Wealth Connexions offers industry insight and advice for retirement planning strategies in Brisbane.
There are many things you can do to prepare for retirement. To help you make the right steps when reaching for your dream lifestyle after retirement, we have compiled the following retirement planning strategies.
Initial Steps
- The first step in your retirement process is deciding on when exactly you want to retire. This depends on many factors, including your current lifestyle, financial situation, savings, assets, family and personal considerations.
- The next step is to think about your financial situation a little more thoroughly. This includes your savings, superannuation, income and tax management. It can be very helpful to consult with an expert financial advisor, who can help talk you through these financial stages. At Wealth Connexions we consult and offer our advice to Australians in all different stages of their lives, especially retirement.
- Attending retirement seminars either in person or online is another important step in planning for your retirement. These seminars can provide you with a top-level understanding of retirement and what retirement options may work best for you.
Strategies You Can Take
1. Learning about retirement
Talking to an expert at Wealth Connexions, attending seminars, doing some thorough researching, reflecting on your personal and financial assets, estate planning, and the future of your family, are all vital stages in learning about retirement and retirement planning strategies that are right for you.
2. Making sure your finances are in order
This includes making sure that your income has the most efficient and productive financial strategies: like your super; taking time for income and tax management; planning out what you’re going to do with your assets; and researching into what Centrelink payments, such as the age pension or other financial entitlements, you may be eligible for.
3. Timeframes and time management
Moving into new stages of your life, especially one as big as retirement, means taking the time to plan and assess your financial situation. On top of work, leisure, home, and family life, financial planning can easily be pushed aside and forgotten about. During the retirement process, it is important to take the time to think about the level of involvement you can commit to, and the time you need to allow to think about your retirement and finances. Need help with retirement planning strategies in Brisbane? Wealth Connexions has accredited Aged Care Financial Advice specialists who can help.
4. Estate planning
It is important to have a well-structured estate plan. Having this in place enables your wealth to continue to your beneficiaries after your passing, both seamlessly and tax effectively.
Strategies to Boost Your Savings:
A key part of retirement planning is knowing your starting point. Identify what funds you are currently expecting to have at the time of your retirement and what you think you’ll need. Make sure to include the assets available to you at your retirement in this evaluation, such as investment properties, term deposits, and cash. Excluding the value of your super, you will also need to deduct any loans you are still yet to repay in this evaluation.
Salary sacrificing is an option for both high- and lower-income earners. This is an arrangement between an employee and their employer, where the employee elects to forgo a percentage of their salary to their superannuation fund. This is in addition to the contributions the employer already makes to their employee’s super fund, which is at least 9.5 percent of their gross salary. This additional contribution to their super fund would be pre-tax.
Superannuation can be complex but planning and implementing strategies early can pay off in the long run. It’s important that you consider the benefits super brings, in terms of tax, investments, and estate planning.
How to access your super:
Edit: To access your superannuation, you must meet a strict criterion. To access the fund, you must be of age, be retired, or transitioning to retire while you’re still working.
When you are eligible to access your super (age):
| If you were born… | Access your super at |
| Before 1 July 1960 | 55 |
| 1st of July 1960 to 30th of June 1961 | 56 |
| 1st of July 1961 to 30th of June 1962 | 57 |
| 1st of July 1962 to 30th of June 1963 | 58 |
| 1st of July 1963 to 30th of June 1964 | 59 |
| 1st of July 1960 or after | 60 |
It is important to note that depending on your income and assets, you could be eligible for the Government Age Pension. If you would like further elaboration on retirement planning strategies in Brisbane, the experts at Wealth Connexions can assist you directly.
