If you are planning your retirement, a retirement planning professional can be a valuable ally. We have been a trusted name in Perth since 2005 and our financial advisors have more than 40 years combined experience in the industry. While we aren’t allowed to provide anything constituting individual financial advice in this blog, we would like to pass along three crucial decisions to be made before retirement, courtesy of the Financial Planning Association of Australia (FPA).
How Much Money Do You Want to Receive?
It is popular among many financial planners to recommend at least 75% of your pre-retirement income on a monthly basis when you retire. An easy example: if you currently make $80,000, you should plan to make $60,000 a month in retirement. You will be paying little or no taxes on this income compared to your time in the workforce and expenses related to work will disappear when you retire. *
According to the ASFA (Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia) Retirement Standard, couples should aim for $58,128 per year and singles $42,433 for a comfortable retirement. However, the FPA recommends that you create your own budget based on the lifestyle you want to live and then try to figure out where the money is going to come from.*
What Will You Do with Your Super?
There are three basic strategies you can use for your super when you reach retirement age: withdraw and spend, withdraw and invest or keep it in your super and start an income stream.* We will be happy to discuss the advantages and disadvantages of each approach with you in person.
To Downsize or Not to Downsize?
The decision whether or not to downsize a home is one of the more important considerations for retirement. The FPA recommends that you start early if you decide to downsize.*
To learn more or to talk to one of our financial advisors, call our Perth office today: 08 6462 0888.
*Financial Planning Association of Australia, “Planning for retirement: 3 decisions you have to make.” 8 September 2015.
