.

It will allow you to spot problem areas and course-correct well ahead of time. Ensure you review your plan regularly as your life changes—this will help to keep your plan relevant and up to date.

Wan t to learn m ore?

For more information about making a super plan, visit www.ngssuper.com.au.

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WEALTH

Farewell to

FOLDING MONEY? With every passing year we use cash less and less, but is a fully cashless society really possible? By Hazel Flynn

C

ash transactions in Australia fell from 70 per cent of the total to less than half from 2007 to 2013 and the decrease continues, reports the Sydney Morning Herald. Even cashless purchases under $10 are becoming more common thanks to our enthusiastic use of tap-and-go cards and smartphone payment apps.

Nicky Breen, spokesperson for consumer organisation CHOICE, says, “While there are many consumers out there who still love cash,” this trend is reflected in “a steady decline in the number of withdrawals at ATMs”.

Sweden provides the clearest picture of how a truly cashless society might work. In 2015 cash was used for less

than a fifth of all its shop transactions and under two per cent of the value of all payments made throughout the country.

And as you can see from the infographic below, Australia may be heading in the same direction, with both cashless and card-free payments on the rise.

CASHLESS SPENDING IN AUSTRALIA

350.6 million

C A R D - F R E E PAY M E N T S

The number of debit card transactions per month in 2015.

1994

15.6 million

In 1994 we averaged 15.6 million transactions per month.

200%

45% Businesses accepting customer electronic payments using methods such as PayPal or digital wallets.

Increase in customers using smartphones to ‘tap and pay’ in 2014–2015.

PHASING OUT

53% 53%

5c

More than half of payments currently made in Australia are now cashless.

1.4 billion

The number of domestic banknotes currently in circulation, which adds up to the value of $70.2 billion.

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The percentage of Australians who have made a contactless transaction (using a card to tap and pay), making us the country leading the way with this technology.

The Royal Australian Mint predicts that this coin will be removed from circulation in the next 5 –10 years.

6%

Decrease in ATM transactions in 2016.

13.5%

20.1

$

billion

Online sales made in Australia for the 2015–16 financial year. This represents a 13.5% increase on the previous year ($17.3 billion).

This is a

1.2% The percentage of payments made by cheque.

73% decline over the last decade.

Sources: Westpac; Sydney Morning Herald; The Australian; Australian Financial Review; Reserve Bank of Australia; www.cso.com.au; Australian Payments Clearing Association; RFi Group

GOING CASHLESS

CAREER

Using setbacks

TO YOUR ADVANTAGE Here’s how to bounce back and learn from what at first might seem like career mistakes. By Rebecca Douglas

W

hether you’re fired, redeployed, made redundant or even sometimes when you leave a job voluntarily, you can be left feeling like you’ve wasted your time and fallen short of achieving your goals.

Feeling this way can be a truly awful experience, one that can lead to stress and low self-esteem, but it can have some potential benefits.

“When you fail, you learn,” says mindset coach Alyce Pilgrim. “You learn valuable lessons, resilience, perseverance, determination, grit.

Failure keeps you hungry and wanting more. Failure makes us humble. Failure recommits us to our goals. It allows us to tap into more desire and determination to make something happen.”

Ali Cavill (pictured right) knows all too well the feeling of working in a job you’re no longer suited to or enjoying.

She retrained as a teacher after spending eight years working in human resources (HR) management for a state government agency. She loved the first five years or so in HR and rose through the ranks quite quickly, but later felt that she was perhaps promoted one level above her comfort zone and had moved away from the aspects of the work she most enjoyed.

“I missed the interaction with my team. The role became very focused on report writing, preparing tenders, drafting proposals, but not on the ground with the team anymore and I missed the people aspect,” she says.

“I also found the project workload quite heavy and no longer could leave issues at the office.”

She says this was not only making her time at work less satisfying, but also affecting her life outside the workplace.

“It made me feel stressed and meant I was thinking about work 24/7. I was also not having time to pursue my extracurricular hobbies, so I wasn’t feeling fulfilled in all aspects of my life.”

At this point, she decided to take a career break and study in some of her areas of interest, namely training, teaching and fitness.

She now teaches physical education (PE) in both primary schools and high schools, through a mixture of a parttime role and regular casual work. She also coaches sports teams, helps out at school sports days and retreats, and has a personal training business called Fit Fantastic.

Although PE teaching seems miles away from the corporate world of HR, she doesn’t regret her work history.

She has found plenty of the skills

Fam ous career detours + JK Rowling was rejected by 12 publishers before finding a home for Harry Potter, one of the best-selling book series of all time.

she developed in her former career transfer across to teaching, including organisational skills, planning, budgeting, scheduling, and resourcing.

Ali is grateful that leaving her old job behind pushed her in a direction she might not have otherwise considered and gave her the opportunity to pursue her lifelong love of sports.

“It’s always been a passion and a hobby, I just didn’t really think about it as a career.”

+ Henry Ford’s financial backers abandoned him twice before he produced a working automobile.

+ Oprah was fired from a TV anchor job early in her career for becoming too emotionally invested in her stories.

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CONTRIBUTE A LITTLE MORE SUPER NOW, + ENJOY A LOT MORE LIVING LATER.

Topping up your super by just $50 a week from the age of 35 could give you more than $170,000 extra when you retire1.

1 2

Assuming investment earnings of 6% after tax and fees for 32 years Comparison is based on saving through non-superannuation savings products

Issued by NGS Super Pty Limited ABN 46 003 491 487 AFSL No 233 154 the trustee of NGS Super ABN 73 549 180 515

Visit ngssuper.com.au/topup or call the NGS Super advice line on 1300 133 177 and see if contributing a little more to super now could help secure the retirement lifestyle you really want.

Your fund.

Your wealth.

Your future.

3044 (0117)

If you earn over $37,000 you could get a tax saving on extra super contributions made by salary sacrifice, plus ongoing compound growth on all your super savings, a lower tax rate on your investment earnings, and low or no tax on your balance when you retire2.