Bec Wilson's Blog, page 11

The three things you need to know about your super

In this weekends edition:

This is our short Sunday edition, with today’s article from The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, WA Today and Brisbane Times. Just a brief one today. I’ll save the letters for the longer mid-week newsletter this week. But please keep ‘em coming. Email me at bec@epicretirement.com.au!

Some great news!

Thanks to your popular demand - our podcast Prime Time is back THIS WEEK! Keep your ears peeled Thursday morning! Get on over and subscribe if you haven’t already, on your favourite podcast platform.

And our Epic Retirement Flagship Course is going to launch! (It looks sensational!) Make sure you’re on the Expression of Interest list here as the numbers in the first release will be limited and there will be great pricing and extra goodies and inclusions for this one, being the first 6 week course-event we’ve held. I can’t wait!

Have a lovely Sunday. Make it epic!

Many thanks! Bec Wilson

Author, podcast host, columnist, retirement educator, and guest speaker

Thanks for reading Epic Retirement! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.

The three things you need to know about your super

Despite superannuation being a hot topic, it still could be the single most overlooked and misunderstood asset you hold.

If you want to have a fulfilling retirement and a fantastic prime time, super is something you need to understand and get proactive about as early in life as you can. And – because making things about retirement and pre-retirement easier to understand is my gig – today we’re going to unpack the stuff you really should know.

1. How to get money into superannuation. It can be tricky to get money into superannuation. But it’s almost always worthwhile doing it.

In the accumulation phase, the most common way we get money into super is through employer contributions. Almost everyone who works in Australia is contributing to their super fund every month at the compulsory rate of 11 per cent. And we pay just 15 per cent tax on these contributions.

Eleven per cent might not seem like much, but it’s a solid amount. The average wage in Australia is now exceeding $95,000, so the average Aussie is contributing over $10,500 per year, many without realising it.

You can add to your 11 per cent, topping up your super with voluntary concessional contributions, of up to $27,500 into superannuation per year, at a cool tax rate of 15 per cent. And, if you don’t use all the cap in a year, you can roll it over for five years.

If you’re not paying attention, I can almost guarantee you won’t be making the most of the opportunities on offer.

The third way to get money into super is through non-concessional contributions, where you can contribute up to $110,000 per year, at your marginal tax rate, up to the $1.9 million cap. And there’s a clever bring forward rule, allowing you to contribute up to $330,000 in one go.

The fourth way is using the downsizer concession. If you are over 55, have owned your home for more than 10 years, and lived in it, you can downsize and slide up to $300,000 to your superannuation, tax-free. Couples can contribute $300,000 per person.

And the fifth is through the small business tax concessions available if you sell an eligible business.

2. How to make your superannuation grow. Once it’s inside your fund, the key is to make your super grow. You’ll be leveraging the remarkable power of compound investing, allowing your money to multiply many times over your lifetime. So, to make sure this happens, you need to be proactive.

The first thing you need to understand is how much risk you’re willing to take. Assess your risk profile, then review your investment mix. When you put money into super, unless you’ve actively changed your settings, it’s invested into a default fund. If you want to redirect the investments to a higher level of risk and growth, or a lower level, you’ll have to contact the fund.

The second is to monitor the performance of your investments. The consistency of your fund’s performance is crucial. The media loves to champion the highest performing super funds putting one year performance up in lights.

The number I prefer to look for is the seven to 10-year returns. Be aware funds will use the prettiest “legally correct” numbers in their marketing. So delve a little deeper than the website. Read between the lines.

And finally, check out the fees. Those sneaky little nibblers can eat away your compound returns. You can benchmark your fees on the ATO’s YourSuper website.

3. How to draw on your superannuation. Finally, the most poorly understood area of super is how to start spending it.

Your superannuation was designed to be the long-term saving bucket you use to fund your retirement, not to become a new type of legacy. So don’t be embarrassed or afraid to use it.

Just be sensible - build a budget, understand your cost of living, and how much you can afford to spend on lifestyle choices and don’t blow the lot on dumb decisions.

There are a couple of ways to get access to your super. The most common step people take is to technically retire, which you can do from preservation age, which sits comfortably at 60 for almost everyone these days. ARTICLE CONTINUES….

Read the rest of this article, on The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald, Brisbane TImes and WA Today.

Now, for a fun and insightful poll…. My article from last weekend certainly hit a nerve! So I can’t wait to hear your thoughts on this one.

How to spread happiness in retirement

In this week’s edition

How to spread happiness in retirement - seems like a great conversation for Valentines Day.

Letter: A two in one letter from Rob: Should I leverage the age pension? How do I find work I don’t hate?

From Bec’s Desk

Thanks for reading Epic Retirement! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.

How to spread happiness in retirement

Are you a bucket filler or a bucket dipper? Is it affecting your happiness and the happiness of the people around you?

My daughter is teaching 3 and 4 year olds how to ski on the mountains of Canada. She is having extraordinary success, simply by being great at telling really relatable stories to the little kids, and engaging with them on their level. One of the stories she told the children this week had them all enraptured for days. It was based on a book called “Have you filled a bucket today?” By Carol McCloud. Sometimes kids books offer us simpler ways of looking at life.

I think we should be able to use the bucket filler theory in this stage of life too.

Retirement is a very easy stage of life to become isolated or lacking in confidence, or even a bit negative. It causes people to retract their circle of connection - a cycle we need to feel support breaking out of.

So, I want to extrapolate the same story for our Epic Retirement phase of life and give you some strategies. I want to ask you to consider whether you are a bucket filler or a bucket dipper, and if you’re the latter - how you can turn that around for your own and everyone elses’ benefit. It’s a perfectly timed lesson to release on Valentines Day I think - a day when we all want to feel warmth, even if we aren’t giving or getting a cheesy valentine’s gift. 

Here's a snippet from the book:

“All day long, everyone in the whole wide world walks around carrying an invisible bucket”...

“Its purpose is to hold your good thoughts and feelings about yourself.”

“You feel happy and good when your bucket is full”

“You feel very sad and lonely when your bucket is empty.”

“And this is how it works… you need other people to fill your bucket and other people need you to fill theirs.”

“You fill a bucket when you show love to someone, when you say or do something kind, or even when you give someone a smile.”

“That’s being a bucket filler”....

The book goes on…. 

“But you can also dip into a bucket and take out some good feelings. You dip into a bucket when you make fun of someone, when you say or do mean things or you ignore someone.”

“That’s being a bucket dipper”. 

The story reminds us that generosity and kindness in our relationships is important. That leading with true kindness can make others feel good. And that when you fill up someone else's bucket, it also makes you feel good. 

And it’s more important than ever in retirement. The science shows, in a more longitudinal way, that our friendships are crucial in this next stage of our life, if we want to live longer healthier lives. But too often they are pushed away because of a lack of effort. We forget that everyone needs a splash of kindness and we forget the enormous sense of personal joy that it brings the bucket filler too. 

The power of strong relationships are well recognised in the science of modern ageing. According to the Harvard study of Adult Development, a study of more than 720 men and their families, run over 80 years, it was concluded that the warmth of our relationships and our ability to form close, supportive connections can have a significant impact on physical health, mental health, and overall life satisfaction. 

Today, to celebrate Valentines’ week, and demonstrate what it means to be a ‘bucket filler’ my daughter took her little class of enthusiastic 3 and 4 year olds out onto the mountain, with a bag full of mini boxes of smarties and mini kit kats. They skied on their lessons to everyone on the mountain who does a seemingly un-rewarding job and “filled up peoples’ buckets’ by handing them out a lolly and saying a heartfelt thanks. The kids came away even more enraptured at how good they felt when they made other people feel good. 

It made me smile at just how easy it is. 

But also how bloody easy it is to forget this wonderful lesson in the everyday throes of life as we get older. 

So how can we push this warm little lesson into our own worlds of pre and post retirement? 

Being a "bucket filler" in retirement (or any other time of life frankly) involves incorporating acts of kindness, connection, and positivity into your daily life. Here are some ideas to help you fill not only your own bucket but also the buckets of those around you:

Make special moments for your partner or loved ones

Does life become ho-hum simply because noone in your home is filling buckets anymore? Take the time to reconnect with your nearest and dearest and make sure they know how much they mean to you. Small gestures, sincere compliments, and acts of kindness create a ripple effect, transforming the dynamics of your connection - really.

Look for volunteering opportunities

Do you engage in volunteer work or community service activities? Do you share your skills and experience to make a positive impact in your community? Maybe you could? There’s no doubt this will contribute to your sense of purpose and fulfilment. It will also help others who are in need too, filling multiple buckets with joy. 

Share your wisdom

Have you ever offered to mentor or provide guidance to people younger or less wise than you? To people seeking advice or insight in an area you know plenty about? Sharing your knowledge can be incredibly rewarding - for both you and your mentee.

Create or join a social group

Establish or join a social club or group centred around shared interests. This could be a book club, gardening group, or any hobby you enjoy. Creating social connections enhances well-being for everyone involved. It fills up your bucket and the buckets of many others who enjoy the activities and joys of participating. You don’t have to be the leader to benefit either.  

Perform random acts of kindness

Take a leaf out of the childrens’ book and embrace the beauty of small gestures. Surprise your neighbours, friends or family members with a thoughtful note, bake cookies, buy flowers, or simply offer a helping hand when someone needs it. Don’t wait to be asked - people just don’t seem to ask anymore. And certainly, no one rocks up like my grandparents used to teach me to as a child, with a home-picked posy of garden flowers. But what a joy it would be if they did. 

Actively connect with your family and friends

Has it been a while since you had an eye-to-eye conversation with a loved one? Reach out and ask them for one, by messenger, zoom, teams or whatever system you need to use if you can’t sit in the same room. Share your time, kindness and love by giving of it freely. Go out of your way to make lasting family connections, and share in the little joys together. Active is a much better state than passive. 

Support local businesses

Be a patron to local businesses and contribute to the vibrancy of your community. Whether it's a local café, bookstore, or farmer's market, I’m sure you know already, that your support can make a huge difference - especially in this tough economy.

Organise social activities

Take the initiative to organise social events within your friends, local community or club. This could be a potluck dinner, game night, or any gathering that fosters a sense of camaraderie.

Express your gratitude

And finally, practice gratitude by regularly expressing appreciation for the people, experiences, and moments that bring joy to your life. A simple "thank you" can go a long way in filling someone's bucket.

Remember, being a bucket filler is about creating a positive and uplifting environment for you and for others. Having a courageous and positive attitude to other people is so important as we approach this stage of life. So dig in and find that little child inside you and let’s fill up some buckets, including your own. Happiness is crucial in this stage of life - go looking for it.

This letter is a two-in-one

Hi Bec, Thanks for including me on your mailout. Very interesting reading. I am curious about the attitude toward receiving a pension and what constitutes a sustainable super balance.

I have done some reading on retirement and spoken to financial advisers. It seems that most literature and advice is around avoiding the pension at all costs. I am unsure whether this is just a financial advisor scare tactic to make people think their advice is needed, or whether there is truth in pursuing the goal of being self funded in retirement.

As far as I am aware most people will not be able to accumulate over the pension cut off amount of just over a million dollars in assets. As such, most people will have to receive some pension. (Is this true? Are there any numbers on this?) But if you see a financial advisor, or read any book on retirement, the advice seems to be to work as hard as possible and pile as much into super to avoid the government and the risk of running out of funds.

To me this is insanity. Most people hate working, or hate doing what they have to do. The goal of retiring is mostly about being in a position to stop working but also to be able to do what you want. If that means being able to stop when you reach a condition of release and retire early by accessing your super then so be it. The subsequent top up in your income from a pension is just a bonus.

We all recently experienced going through COVID. One thing that I realized in that period was how little you actually need to live on. For the first time in my life the government sent me money because my business could not earn anything. In that period I also realised I reached an age to notionally retire, and I had a reasonable balance in my super account, so I did. I have only worked sporadically for the past three years. I might add that I hate my job. I hate the people and I hate doing anything for the sector I work in. I would like to keep working at something else but just don’t know what.

The upshot is that I am all but retired several years before being entitled to the pension. I am living off the interest and some of the balance of my super. It is a bit dull at times but I rationalise it as being far better than working at something I hate.

So, I am curious, whether most people aim for self funded retirement and, if so, why? Why is the pension so stigmatized by financial advisors and media? How much superannuation do most people accumulate and can there be that many people with over a million in super? Regards, Rob

Hi Rob,

What an interesting letter. I have to suggest that you read my book to better understand the age pension, and also to explore your own happiness and fulfilment. I offer a number of model financial scenarios that show how people can achieve a comfortable or a modest retirement, explaining a little more about how the pensions plays into it, and what capital is conceptually required.

Let’s start with my views on the pension. I absolutely believe you should, if you’re an ordinary Australian with an average-ish super balance (~$150-500k), learn to balance and layer multiple income streams, one of which is the age pension. It is nothing to be afraid of. In fact it’s a marvellous system, supporting the income of more than 62 percent of Australians over the age of 67. So whatever you’re being told to the contrary should be re-explored. And, if you don’t qualify today, and you are currently self-funded, with around $1M in assets other than your home, you might well qualify in the future, depending on how much you spend and how your investments perform in the years ahead. You should take the time to develop an understanding of the assets and income tests, which I explain in the book and explore whether getting the age pension is something you want to aim for or fall back on. You should also explore the Commonwealth Seniors Health Card - as you will likely qualify for some good health benefits if you are ineligible for the pension. Its income test thresholds are quite high, and the assets test doesn’t apply. Note, if you do access the age pension, you can still earn $11,800 per calendar year from working, without your pension reducing. It’s called the Work Bonus. It’s another way the government encourages layering of income, and for many people, that $11,800 can be the difference between living in comfort and living modestly.

I should warn you - I’m not a financial adviser. So, your own financial situation is not something I can speak directly to, and I do believe good financial advice is valuable. Maybe you just haven’t found an adviser you can trust and rely on, who understands your goals and objectives - an important part of the process of getting advice - also covered in my book.

Next let’s address your frustrations from work: I feel for you. Working on something you enjoy can be so fulfilling that it can even lengthen your life, but working on things you don’t enjoy, with people who you don’t relate to is stifling.

I encourage you to do some self examination - to explore what it is that you’re passionate about, and to develop work (or charitable acitivites) in areas where your interests lie. Here’s a little table I suggest people use to do a bit of self enquiry to explore where their skills and passions collide - often a great place to start looking for work. And the upside - people who are passionate about similar things, often find things in common - and may even get on quite well, adding to the social rewards of working. I hope this helps. Remember, ‘work’ doesnt have to be paid! It can be charitable too.

INSTRUCTIONS:

Just take out a piece of paper like this and create four columns, or print this out.

Write down all the skills that you have, and the things that you do in life rather naturally and with joy. They may be skills you have fallen out of the habit of using, or they may be skills you use regularly.

Then, consider your passions - the issues, concerns or things in the world that you feel a passion about - and that you get a high sense of accomplishment from.

And then think about your values and beliefs - and write them down - your anchor points in right and wrong. 

Now, imagine what you can do that brings all three together - this is where you should start looking, exploring for opportunities. 

I’ve spent my morning sitting quietly in a breastscreen clinic. Yep - I got my first breastscreen last month after writing for a long time to everyone about getting ALL your prevention tests. This was the last one on my list that I hadn’t done. And after my first scan I got a callback - apparently very common. So I brought my 6 hours of activities and snacks to the waiting room in the more central Brisbane Breastscreen office as suggested, and I got this newsletter finished, in between scan, ultrasound and multiple doctors visits. The waiting room was packed with women, all there for a callback to see the specialist and to rotate their way through waves of scans and tests, all sitting patiently. There wasn’t a spare seat in the two large waiting rooms. Most, if not all were older than me. I wonder how many of these women will actually find signs of cancer today. Ain’t that a tough reality.

If you haven’t had a breastscreen and you are over 50, or your doctor deems you have elevated risk in your 40s, go do it. It’s an impressive operation designed to prevent us from dying of breast cancer much earlier in life. It’s one of those reasons that the baby boomer generation is living nearly 20 years longer than their parents’ generation. And one I urge you all to take advantage of. We can catch breast cancer early! PS. I got the all clear - so I can go home.

What else has been happenin’ this week?

Hold your breath! Another short delay for season two’s release of the Prime Time podcast - but it’s worth it. Season two is being recorded and edited as we speak. It’s set to bring you a really interesting diversity of topics! And, some special sponsors are locking in, supporting what we do too! That part is really important - makes what I do able to be free for all to enjoy and will lead to the show becoming more widespread. So we can reach more people as they approach retirement and inform more about how to leverage the best of their Prime Time and prepare for an epic retirement.

I have a new and helpful friend in our epic retirement community. William has kindly volunteered to edit my newsletter for typos. So we all have him to thank for the reduction in little errors 🥰. Thanks William! It fills my bucket!

I love ABC Radio. This week I’ve chatted on ABC Southern Queensland Drive with Annie Gaffney all about working in retirement. I also chatted yesterday on the Gold Coast Drive with Julie Clift on what to do in your 50s and 60s as you prepare for retirement. I hope you’ve been listening along.

My article in the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age this week got quite a few people writing me letters. So did the letters in the email that accompanied it. Crackers!

And finally - I have a poll for you. This one is a touchy one. But it’s important to hear your thoughts. I’m grateful for your support and appreciation of what I do. And I love doing it.

And finally, your letters… I really am loving them. And we’re going to include them in the Prime Time podcast too. Just email me at bec@epicretirement.com.au. Remember I’m not a financial adviser but I won’t hesitate to answer about a common problem on a general basis - if there is an answer!

Have a great week ahead, and make it epic!

Many thanks! Bec Wilson

Author, podcast host, columnist, retirement educator, and guest speaker

How to plan for retirement if you want to keep on working

In this edition

SMH/The Age article: How to plan for retirement if you want to keep on working

Your letters

It’s Sunday, so today I’m sending you my column that is featured in The Sunday Age, The Sun Herald and the Brisbane Times and WA today.

I’m quite passionate about this subject, so I urge you all to have a look. I really do think we should be setting two goalposts in our financial and life plans these days (rather than just aiming for retirement). There really is two lifestages after the peak of our career work, that are really worth working towards and enjoying, our prime time where we reach the point to ‘choose’ and our retirement.

Thanks for reading Epic Retirement! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.

By complete co-incidence I got a great letter on Friday night from Nick about working in retirement (when I knew this article was on its way to print), so I’ve added that today and answered it more directly. Please, keep sending me your letters - I AM LOVING THEM! ☺️

Season two of the Prime Time podcast is in the works, so if you haven’t listened to season one year - make sure you catch up! Listen here. And don’t forget to press subscribe on your favourite podcasting platform. You can also sign up to be notified by email with detailed podcast overviews when each episode drops at www.primetimers.net.

Have a great Sunday. Sun’s out! I’m headed to swim in the luke warm beaches of the Gold Coast today and play putt putt with my youngest, but rapidly growing mid teen - a one-on-one with mum day! They’re rare and special. Book writing can wait.

Have a lovely Sunday. Make it epic!

Many thanks! Bec Wilson

Author, podcast host, columnist, retirement educator, and guest speaker

How to plan for retirement if you want to keep on working

Each weekend I write a column in both the print and digital editions of The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald, Brisbane Times and WA Today money section. This article was first published here.

When we discuss the goalposts for retirement, none of us want to think about working longer than we have to, and all of us want to get excited about seemingly carefree days in the latter third of our lives.

And yet, when we talk about life expectancy for over-40s and even over-60s today, many people would think we’re crazy wanting to give up work completely at 60 or 65 if we’re likely to live into our 90s and beyond. So let’s reset our thinking about work, money and the choices we will have the power to make as we approach “retirement age”. I suggest building two goalposts for life, instead of the single one we currently call retirement.

We’re the reset generations. Anyone over 40 or 50 today has had almost 20 years added to their life expectancy in their lifetime.

In 1970, just 54 years ago, life expectancy was 70.8 years at birth in Australia.In 2024, for someone who is now 65, the median life expectancy is 85 for men and 88 for women – and in financial planning circles they say couples should plan for one of them to live beyond 95.

The even better news is that, having added nearly 20 years to our lives, our percentage of years spent in good health has stayed relatively the same.

Effectively, we’ve added those 20 years to our highest quality midlife years, not to the end of our lives. That means they can be productive and exciting years, for which we need to think about life and money a little differently.

Embracing a new life stage before retirement: your prime time

We clearly have to embrace a new life stage before retirement, if retirement means to step back from work. I call it our prime time. Prime timers have the opportunity to balance being a productive and meaningful member of the workforce, with achieving more of their personal and lifestyle goals.

The best parts of this new life stage will be available only to those who have financial certainty as they reach midlife and remain an appealing employee with the capacity to keep learning and improving.

Building a financial plan with two goalposts instead of just one

We have to plan financially for longer lives, and longer-lasting income streams acknowledging the possibility of living well into our 90s or even beyond 100.

We are the first generations to enjoy long life and super balances to offer us some level of financial support. Why not try to enjoy both.

This underlines the importance of mastering compound investing as early in life as we can. But I also want to point out that the goalposts change. We end up with two goalposts in the new financial plan: one where we can choose to prioritise lifestyle over work, potentially living in this phase for quite a few years; the other where we step back from work and retire fully, which we probably recognise as “true retirement”.

This new plan enables us, should we choose, to stay in the workforce for longer and subsidise our prime time with income from working well into our 70s. With that, we may get to take advantage of some clever strategies.

Understanding smart superannuation and tax tactics

If you want both a wonderful prime time and a great retirement, you must learn how the superannuation system works to support you in your choices.

You can technically be retired from preservation age (which varies from 55 to 60 depending on your date of birth), if you meet the conditions of release by retiring from work. Or, you can draw on your super from 65 without conditions. Importantly, you can return to working even after you have met the conditions of release and converted to retirement phase.

You can also consider a transition to retirement process. This allows you to access a portion of your superannuation while still working, and it can be beneficial for those looking to reduce working hours gradually.

This allows you to leverage the tax benefits of being technically retired according to your super fund’s criteria. And you can have an accumulation account continuing to contribute to superannuation if you meet the criteria for the work test. Or you may want to consider a transition to retirement strategy from your preservation age too.

The aim of these strategies is to facilitate drawing down a tax-free income stream from super while simultaneously making additional concessional contributions, taxed at just 15 per cent on your income. It’s called a retirement and re-contribution strategy, and it’s where financial advisers do some great work.

Separating technical retirement from real retirement

Understanding the distinction between technical retirement and real retirement is crucial. You can be technically retired in Australia according to your super fund but still working according to the tax office.

To access your superannuation, you need to meet the conditions of release, allowing you to convert your super into the retirement phase. Importantly, many people might not realise that, after meeting the conditions of release, they can return to work, either part-time or full-time.

Read the rest of this article, on The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald, Brisbane TImes and WA Today - here.

Two awesome letters today! One about work and one about gap years! Enjoy!

Working in retirement

Hi Bec. My journey to writing this email started with your Sunday paper column. I must commend you on the wide range of interesting topics ( I’m 62 ).

I’ve also subscribed and just finished reading your book. My favourite chapter was The science of happiness.

I have read other retirement books that concentrated purely on the taxes, investing, super and pension stuff but nothing as wholistic as your book.

It did help me get thinking on a number of points as I’m about 12 months from tapering off full time work so thanks.

At 63 I plan to quit my high stress full time job. As my wife is 7 years younger she wishes to work for several more years.

One question that I have that I haven’t seen covered or answered anywhere is this:

So you meet all requirements  “retire”  and convert your accumulation account  to tax free pension phase. And some time later you let’s say 1 year later you pick up some casual or part time work  to fill in time or social contact. Does this have any  effect on your pension account ? Is there a minimum salary you can earn or any factors which come into play?

Regards Nick.

Hi Nick, Thanks for your note. Be sure to read the above article in the newspapers today. There is a couple of areas you want to consider:

The operations of your super fund - which, as I explain in the above article, you can consider technical retirement in the eyes of your super fund a little different to ‘actually retiring from work completely’. That is, you can meet the conditions of release for your superannuation by stopping work once, and shift it into retirement phase, remembering you will then have to make the minimum compulsory drawdowns at least. Then you can return to work and there is no really big restrictions - full time, part time, casual - the world is your oyster. You’ll want to be across the criteria for the work test. And you will have to open another accumulation account so your employer can contribute to super, so there is a bit of administration to understand. You’ll draw a tax free income from super, and you’ll be able make concessional and non-concessional contributions up to the age of 75. Just be aware there’s a cap to contirbutions - If at 30 June in the previous financial year, your total superannuation balance is greater than or equal to $1.9 million, you won’t be able to make any non-concessional contributions to super.

It’s also worth understanding the intricacies of the Age Pension and working, if you are eligible for it. You can still work and draw on the age pension, there is just some caps and rules you need to be across. These are discussed at length in my book in the Age Pension section. There are limits to how much you earn, and the amount you draw in pension will decrease the more you go over these caps. Take some time to understand:

1. The pension income free area, which allows you to earn $204 a fortnight as a single or $360 as a couple without affecting your pension income test (remember this is wider than just work income). Under the pension income test, pensions are reduced by 50 cents for every $1 of income over the income free area.

2. The Work Bonus: You start with a credit of $4000 in your Work Bonus account each calendar year, and you can earn up to $300 per week in income from work and up to a total of $11,800 per year without affecting your pension - this is called the Work Bonus Income Bank. The income bank amount offsets future income from work that would otherwise be assessable under the pension income test. The income bank amount is not time limited; if it’s unused, it carries forward, even across years.

The Work Bonus operates in addition to the pension income free area. This means a single pensioner over Age Pension age with no other private income could earn up to $504 a fortnight from work and still receive the maximum rate of pension. Of course, if you have income from investments, that will need consideration.

It all seems fairly complex but once you learn the system it will make sense.

Your super fund will have financial advice that can look at your individual mix and help you with navigating Centrelink. That’s an area they usually have good help in. Or, it might be a good time to get some independent financial advice that sees the bigger picture for you and your wife.

That was a big topic - thanks Nick for writing in and asking. I’m sure that many others are curious because I firmly believe that working in our prime time and retirement is a valuable thing to do.

Make it epic! Bec.

Gap Years for Third Stagers

Hi Bec. I LOVE what you are doing. My husband and I have both had careers in finance and thought we knew all there was to know about creating a financially secure future. However, at the urging of a friend who seem to be doing retirement well we saw a financial planner last year, who gave us so much more insight into superannuation and the third stage of our lives. I was also an early reader of your book, and found that to be so useful in thinking about the other pillars of an epic retirement that aren’t just financial. 

As a consequence, at age 60, we have just started our 15 month gap year. After a month, here we plan to travel to Western Australia for a month, a month in Vietnam, then to Europe to do a long walk across France. After that who knows? We have rented out our house in Sydney, and expect to need very little from our superannuation to supplement our expenses. I realise this is a very fortunate position to be in, but it may be something for you and your team to think about, under the banner of Gap Years for Third Stagers.  

Kind regards, Maria 

Hi Maria. You go girl! What wonderful prime timers and epic retirees you are. I’m so pleased for you (and heaps jealous!). And you’re living proof that in all reality, everyone needs a bit of advice to navigate retirement well. They also need to take charge and build their own vision, and understand more than just their money! Gap years for third stagers is something I want to talk much more about. Heck I want to have one one day. In the meantime - I want to hear all about yours and see the pics (the pic didnt come through). Bec Xx

I’m getting permission to post their pics over on my Instagram page here and my Facebook too. If you have stories to tell like this (with or without pictures) please send them in and give me permission to put them on the newsletter and/or Insta and Facebook with some epic vibe - please. You might just inspire a country full of others to live a more epic retirement!

Dont forget to send me your letters (and pics!) - just reply to this email or email me at bec@epicretirement.net.

When sh*t happens: some gut wrenching stories

In this edition

Feature story: When sh*t happens. Lessons from gut wrenching stories

Your letters: a real-life sh*t happens letter - and how they’re making the best of it

From Bec’s Desk: Life, books and a sense of meaning

25% off on Amazon today! I notice Amazon has got How to Have an Epic Retirement listed at 25% off today. Yesterday it was $34.99, today it’s $26.95 - that’s a good price drop! Often these are very quick price drops on Amazon, sometimes just a day! Free shipping if you have Prime too. Book Epic Retirement ">Shop here.

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We’re going to dive into some confronting real life stories and letters today. All on the theme of ‘When shit happens in life - if you’d had the choice, what would you have done differently?’ Or, how can you make the best of a sh*tty situation if that shi*t happens to you.  

The other day, one of my financial adviser friends got a phonecall from the wife of a client, Andrew. It was one of those phone calls - the ones that make your guts drop out of your body. 

The adviser has been working with the client, Andrew - alongside his accountant and lawyer to help him sell his business and transition towards retirement. Andrew was selling a couple of restaurants he’s owned and run, working very hard for many years. He and his wife have been planning their ‘epic retirement’, dreaming about a big world trip together, thinking about getting a boat so they could get out on the waterways near their home more often and do a bit of fishing. 

The deal was done. He was waiting for the proceeds to settle. A sixty-one year old man in pretty good health and fitness but who had not really done anything but work for the last few decades. He has just had a stroke and is in the ICU. 

He’s been a passionate business man all his life. Given 110% to the restaurants, and was looking forward to the magical window of ‘retirement’ ahead of him when he could ‘stop working and do the things he had dreamed of’. His wife had been looking forward to it too. 

Now, let’s look at their reality. His dreams are shattered - at best, he has rehab ahead; at worst, major health issues. Hers are crushed - and she’s still healthy. Some might say it is a result of the stress he’s been under. But nobody really knows. What we do know is that life, health and retirement can be done differently. 

The first lesson is hopefully clear to everyone here. Please don’t work so hard you push yourself toward an early death and disrupt yours and your partners’ dreams. There’s no business windfall that is worth that. Even if you are to come into tens of millions of dollars! Wouldn’t you rather have less money, more friends, and a greater sense of balance on the way through? Science shows that friendships and love are the real keys to longer, happier lives. 

And the second lesson please don’t make retirement like a ‘finish line’. If you know you need to shift back the workload in your life, be gradual about the changes you make. Look for ways to bring a little more self care and incremental joy into every day, prioritising your health, your family time, some of those dream trips if you can, and and your interests so all your dreams aren’t delayed until after you reach ‘the finish line’? 

This story is tough. And I want to extend my heartfelt hope that Andrew makes a full recovery and this is just a life delay he will resiliently work through.  

Another story, this time one that’s in the media. There’s two brothers who have been running what is said to be the ‘longest running Holden Museum in the country’ in Echuca in Victoria.  A profitable business that has been a labour of love since 1993, that they thought had a real commercial value. They have loved their work, and built up the business significantly over time, to build the collection of cars that people come from across the country to see. So when they wanted to retire, they put the museum on the market. But no serious buyers came forward, so they have been forced to close the museum, sell off the the items owned by them through an auction house to realise some of the value, and hand back the many cars that are exhibited on loan to their owners, so they can get to the next stage of their lives - with no windfall. 

Source: Facebook: National Holden Motor Museum page

In an article in the Guardian, one of the brothers, Tony Galea said the business was “profitable” and “going very, very well” but over three decades of operations, it had taken a toll on the business partners who have not been on a proper holiday since taking it over.

“It’s basically burnout,” he said, “We love doing it, we love talking to the customers, listening to their stories – it’s great. But we’ve just got burnout now.”

“This is a big tourist destination, over 1.5 million tourists come through the region. This business is open seven days a week, 360 days of the year. If you add those days up, we don’t get many breaks. It’s taken a toll on us, physically and mentally.”

“I’m a grandad now, so I want to spend more time with the grandkids. And I want to see my parents. They’re not going to be around forever.”

Another gut punch, a different lesson. Sometimes, being super-passionate about a business for decades doesn’t end up paying off with a large windfall. And knowing this sometimes you have to make hard decisions to put yourself  and your family first and choose to step off the treadmill and into a life you want. And that is going to lead to a waterfall of changes. 

These guys have chosen to step off. And, once they’ve worked through the transition, selling off the assets, they’ll hopefully be able to focus on an epic retirement of their own.  It’s impressive and brave and tough. But I’ll bet they are pleased to have put themselves first, and not died on the treadmill. 

Many of us head into midlife and retirement feeling like we’ve been on a quest, to work our way up the ladder, to reach the pinnacle of our careers, to build businesses that can be sold, to achieve a windfall, or to find a way to suddenly or slowly turn life from ordinary to extraordinary, usually financially, in the belief that more money makes a better life. 

We know scientifically that if you have enough money to be able to allow you to have ‘choice’, that’s all you NEED. The rest is in your head, your ego and your sense of status. 

The Harvard Study of Adult Development shows that the number one common variable of those who were happiest and healthiest in their 80s was how invested they were in their relationships in their 50s. With this knowledge, increasingly, somewhere along the path, some people are questioning whether their priorities on their midlife quests are right? Whether it’s smart to chase the windfall or the miraculous ‘happy financial ending’. 

So today, I want to challenge you with the goal to create a happy, healthy, financially secure and well-balanced life as you head toward retirement. To choose the important things. To enjoy the life you have to live and to be pragmatic about the fact that you might live a long life, like the longevity statistics say is possible or a short life, if your health turns or sh*t happens! 

Sometimes you get the choice! Other times you leave it too late or don’t get to choose. 

“Dear Bec, I realise I’m writing from a position of privilege, and this is not everyone’s story, but it is my story.

We emigrated to Australia 15 years ago, and bought a house out west.  It was a big house and once the kids had flown the nest, we decided it was time to downsize and consolidate our finances before retirement one day. The house wasn’t even officially on the market before we had an offer we couldn’t refuse. We sold for $1.5 million and are now renting a house in a nearby town for $800 a week while we finish up working.  

In the meantime, we had looked around for an ideal place to move to for our retirement years, and decided that inland from the Gold Coast was going to be our place of choice. We bought a home there for $1.3M because it fulfilled four criteria that we’d set: 

1. It was near an airport (Gold Coast Airport), from where we could jump on a plane and go and visit our two daughters who live in Sydney ( we can’t afford to buy anywhere near them in Sydney). 

2.   It was near a large hospital. This would both future proof our needs as we got older as well as providing means for part-time work for either one or both of us as we are both doctors. 

3.  It was within a 15 minute drive of the beach (Gold Coast). 

4. It was less money than we’d sold for, thus allowing for the fees that go with buying and selling and the unexpected incidentals that go with buying a new house. 

As with all things, life did not turn out as planned, and I was diagnosed with cancer. It is a very rare cancer, and the centre of treatment of excellence is in Sydney. I’ve had to stop working and have been flying backwards and forwards from Sydney for treatment. I’m on income protection and  my husband is down to working one day a week pre-retirement (but his work is obviously very disrupted).  We had planned on me working at least another 2-3 years, so financially this has thrown a spanner in the works of “Life’s Plan”.  

In the meanwhile our new retirement dream house in the Gold Coast hinterland is being rented out at $1000 a week and we have stayed on in our rental in regional Queensland for $800 a week. 

As I may need to continue to receive treatment and both our daughters live in Sydney, we are considering continuing to rent out the dream retirement house, whilst using $1000 a week we get from that house to go towards rent of approximately $800 a week somewhere in Sydney closer to both my medical centre of expertise and our daughters. 

To add a twist in the tale, our youngest daughter at the age of 25 has given up a very lucrative business career and decided to go to medical school, and because she’s doing it independently, her finances are tight. She lives with her partner who also has some savings but who has given up his previously lucrative career and is now a second year medical student too. As a result there are two rather impoverished young people struggling on a rent in Sydney whilst we are also floating around and not quite sure what to do. 

Something I’m considering is a conversation with them about  renting out a larger place in Sydney where we can combine our resources and rent a house that none of us would’ve been able to afford separately. We have also  considered renting on our own in Sydney, but in Manly near where my oldest daughter lives. It is a beautiful spot and one that we would never be able to afford to buy in, but we can afford to rent there. 

It’s the rollercoaster story of life and it’s my story, but I hope it starts a conversation and is perhaps helpful to others and maybe to me as other people feedback ideas. 

Many thanks for your wonderful contribution to the stage of life that we’re all in.

Regards Jessica

Hi Jessica

Thank you for that personal and really challenging story that reflects on last week’s retirement housing newsletter and this week’s sh*t happens newsletter too. It really is important to be able to acknowledge that life doesn’t always go to plan. In fact quite frequently we have to use our resilience and work through some very tough stuff. 

It sounds like you are working through tough times with incredible strength. I wish you all the best with your treatment. Sometimes there’s hidden blessings - and it sounds like being able to be closer to your daughters for a while might be pretty amazing. I know I would love that. And it sounds like you’ve managed to find balance in the ledger of housing costs you’ve built, while keeping a foot in the market. Smart, very smart. I personally think it would be awesome to live with my adult daughter and her partner for a short stint. Could be a life memory you’ll never forget. But every family is different!

Thanks again for your letter. I wish you a good fight against the Big C, good health and good times. 

Cheers Bec

“Dear Bec, I have read many articles, news stories and opinion pieces on retirement.

My husband and I chose to have an SMSF when he retired back in 2006, I am so glad we made that decision. He is 74 and I have just turned 60, we have a very interesting case study I believe. We decided to go it alone on financial advice and only get taxation specific advice from our wonderful accountant.

I have to say that your articles have been the best I have read. You get to the tin tacks but you also look after the person, holistically! I love that as a teacher and coach.

We believe the Industry Super Funds should be doing a lot more for their clients and so should the Govt.

Education is key.

Many thanks, Lisa

Lisa, I couldn’t agree more. All superfunds (not just industry superfunds) should be helping their members to approach and traverse retirement. I’m very passionate about it, and I want to help them if they want it. Education is key! As more people loom toward retirement it’s very key indeed. Thanks for your letter. I’m glad you got good advice from your accountant. Some accountants have a lot of knowledge in this area. Mine even has his financial planning licence too! The choice not to get specific and detailed financial advice won’t work for everyone though. Most people need a little bit of help to get through these years before retirement and into the big act.

And thanks dearly for your kind words. Make it epic!

Cheers Bec

I know! It’s not a pretty newsletter full of optimism and how-to’s today. It's heart wrenching food for thought. Because sometimes I have to talk about ugly things to help you see they can happen to you too. And if it works to use other people’s misfortunes as lessons for yourself, I think it might be worth being a little less glossy for a week. 

Last week I bought a Powerball ticket ($200M who didn’t!?) but at the time I asked myself “If I win, would I give up my day job?” and for one of the first times in my life I can say “No I wouldn’t!”. Wow! I finally have deep-seated sense of meaning and purpose in my work life. Would you? Contemplate that one!

In other, more glossy things… 

Life and gap years. My daughter is embracing her gap year in Canada. I’m envious (in an excited, proud Mum kind of way that wishes she could be carefree in Canada with her). I’m thinking a lot about gap years as I write my next book for midlifers. I think we need to implement a midlife gap year too. If we’re going to live to 88, 90 or even 100, we’re going to need time to recalibrate ourselves. Designing the financial framework for being able to do this is the challenge in midlife. Anyway - if you’ve taken a midlife gap year or a retirement gap year, write to me, tell me about it and how you’ve afforded that, in time and money. I’m curious. 

Radio. This week has been rather exciting. I now have three regular spots on the ABC Radio started up for the year, chatting on ABC Southern Queensland Drive, ABC Western Plains Mornings and ABC Darwin Breakfasts every fortnight to help people navigate retirement in a modern way. And so far it’s super fun! (No scary callers or questions I can’t answer so far! 😆).

Our Podcast, Prime Time is almost ready to see season two drop… not long now, just waiting on some of the logistics to line up. I’m getting a lot of letters about it and how much people are enjoying it. Thanks for the letters! If you haven’t listened yet - here it is. If you have topics you think people would like to see covered - email me!

THE course - the How to Have an Epic Retirement Flagship Course - Autumn Edition. I know I’ve been promising this for a few weeks now. All the videos, worksheets and quizzes are ready.  I’m loading it into the education platform this week and preparing it for a launch date that will be just weeks away. We’ll all be doing the course together (it’s called a synchronous course) - it’s designed for everyone to do it at the same time, so we can host online Q&A sessions as a part of it too and get some real community interaction going! As I’ve said before, there will be a cost, but it will be lower on the first one, as it is our pilot event. You can register for more information here and I promise I will send out the details soon. I just want it to be perfect for you so I need time for the graphics people to make magic too. 

Wider corporate and superannuation education opportunities - As you can see I am passionate about helping people navigate the years before and in retirement and I know a bit about the subject. And I’m now doing more. If you work in a company or super fund and would like some help with your education programs, masterclasses and tools, reach out. Or, if you’re looking for a program, keynote, or masterclass you can roll out ‘ready made’ for your members or customers, I have a few.  And if you want me to come and do a lunch and learn for your team, large or small - I’d love to hear more. Or if you have an idea you want to collab on - email me and let’s chat.

The book. How to Have an Epic Retirement has been out six months now! Can you believe it? It’s a big read with a lot of information, so it took people a few weeks or months to get through it. But now, six months in, you’re spreading the word about it yourselves. And I am eternally grateful. Thank you for telling your friends and family about it, for buying it as gifts and for telling other people about it on Facebook forums I’ve never even heard of. If you haven’t got a copy - get it on Amazon today.

And finally, your letters… Gosh I’m loving them and you’re loving them - long and short. So send them in. We’re going to use them on the Prime Time podcast too. Just email me at bec@epicretirement.com.au. Remember I’m not a financial adviser but I won’t hesitate to answer about a common problem on a general basis - if there is an answer to be had. Inspire me to do the work!

Have a great week ahead, and make it epic!

Many thanks! Bec Wilson

Author, podcast host, columnist, retirement educator, and guest speaker

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These are the top-performing super funds for retirees

In this edition

SMH/The Age article: These are the top performing superfunds for retirees

Your letters

It’s Sunday, so today I’m sending you my column that is featured in The Sunday Age, The Sun Herald and the Brisbane Times and WA today.

Thanks for reading Epic Retirement! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.

The Sunday email is meant to be short, so I wont ramble on. If you’re looking for something to do today, pop on some headphones and have a listen to Prime Time - our podcast. Season 2 is about to launch!

I really am loving your letters and we’re going to start featuring them in the Prime Time podcast too, from our next studio session on Monday! So send me your questions and stories. Let me know what’s working for you as you traverse pre-retirement and what’s not.

Have a lovely Sunday. Make it epic!

Many thanks! Bec Wilson

Author, podcast host, columnist, retirement educator, and guest speaker

Each weekend I write a column in both the print and digital editions of The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald, Brisbane Times and WA Today money section. This article was first published here.

We all see the headlines trumpeting the impressive performance of the top 10 superannuation funds each year. However, what many in the retirement phase may not realise is that these figures are not tailored to them; they represent the performance of accumulation fund accounts.

Retirees seeking relevant insights need to look for “retirement phase” returns, which, gratifyingly, tend to be notably higher but not publicly benchmarked at all.

According to Chant West, the top 10 retirement phase funds all showcased returns above 11.7 per cent for 2023, with the highest-performing fund achieving an impressive 14.9 per cent. In stark contrast, the top 10 accumulation funds recorded returns above 10.2 per cent, with the leading fund securing an 11.8 per cent return.

Strangely, there are no funds crowing about their retirement phase returns, possibly because the retirement phase remains poorly served and even more poorly understood.

Retirement phase funds operate and report independently, typically yielding higher returns than accumulation phase funds with the same investment mix, courtesy of their tax-free treatment. Unfortunately, there’s currently no publicly available benchmarking for consumers in the retirement phase.

Today, Chant West shares their industry benchmarking of the top 10 retirement phase funds for one and 10 years, concluding in December 2023. This analysis aims to unveil which funds are currently shooting the lights out and which ones stand the test of time. But before I walk through the performance insights, let’s build a foundational understanding of the retirement phase.

You should be considering whether your fund can weather the tests of time, to really see the power of compound investing in your super account.

There are two core phases for your superannuation. The first is the accumulation phase, where you contribute funds into your accumulation account and pay 15 per cent tax on earnings in the fund.

Then there’s the retirement phase, where you roll your money over into a retirement phase account, generating tax-free income, and make compulsory drawdowns based on the government-set drawdown rate corresponding to your age.

The amount you can hold in your tax-free retirement phase account is capped at $1.9 million over your lifetime, known as the transfer balance cap. If you exceed this, the surplus is kept in an accumulation account, subject to higher taxes on the generated income.

Most people don’t realise until after they retire that up to 60 per cent of the passive investment returns your fund generates will happen in the retirement phase if it’s invested wisely.

This is because of the power of compounding on bigger balances as you get older, coupled with the higher returns you get from the tax-free status of retirement phase super. Even with a drawdown of 4-6 per cent, your balance can continue to grow.

In 2020, the government introduced YourSuper, a performance benchmarking process for accumulation funds, complete with a public website for comparing annual performance and fees. It’s a terrific tool and the transparency it offers consumers has seen many switch away from expensive and underperforming funds.

The superannuation system, at just 32 years old, is now seeing a surge of people moving into retirement with substantial balances. This demographic shift is now driving a compelling need for similar benchmarking of retirement phase funds, with the government having a proven template in place through YourSuper.

But meanwhile, retirees who check performance and fees regularly have to cobble together information from each fund’s website and scour for publicly available fee and performance data, much of which is not uniformly measured.

So get out your statement for the end of the 2023 calendar year and see for yourself whether your retirement phase fund’s performance is good enough.

Read the rest of this article, including viewing the top ten Growth Funds for 2023 on The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald, Brisbane TImes and WA Today - here.

Hi Bec

I’ve just ceased work, started a 6-month period of long-service leave, then will retire immediately thereafter. And I am giving myself the long-service leave as a period of transition, while I still receive a full salary, to plan and organise my retirement. I have a substantial amount of superannuation but don’t own my own house, so making that purchase, and working out where to live, come pretty high up my list.

And I’ve been subscribing to your email newsletters for several months, but didn’t get to read them until today – but have now binged and caught up. And I have one question. You talk a lot about the importance of converting superannuation funds into ‘retirement phase’, including in your most recent newsletter, and how this is poorly understood by people. Well, add me to the list! What exactly is ‘retirement phase’? I’ve never seen that explained clearly, and venture that lack of explanation or understanding of what ‘retirement phase’ means may be why people don’t understand it.

Does converting my superannuation into ‘retirement phase’ involve withdrawing all my superannuation? Or does it involve going to those funds and asking about a ‘retirement phase’ account? Will they understand that phrase?

I trust that there is a common language for me to have that discussion with my super funds?

Grateful for any clarity you can provide. All the best, Steve

Hi Steve

I hope you saw my story in this week’s Epic Retirement newsletter about the things to think about when buying a home for your retirement years. If not - check it out here. And good luck with the house-shopping.

Now let’s talk retirement phase. Retirement phase is the phase when you convert your super from accumulation account into a retirement phase account - and you do that by calling up your superfund and asking them about doing so. You really should take the opportunity to speak to a financial adviser, either from your super fund, or independently.

It’s worth pointing out that once you do convert your funds into an account based pension you must make compulsory drawdowns (the % of which is defined by your age), and you pay no tax on the income generated by your fund in retirement phase (but 15% in accumulation) - up to the transfer balance cap ($1.9M at the moment). 

If you contact your superannuation financial advice team they will work you through it. And yes - they’ll know the lingo ‘retirement phase’ and they might teach you a few more words worth understanding like:

Transfer Balance Cap: The maximum amount that can be transferred into a tax-free retirement phase account, currently set at $1.9 million.

Drawdown Rate: The percentage of a retiree's superannuation balance that must be withdrawn annually as income during the retirement phase.

Account Based Pension: A type of retirement income stream where funds from a person's superannuation account are converted into regular pension payments, providing a steady income during retirement.

Thanks again for your note. Enjoy your long service leave.

Cheers, Bec

Have you got a letter you’d like to send in for me to answer on the podcast or on the newsletter? Email me at bec@epicretirement.com.au.

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Straight talk on retirement housing: things you need to know

In this edition

Feature article: Straight talk on retirement housing: things you need to know

Your letters: Help! What can I do if I don’t own a home?

From Bec’s Desk (including Prime Time update)

But first, a little request

Help your friends find their way to an epic retirement 🌴

There’s more than a million people navigating pre-retirement and early retirement in Australia in the next few years. And there’s so much confusion about how to do so. But we’re trying to make it easier.

We’d love your help reaching out to everyone in this phase and inviting them into our community to learn together. Help us spread the word. Simply forward this email to your friends and suggest they sign up for the free Epic Retirement newsletter at epicretirement.net. The more the merrier!

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Straight talk on retirement housing: things you need to know

Where you live, how much it costs you, and what you need from your home as you head into retirement, and in the years after are a big conversation. And some parts raise points some people don't want to hear. So today I’m tackling it head on. And I’m probably not going to tell you what you want to hear. But I might give you a few useful things to think about. 

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Choosing the perfect place to retire is a deeply personal decision, one that requires careful consideration of a long list of things. Today I’m going to give you my list of things to think about when you contemplate moving house at any stage in pre-retirement or retirement, knowing you might want to live in your next house right through the latter part of your life - and that requires you to think strategically. Let’s dive in. It’s a big list.

Affordability

Let's talk money. Ideally, you want to own your home debt-free in retirement. Debt and retirement don't make good buddies.

I have received several letters from people living in the cities complaining about mortgage stress and how it is limiting their ability to retire. And the only thing I can say is maybe, if they can’t afford to live there, and they don’t want to keep working to pay the debt, these people should consider moving to somewhere more affordable.

So, look around and figure out where you can afford to live without drowning in mortgage stress. It might mean packing up and heading to a more budget-friendly spot. Yeah, leaving your roots can be tough, but sometimes you simply have to make those hard calls.

Features for YOU

Now, think about what you want. This is your time to shine, or even to enjoy some new ways of living. Maybe you want less yard, more yard, a veggie patch, or a downsized cozy spot. Maybe you want to downsize or maybe you want a lifestyle home. There's no right answer—just your answer. Oh, and don't forget to test the waters before you jump in. Mistakes can cost you $50,000 to $100,000 in agent commissions and stamp duties.

Future proof your space

If you plan on growing old in your new home, think ahead. Stairs might become Everest, and slippery baths are not an ageing retiree's best friend. But they can all be managed if you have a plan so take a long hard look at the property and consider how you can adapt it to age well. Also, think about where guests can crash, especially if you're moving away from your city-dwelling family and friends.

Think about the central costs

Every type of housing has trade-offs in annual or shared costs. Standalone houses require regular maintenance and improvements, apartments require you to pay a sizeable body corporate fee each year and sometimes stump up to repair an ageing building, and retirement communities usually have a management fee you need to be prepared for. Make sure you think about these, and how they will increase with inflation. And consider how these will play out of your retirement budget.

Consider the cost of living

You might want to move out of the city for a discount on housing, but you might be surprised in some places by the costs of food, fuel, and household goods. One of our Epic Retirees moved to Darwin in retirement for the lifestyle but he’s very keen to point out that in Darwin he pays more than 20% more for food and household items.

Check the weather - in all the seasons

My mum moved last year to a small town in central Queensland. She moved in the winter, when it was dry and pretty and she planted up a beautiful veggie garden that thrives on hard work and attention. Fast forward to the third month of Summer and she’s not so impressed. It’s stinking hot, so she’s spending from 10-3 indoors with the air conditioning cranked and tends to her very thirsty veggie patch at daybreak and twilight now. That’s something she had not considered.

Look for healthcare nearby

As you age, you’ll need to tackle more ailments more often. So you’ll want to think about how far you have to travel when you need healthcare. Not everyone can live down the road from the best hospitals when they get older. There has to be some tradeoffs so instead consider the health services you want to have available locally, and which ones you are willing to travel for. Consider the availability of a good GP in your local area. Where might you be able to access allied health services you need like optometrist, physiotherapist, chiropractic and podiatry? And where the closest major hospital is if you have a significant health issue.

Assess airport access

For some, this is critical, while for others, paying more for air travel to bunny hop to your closest airport might be a healthy tradeoff for a lower cost of living, especially if flying is a special event. 

Homecare and aged care needs

If you plan to age in the town you’re moving to, you’ll want to make sure there are services that support you in doing so. And in that there’s two things to consider. The first is whether there are satisfactory home care services available in your area? And the second thing to consider is whether there are any aged care facilities in the area if you want to stay in that region as you head into your frailer years. 

Think about transport options

It’s increasingly recognised that people will drive less as they age but still look for ways to stay out and about. Think about this when you consider where you’ll live.

High rise or medium density villages in towns with amenities that are in walking distance are all the rage for ageing populations. For some the goal is to rarely have to get in the car to do daily or weekly errands. Sounds good to me. 

Stay social

Friends, passions and interests are important. So make sure you have a strategy on where you’ll tap into each. What clubs, organisations and epic pursuits will you take part in in your new location? Have you checked on what’s there to replace things you currently appreciate? 

Consider your family and friends

It is really important to consider your relationships with family and friends. Even if you're intentionally relocating away from them, take a moment to ponder a few things: 

Is your move is intended to bring you closer to your family? If not, think about how you’ll maintain connections. Will frequent visits be feasible? Is this a priority for you?

Contemplate the strategies you'll put in place to stay in touch with your loved ones. Reflect on whether they will visit you and how important and affordable it is to you to visit them. 

Think about how you'll forge new friendships in your new home, if you are moving away too. 

Look for your home essentials

And finally, consider the fun things you’d consider at any age. Think about how important it is to be near a beach or a rainforest, or to have a flat and safe walking path nearby. Consider the sporting clubs you would want to access - ie golf club, surf club, bowls club and the gyms and health club facilities you might want to access - for exercise. Look around at the entertainment options like access to arts, culture, music concerts, comedy and such. And consider your ability attend footy games or other sports that bring you joy. 

HELP! I don’t own a home

“I only recently discovered your book and podcast. Thank you for opening my eyes to the reality of the future. I’m 53 and have been living life very differently to most. Some may say I’ve had my head in the sand but I have always followed my heart. Until now …I’m freaking out about my future! It’s all so overwhelming…

I never subscribed to the work hard then retire approach. I decided at a young age I wanted to discover my true purpose and I’d never need to retire. Yes, a dreamer. So now I find myself feeling discombobulated.

I’m single, never married and no children. I’ve spent my life exploring my passions and travelling the world. I’ve had a fulfilling eclectic career that’s kept me working and earning.

I’ve loved many times, lost a few loved ones and struggled with the life roller coaster like all humans. I’m reasonably healthy but menopause has affected me as well as a few minor challenges that I’m working on. I do take my health seriously. 

Whilst I’ve made some terrible financial decisions, I always pay my bills and have a comfortable rental home. I have a supportive family and great friends - feeling very blessed.

I don’t own a home. I know that’s important for my epic retirement so I know I need to do something about this but yikes the climate is challenging and can I get a mortgage?

 I’ve spoken to a broker who suggests a regional investment instead of buying in the inner city of Melbourne where I love to live. Not only tax benefits for an investment but no body corporate fees. I have no car so I ride my bike and catch PT - even with my little dog! It’s a great lifestyle and I’d love to buy here in inner Melbourne but it’s so expensive!

I’ve spoken to my parents and they MAY be a guarantor for a home loan. This is dependent on whether the bank will loan to me based on my contract work style of career. Hence I'm focusing on saving - no holiday this year.

I’m not asking financial advice as I have access to financial advisors but I wanted to hear your thoughts. 

My question is can you PLEASE share some ideas for epic retirement options for those of us who don’t have properties as I’m sure I’m one of many.

I’m ready to create a robust plan for my future. “

Janine, 53

Thanks so much for your note! It sounds like you are getting some sensible insights from your adviser. Your passion is terrific! And I’m sure if you apply that level of passion to preparing for your retirement that you’ll reap the rewards. 

One of the fundamental rules of retiring in comfort is that you really should own your own home outright - chiefly because this brings your cost of living down as you don’t have to pay rent. But I’ve had a lot of letters in recent weeks from people who simply don’t own their own home, or feel they have too large a mortgage for the stage of life they are heading into. So I’ve written a longer list of insights into the things anyone can do in this position.

I also point out that there is a limit to the ways that you can fix this situation. Instead, you might just have to ‘make the best of it’, and make choices to live as comfortably as you can afford or change where you live - advice that some people don’t like to hear. You can still have an epic retirement if you crunch your budget and live within your means, saving little excesses for good times and finding joy in your passions (so long as your passions aren’t luxury cars and luxury holidays).

Remember, everything I say is general advice. It may not suit your situation so get some personal advice from a qualified adviser. Let’s dive in.

Crunch the numbers on home ownership

See if you can manage to buy a home with some of your superannuation or savings. Getting off the rent train can be great, but only if it won't break the bank. Some folks use their superannuation money, an inheritance or savings wisely to buy a place later in life. Others are stuck renting forever without these options.

Have a chat with a financial adviser to figure out how much your super or investments could bring in over the years if you invest them for income or compound growth, versus how much you could save on housing if you buy a house. It's a personal decision, so get advice that fits your own situation.

Properly consider your relationship with debt

Debt is not something you want to have hanging around your neck in retirement, unless you have the regular income to pay it down. Work out how long you realistically have to pay off a mortgage before you want to be retiring from work, and make sensible, not idealistic, decisions if you are thinking about buying a home in your 50s. Banks aren't naive—they won't give you a 30-year mortgage at 53 and expect you to work till you're 83. So, you'll have to play by their rules.

Really do contemplate going regional

Whether you're renting forever or looking to buy on a tight budget, think about heading to a less pricey location. Our capital cities and fancy beach towns are getting crazily expensive. If you don't need to be in the city for work anymore, why not check out somewhere more affordable? Second tier cities and regional areas are often much less expensive, and there’s also quite a bit of work out in the regions going spare. 

Understand your pension eligibility and whether you’ll qualify for rent assistance

If you're stuck renting and can't buy before retiring, at least understand your pension eligibility. Turning 67 and retiring might allow you to get the full or part-age pension and enable you to qualify for rent assistance. The government might chip in up to 40% of your rent if you play your cards right. And you can layer in some income from your super, and work part time to make your retirement years more comfortable than they would be otherwise.

And think about renting out a room

If you do end up with a mortgage, or paying higher rent than you’d like, one way to speed up repayments is to find a roommate who you can share the costs with. Someone who will pay you rent. There’s lots of people in the second half of life looking for a likeminded roommate to share that ugly cost of housing.

So, there you have it—some down-to-earth ideas for tackling the whole retirement housing puzzle. It's not one-size-fits-all, and it certainly isn't all easy-to-digest so take these suggestions, get advice, and figure out what works best for you. I hope it helps.

I am absolutely loving your letters.

We’re going to start including them in every newsletter and every podcast - wherever we can! So write to me! Tell me your thoughts, your issues, your requests. Ask a question you think others want to know the answer of too. Email them to bec@epicretirement.com.au. I’m listening.

Now for shameless publishing of my favourite fan mail this week….

“I have your book, and after several chapters into it, I conclude that it's exactly what I've been searching for. It's been a game changer for me. I'm really starting to understand the factors to consider in the lead-up to retirement ... and the more I read, the more confident I become.  Your book is such a treasure,  and released me from the pre-retirement brain-fog.  I love it, and can't wait to leap into the next chapters! “ Georgina 

Awww shucks! Thanks Georgina 😊

Well hello! Big news in my world. My oldest daughter is not coming home from her summer working holiday abroad. She’s staying in Canada. That means I’m adjusting. This is my first child-leaving-home experience. And im still reassuring myself that she’ll be back soon enough, more grown up and more worldly. I’m not ready for my nest to start emptying yet.

Other than that, there’s not much new to talk about this week. We’re in build-mode. I’m actively working on bringing you good pre-retirement education sooner rather than later whether that be through masterclasses or courses, or both.

I’m also working on my speech to give at major events and in workplace lunch and learns too. Rather fun to craft and perfect one awesome keynote on How to have an Epic Retirement.

This week the Prime Time podcast is continuing it’s break, getting ready for the launch of season two. It’s almost ready to set free! As I mentioned on Sunday, our fabulous podcast got to #125 on Apple’s tops shows in the last episode - so it’s worth a listen - see all the episodes here. Here’s some of the most popular shows:

How an entire generation cracked the game of life, working longer but stressing less: With demographer Bernard Salt - LISTEN HERE - It’s a cracker!

How much money do you REALLY need to retire? And making sense of your super LISTEN HERE

Exercise for longevity: How muscle mass improves your lifespan with Jonathan Freeman LISTEN HERE

And the Epic Retirement Flagship Course is almost ready to launch. So fill out our expression of interest if you’d like to attend the first program and I’ll send you more info when it launches. It’s a five week education program with so much to offer.

And that’s it for this week. Have a lovely weekend!

Make it epic!

Many thanks! Bec Wilson

Author, podcast host, columnist, retirement educator, and guest speaker

The top concerns retirees have about their super – and how to fix them

In this newsletter

I hope everyone is having a great long weekend. Today’s email is a simple one focussed on my newspaper article in today’s paper. In addition to that, I’m adding a new section - featuring your letters. Each week I get some crackers and I think you’ll enjoy hearing people’s stories as much as I do.

This week’s column featured in The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald, Brisbane Times & WA Today.

Letters from the Epic Retirement Community

The Prime Time podcast: Catch up!

Enjoy the last days of the holidays!

Many thanks! Bec Wilson

Author, podcast host, columnist, retirement educator, and guest speaker

Thanks for reading Epic Retirement! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.

The top concerns retirees have about their super – and how to fix them

Each weekend I write a column in both the print and digital editions of The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald, Brisbane Times and WA Today money section. This article was first published here.

The federal government has called for feedback through a discussion paper focused on the retirement phase of superannuation. They are actively seeking insights from the super industry regarding retirement, and the deadline for submissions is approaching next week.

I seized the opportunity to tap into the perspectives of everyday Australians approaching or currently experiencing retirement. The aim was to gauge their sense of support during this phase and identify areas where improvements could be made.

The government and the superannuation industry knows they have a decent-sized problem. There’s at least four big challenges to tackle in the years to come. And they’re all interwoven – you can’t tackle one if you don’t tackle the others.

The insight into what average Australians facing retirement right now are seeing and feeling might just make this feel a bit more real to all of us.

Problem one: Why aren’t people accessing their superannuation in retirement?

There are 4.3 million people in retirement right now in Australia, yet only 1.3 million people have converted their superannuation funds into retirement phase. This poses a critical question: why aren’t people accessing their superannuation?

A survey sent out via my newsletter revealed that 47 per cent of respondents had a mediocre or worse understanding of superannuation, with 35 per cent admitting they didn’t grasp the intricacies of the retirement phase.

It’s up to the government and the retirement sector to work together to ensure a more secure and supported retirement for all Australians.

The ways they perceive they can learn about it are limited, with only 7 per cent participating in online workshops and 16 per cent accessing calculators on super fund websites. Only 24 per cent had read books or newsletters on retirement, one of the few ways to learn right now outside the fractured world of financial advice.

The appetite for education is evident, with more than half expressing a desire for courses, workshops, and masterclasses. The challenge lies in making these resources available to the people who need them, with 43 per cent suggesting the government should fund them, and 40 per cent believing superannuation funds should provide them for free.

Problem two: Convincing people to seek financial advice and making it accessible

There is a real challenge convincing people to seek financial advice and making it accessible. Almost 39 per cent of those asked received no form of advice, while 40 per cent sought personal advice from either their super fund or an independent financial advisor, and a quarter only sought general advice from their super fund.

To tackle these numbers, we have to address two issues. First we have to overcome the scarcity of advisors in Australia that makes it expensive – which seems to be under way. Then we have to tackle the brand problem.

It’s been called “wealth advice” for far too long, placing it out of the reach of the average Australian. It is perceived to be only valuable to the wealthy. But that’s just not the case.

People with average superannuation balances of $150,000 to $250,000 can benefit enormously from learning how to drive compound investment, and how to execute a strategy carefully to draw income from Centrelink, superannuation, and potentially some work in retirement.

Problem three: There is no ability for people in retirement phase to benchmark their superannuation funds.

There has been an enormous focus on building transparency in superannuation funds that are in accumulation phase, serving the 16 million people who have an accumulation phase account rather well.

But within the next five years, there will be more than 5 million people considered retired and able to transfer to a retirement phase account, and they are almost completely in the dark on being able to compare, or even analyse the returns their fund is achieving and the costs they are incurring.

In fact, 76 per cent of people didn’t even realise that there was no public benchmarking similar to the YourSuper program used to monitor accumulation funds. And more than 64 per cent of respondents were confident that creating benchmarking is an important priority for the government and super funds.

Problem four: The fear of running out of money

Finally, we’re all living longer, and that is a significant concern. A whopping 42 per cent of respondents admitted they really feared running out of money before they die. Another 22 per cent are unsure of whether their money will last.

There’s more. Read the rest of this article on The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald, Brisbane TImes and WA Today - here.

Dear Bec

I am really enjoying your emails, podcasts and of course your book.

I am 65 and still working full time after going back to work only 20 years ago after raising my family.

My husband is retiring from 43 years teaching this week but has been on extended leave and carers leave for his mum soon if 2023. But he has secured a position 2 days a week at a school closer to home and it is a perfect fit for him. He is also doing philanthropic work for a Christian school in Zambia training the teachers and mentoring the leadership.

All this has rejuvenated him.

I could really resonate with Jim Kilkennys podcast. I love all the topics you cover on those and can listen to them anytime. Keep them coming!

One other thing I wanted to share is that I was using your last email to get ready for our financial planners meeting this week. It really got me thinking about the item related to health. I really learned from my mum, who lived till she was 97, about what not to do!

So I advocate keeping up regular health screenings...ie visit the dentist, get your mammograms, eye checks, skin checks (I've had 2 melanomas already) pap smears, bowel screening,  blood tests for everything like blood sugars and cholesterol, podiatrist appointments and I use my extras health cover for remedial massages etc.

Lots of my friends aren't doing these. It's a no brainer for looking after your health, not just exercise and eating as we age but keeping on top everything. Perhaps a good idea for a podcast!

I gave my husband your book last Christmas (2023) and he has been reading it to me and finally is more knowledgeable about things rather than leaving it all to me!

We have referred your emails to our friends and given them copies of your book as a birthday present. So thank you for what you do. Have a great year! 

Heather 

[Thanks Heather, what a beautiful email and a great tipoff for a podcast idea. I really love that you are taking your sense of purpose and your health seriously and keen to see your friends do the same. I also love that you are gave the book to your husband and are enjoying him reading it aloud. My husband and I read ‘What to expect when you are expecting’ aloud to each other before we went through the lifechanging time of having our first baby 21 years ago! Your story brought it all back and how incredibly effective it was to share the lessons! Excellent tip! Hopefully it inspires others here - cheers Bec]

Have you got a letter you’d like to send in? Email me at bec@epicretirement.com.au.

This week the Prime Time podcast is having a breather, with Season 1 now finished, and Season 2 firmly in production. Last week, the podcast landed on Apple Podcasts’ top 200 list, getting to #126! We’re pretty excited.

The podcast has blown us all away with more than 50,000 downloads so far. So thanks to everyone who has spread the word, or had a listen. And thanks to our terrific guests. You can see all the episodes here and pick one to start you off. There’s so many doozies!

Make sure you click subscribe and download on your chosen podcast platform, so you receive it each week - and sign up for the separate Prime Time newsletter at primetimers.net. And if you love it, leave us a review and a rating - please!

SEE ALL EPISODES HERE

Have a lovely Sunday!

Thanks for reading Epic Retirement! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.

What should be in your retirement plan?

In this edition

Feature story: What should be in your retirement plan?

Prime Time Podcast update!

From Bec’s Desk: A short week with lots to talk about!

What should be in your retirement plan?

Most people are afraid of retirement planning. It’s a process that has, over many years become all about money, building up a stigma of being hard, confusing and complicated. And most people perceive it to be an expensive process too. But in today’s world you can and should be the driver of your retirement planning process, and money should only be about half of it. You’ve got a long life to live, if you plan to have an epic retirement, so you’ll want to consider your health, happiness, sense of purpose as well as your finances.

Thanks for reading Epic Retirement! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.

So let’s break down what I think you should have in your retirement plan today, so you can start to see how you can drive it, getting advice from your financial planner, your super fund and insight from health practitioners as you see fit.

1. Goals - start here

You need to see a bigger picture of the years ahead as you head into the process of planning for retirement. Create some visions. They might be goals that have absolute clarity, or they might be foggy pictures of some of the things you’d like to do in an ideal world. Both are good. They give you something to plan for. Think about these seven big areas to form a framework you can plan around. Write them down.  

Where you see yourself living and at what standard.

Which relationships are important to you in your retirement years?

What you want to do with your time?

Whether you plan to keep working once retired.

What are your travel aspirations?

How you plan to maintain your health.

What’s important to you in the years before retirement - do you want to start experiencing more, sooner?

Goals that take in these areas will get you thinking, and allow you to create a plan that goes far beyond the financial considerations. From this, you’ll have a well-rounded picture of your ideal retirement.

2. A debt demolishing plan

Debt can cast a long shadow on your retirement years. So one of the first things on your list should be to contemplate how much debt you have, and to prioritise how you will pay it down.

Make a list of every loan and outstanding credit card you have, and write next to each the interest rate you are paying on each. This gives each loan or debt a level of priority based on how much it is costing you. Then calculate how much you need to repay each month and each year to pay them off, ideally before you reach retirement age. And finally, put in place the direct debits or planned payments to achieve this. You’ve got to stick to your guns - but it really is worth it. If you can’t pay down your debts before retirement, you might want to think about getting help with your strategy to reduce debt other ways. Financial Counsellors can help.

3. A budget that allows you to live within your means

The years leading up to retirement are crucial years to understand your budget and live within your means. Generating a surplus from your household budget is pivotal, offering you the flexibility to pay down debts or contribute to superannuation or both. Construct a detailed budget if you haven’t already, scrutinise your outgoing expenses and evaluate whether you are maximising your income sources. Living within your means helps you achieve your retirement goals sooner, it also drives your financial confidence later in life. 

[I teach you how to build your pre- and post-retirement budgets in the book, How to Have an Epic Retirement, and book buyers can access a powerful custom-built excel budgeting template too]

4. A savings plan for retirement: Maximising super contributions

Once you’ve got your debts under control and you understand your budget surplus, the next step is to take advantage of the tax concessions offered to contribute more into superannuation. You can contribute up to $27,500 per annum into superannuation every year at just 15% tax, and if you haven’t contributed the full amount in recent years, know you can carry forward these unused amounts for up to five years giving you more room to save in the years ahead.  Try your hardest to squeeze some extra savings into your superannuation accounts as early in life as possible. 

5. A plan to harness the power of compound investing

You need to understand and be in the driver's seat on any money you have invested as you head towards retirement, that includes your superannuation. Don’t just contribute it into a fund and ignore it. The real power of investing lies in the long term benefits of compound investing, which will build your wealth passively over many years, if you are getting good returns year on year, and not paying too much in fees. 

6. Some plans to build a leisure and happiness outside work

When you think about retiring, you don’t just need to think about your financial plan. You really need to start thinking about and working on things that bring you happiness. This step isn’t really something you can outsource to your financial advisor or superfund, but it is important. Start the process with some deep self-contemplation. What do you like doing? What do you like learning more about? And who do you want to be spending your time with? If you come up blank, it might be time to try a few new pursuits outside work and see what sticks. 

7. A greater understanding of where you will find ‘meaning’ or identity when you stop working full time

Most people in full time working careers take pride in the identity they get from their job. In fact, when people introduce themselves they often use their job, role or title to define their identity so when they don’t have that title anymore they can feel a bit lost. But that doesn’t have to be the case if you know what you do, and you are really happy with it. The reality is, retirement doesn’t mean stopping work fully anymore, but it certainly does mean, for most people, developing things that they do beyond full time work. You might continue to work, or participate in work-style projects for charities, community groups and activities that give you a sense of higher purpose or meaning. Whatever you do, try to find something that keeps you learning and growing, and engaging with people outside your home. 

8. A plan to improve and look after your health

Finally, the last and possibly the most important thing to have in your preparation for retirement is an understanding of your physical and mental health, and how you plan to improve on it over the years ahead. There’s no-one to stop you in the retirement planning process and say ‘hey, you’re ignoring your body’ and your mental health here buddy, but there should be. So think about your cardiovascular exercise, your muscle mass and your balance, and manage your weight. Consider whether you are in optimal mental health and think about what you should be doing. Write it into your plan and make the behaviour changes. You’ll be the beneficiary.

The best place to really deepen your knowledge on how to do all the things above is in How to Have an Epic Retirement - Australia’s #1 bestselling retirement book in 2023. And the #2 bestselling ‘money and consumer issues’ book by an Australian author behind the legendary Barefoot Investor.

This week the Prime Time podcast is having a breather, with Season 1 now finished, and Season 2 firmly in production. Last week, the podcast burst onto Apple Podcasts’ top 200 list, getting to #133! Not bad for a show in its first season.

The podcast has blown us all away with more than 50,000 downloads so far. So thanks to everyone who has spread the word, or had a listen. And thanks to our terrific guests. Here’s our last three wonderful episodes, in case you’re looking for inspiration. Or, you can see all the episodes here and pick one to start you off. There’s so many doozies!

Make sure you click subscribe and download on your chosen podcast platform, so you receive it each week - and sign up for the separate Prime Time newsletter at primetimers.net. And if you love it, leave us a review and a rating - please!

SEE ALL EPISODES HERE

S1E12: How to beat relevance deprivation syndrome: With Jim Kilkenny

When Jim Kilkenny retired from a very successful career in financial services, he started suffering from something called 'relevance deprivation syndrome'. It's that feeling of listlessness, being at a loose end, a drop in mental engagement and a clear lack of contentment. Jim describes it as a "vacuum of boredom." LISTEN HERE

S1E11: Happiness, marriage and mismatched expectations in retirement: With bestselling author Joanna Nell

Joanna Nell is a doctor, an advocate for positive ageing and the author of five best-selling novels. Her latest book, 'Mrs. Winterbottom Takes a Gap Year', is a heartwarming exploration of mismatched expectations in your Prime Time years and early retirement, and living life in the moment. LISTEN HERE

S1E10: Managing your cost of living and budgeting for retirement

The rising cost of living is biting everyone hard right now, so this week Bec Wilson and friend of the show, Spencer Howson, talk about how we can squeeze more out of every dollar. Bec and Spencer work through some helpful tips for managing the cost of living, how to go about budgeting in your pre-retirement years, and how to take a hard look at your big financial picture, contemplating the changes you might need to make in the months and years ahead. LISTEN HERE

Or visit our Primetimers.net website and sign up for the dedicated podcast newsletter.

2024 is off to a great start! And they say this country doesn’t start ‘til after Australia Day 😉. I’m still buzzing from the news that the book was the #1 retirement bestseller in Australia in 2023 on the same week that our podcast burst onto the Apple top 200 shows list!

First I want to thank everyone who’s written in to me with personal notes about getting the book for Christmas and enjoying it; and enjoying the podcast. We’ve seen thousands of new subscribers arrive, so you’re not alone and your personal notes are like fuel to my fire! You can always email me, and even ask questions and suggest topics you want covered at bec@epicretirement.com.au. I’m going to publish letters every now and then in this newsletter with your permission - so please, get writing.

Secondly, the wider pre-retirement education business I am passionate about building is starting to grow quite quickly. I’m now doing:

‘lunch-and-learn’ 1 hour presentations in workplaces or online for workplaces and other groups,

keynote speeches at conferences

presentations at financial advisers’ client events

half-day and one-day masterclasses on planning for an epic retirement - run in-person or online in workplaces and for companies and their clients.

And - custom requests for events too!

If you are keen. Just drop me a quick enquiry at bec@epicretirement.com.au and I’ll be in touch. We’re prettying up the website to showcase what we’re doing and we have an info pack.

Third, our How to Have an Epic Retirement Flagship Online Course will be launching to a limited run in the next couple of weeks for it’s first test - and I’ll be offering a discount because I want to ask for your detailed feedback and input. I can’t believe how well it is coming together. It’ll be run over 5 weeks, bringing you 14 modules, 100 videos, and 3 live sessions - and loads of helpful worksheets. It’s going to be awesome. You can put yourself on the expression of interest list to hear more here.

Finally, I’m loving dabbling in talkback radio. Yesterday morning many people heard me on the ABC Summer National Program talking about the things to think about when considering moving house for or in retirement. And, I’m also doing regular spots on ABC NT in Brekky and ABC Southern Queensland every other Monday afternoon in Drive (this is a radio week). I dearly love it when you call and text in.

Keep an eye out for my weekly column in the Nine Newspapers on Sundays. You can read all my recent columns here.

I can only hope someone in politics figures out a way all Australians can celebrate our lucky country all together before next year. Wishing you wonderful long weekend! Until next week make it epic!

Many thanks! Bec Wilson

Author, podcast host, columnist, retirement educator, and guest speaker

Thanks for reading Epic Retirement! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.

The seven biggest blunders to avoid when retirement planning

In this newsletter

Big Epic Retirement and Prime Time news worth celebrating!

This week’s column featured in The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald, Brisbane Times & WA Today.

The Prime Time podcast: How to beat relevance deprivation syndrome with Jim Kilkenny

I’ve got some exciting news! The 2023 book sales data is in, and How to Have an Epic Retirement has come out on top!

It is the #1 bestselling retirement book for 2023!

And, perhaps even more exciting, it is the #2 bestselling book in the category of ‘money and consumer issues’ by an Australian author behind the legendary Barefoot Investor.

If you haven’t already, you can order your copy here… or buy it wherever you buy books.

And, just a day later, the Prime Time podcast has ranked in Apple’s ‘Top Shows’, at #149, on just episode 12. That means a lot of you are downloading the podcast and listening to it! That’s the last episode of season 1!

Season 2 kicks off next week - sign up to get notified.

I want to say thanks to everyone who has bought the book, gifted it to a friend, written a review, or helped to spread the word!

And another big thanks to everyone who’s listened to the podcast - or told someone about it - and subscribed to receive our regular episodes via your podcast app and information via our newsletter at primetimers.net!

We are inviting expressions of interest from sponsors and/or advertisers for the podcast and the Epic Rertirement newsletter. If you’re keen - just email me (reply to this email) and we can chat about it! We have some rather cool packages mapped out.

Now, let’s get on with today’s article!

Many thanks! Bec Wilson

Author, podcast host, columnist, retirement educator, and guest speaker

Each weekend I write a column in both the print and digital editions of The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald, Brisbane Times and WA Today money section. This article was first published here.

There are some sad stories out there in retirement planning and many point to mistakes you want to avoid. Today, we’re diving into the biggest blunders because sometimes the most fun way to learn is by hearing about what not to do. So here’s my top seven.

1. Not planning for retirement early enough in life

Many Australians make the mistake of procrastinating on their retirement planning far too long, or assuming they don’t have enough to bother planning with. It’s essential to get proactive at least five years before retirement, and ideally 10 to 15 years beforehand, so you have the opportunity to harness the power of compound investing.

The most important thing to remember is that a 7-10 per cent annual return can double your superannuation fund every seven to 10 years. The earlier you start contributing extra to super, and making sure it is invested well, the more you will benefit, passively.

Thanks for reading Epic Retirement! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.

2. Not developing interests outside work

Retirement isn’t just about hanging up the work boots; it’s a chance to enjoy a whole new phase of life and lean into the things that bring you real joy in life.

The years leading up to retirement, the prime time of your life, is the ideal time to build a portfolio of things that you are passionate about, new pursuits or hobbies, epic holiday plans, a greater focus on your health, purposeful work projects and quality time with family and friends.

Focusing solely on your career or job right up to retirement can lead to a feeling of relevance deprivation after retirement. And that is avoidable.

3. Retiring too early

So many people jump the gun on retirement, underestimating the financial and psychological impacts. Retiring early might seem enticing or even like the stereotypical dream, but it often leads to financial strain and boredom, and quite frequently these people find their way back into the workforce later.

Extended life expectancy means retirement can span decades, so I dare you to consider a much longer period of pre-retirement, where you experiment with part-time work and part-time retirement.

4. Underestimating their real cost of living

We all like to tell ourselves that we’re spending less than we are. And it’s not until we build a budget from our actual bills and expenses and project forward that we can recognise just how much we need to cover our desired living expenses in retirement.

Many people leave out expenses that might not be incurred rhythmically, but can have an unforeseen impact, like sudden needs for an increase in healthcare or allied health spending, or a critical need for home or car maintenance. I suggest that people practise living on their projected retirement budget – and see how they go for a month. It’s an eye-opener.

5. Withdrawing all their superannuation when they retire for dumb reasons

This one blows my mind. The fundamental purpose of superannuation is to serve as a financial nest egg, ensuring a dependable income stream throughout retirement.

Understanding the concept of compound investing is crucial when we talk about it. For most people, 50-60 per cent of their total returns come from superannuation during their retirement years.

Drawing it all out as a lump sum runs counter to the very essence of superannuation’s designed purpose, and it certainly sees those people missing out on a lifetime of earnings unless they have a real strategy behind their decision.

There’s two more points to read - and you can read them on The Sydney Morning Herald or, The Age here. It’s usually free to access the article - you may need to register.

This week we talk about relevance deprivation syndrome, in a very personal way that many people will be able to relate to.

Jim Kilkenny dived out to the workforce at the age of 56 after a very big career in financial services, having been a financial adviser, business owner and company director. He’d guided thousands of people into retirement over several decades, helping them find both financial stability and understand the need for a sense of purpose. So it was a huge surprise when he stumbled into his own retirement, finding himself feeling irrelevant and lost just months after finishing up work.

We call this ‘relevance deprivation syndrome’ and today we have a long talk about how it feels and how you can identify it, navigate it and even potentially avoid it. 

Listen now

LISTEN HERE - LATEST EDITION (S1E12) - OMNY

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or SPOTIFY PODCASTS 

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When should you retire?

In this newsletter:

Feature Story: When should you retire?

From Bec’s Desk: Back on deck and needing your input into the Treasury Discussion Paper

Thanks for reading Epic Retirement! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.

The Prime Time podcast: Happiness, marriage and mismatched expectations in retirement with bestselling author Joanna Nell

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When should you retire?

I went to see my GP this week, who is firmly in his 70s, and clearly sick of answering the question “When are you going to retire?” from his family and peers. In the midst of my appointment, knowing what I do for work, he asked me the big hairy question with a wry smile “When do you think people should retire Bec?” 

And, being part-way through the writing of my next book for those in their late 40s, 50s and 60s right now, I knew exactly how I wanted to answer. And it’s not what most of you would expect for the author of How to Have an Epic Retirement. 

I said, “I don’t think people should feel the need to retire fully ever  - or at least not until they are well and truly ready. I think they should find work they love and do it as long as they love doing it and start to build out a lifestyle that might previously have been reserved for retirement while they work on things they love. And, once they finish doing paid work, they should find ways to use those skills in areas they are passionate about for much longer too. I think people who are deeply embedded in activities they enjoy, that stimulate them and keep them learning, live longer”.

“So, on that basis I think that we’re about to change the lingo on retirement,” I said. “I think most people in the next generations approaching retirement might instead choose to live out a long “Prime Time” which is what I’m calling the years leading up to retirement where you can increasingly have the best of both worlds - enjoyable amounts of work and time for health and leisure activities you want to pursue. Then you choose to retire fully when you aren’t getting as much joy from the work parts of your life anymore, or it doesn’t fit with your other goals and priorities like travelling and caring for loved ones.”

He liked that. But the poor doctor didn’t realise he’d signed on for a long lecture. I kept going! 

“In fact, I’d rather people start to recognise now that they might live much longer lives than previous generations, so if they find themselves unfulfilled or unable to work in their career path (usually due to ageism or physical concerns) in their 50s or 60s they would get up and look for something different to work on instead of looking at retirement as the only way out. They should know they don't have to retire to find fulfilment, they can adapt the work they do, re-educate themselves, learn about new things, finding something else, launching down a different path, one they will enjoy more and that will give them meaning in the second half of their life. And they can gradually choose to fit more travel, family and lifestyle activities in alongside work, which does not have to be 38 hours a week anymore. 

He smiled. “I think I agree with you! I don’t want to retire, I enjoy what I do too much,” he said. 

Science on both health and happiness tells us that having meaning, purpose and a valuable community around us will help us live longer, better quality lives. Many people get all those things from their work. The RIGHT TYPES and the RIGHT BALANCE of work, family and friendships, functional exercise and healthy eating and buzz-filled holidays really do deliver on living well. So it’s time we acknowledged that, and instead of wishing away our work lives, recognising the enormous role paid work, or charitable work can play in what can become a ‘flexi-retirement’, a ‘part-time retirement’ or just ‘staying in your Prime Time as long as you want’. 

The superannuation system is actually set up rather well to support you if you do want to work longer than average, or keep one foot in the workplace and one foot in your health, family and lifestyle for many years longer than expected of you. 

You might think that superannuation is a system designed to support you when you give up work - but it’s more than that! It’s a system designed to support you as you ease back on work too. And we have a lot of work to do in this country to help people better understand their superannuation.  

We actually have 4.3 million retirees in Australia right now, but only 1.3 million people have converted their superannuation into retirement phase accounts, most because they don’t understand super or fear running out of money. It’s worth understanding though. It’s an excellent system, designed to fund your life and lifestyle from somewhere around the age of 55 for today’s retirees if they want it, up to your end of life.  To access your super, you have three options: 

Fully retire between 55 and 65 (and maybe even go back to work later)

You can access your super once you reach preservation age (which varies based on your date of birth) and before you turn 65, by giving up work, and converting your superannuation into a retirement phase account or draw on it as a lump sum (but please get advice first). Your income from super will be tax free on the money earned in your retirement fund, which can be up to $1.9M per person. Be aware that you are then forced to draw down according to the minimum drawdown requirements. It is worth noting that you can retire fully and access your super, then go back to work later. If you do this your superannuation will remain in retirement phase, and you will be required to open an accumulation phase account to put your earnings into from your current work. It’s a bit tricky, but many many people have done this! Get some advice from your super fund when navigating it. 

Keep working part time and access your super to fill the gap

This is what’s called a transition to retirement. If you have reached preservation age, and want to keep working, but work a bit less, and access your superannuation to top up the income gap, you can. You simply contact your superannuation fund and open a transition to retirement account, into which you can transfer some of your super balance, and have it sit alongside your accumulation account, into which your employer will keep paying your superannuation earned  from working. It’s a great way to live a Prime Time life - and you can keep using your transition to retirement account right up until you turn 65, when access to your super becomes unrestricted. 

Keep working and eventually gain access to it at 65, without giving up work

Once you reach 65, you can access your superannuation without any conditions of release. You just convert it into a retirement phase account or draw on it as a lump sum. If you are working, you can have an accumulation and a retirement phase account running with your super fund. You will want to get technical advice from a financial advisor or your super fund though. 

The passion some people have for their work is palpable. You can feel it. It keeps them alive, keeps them interested in learning new things and keeps challenging them to grow. Other people have to leave the workplace to find the freedom to look for things that give them this much excitement. So there’s really no right or wrong answer on when you should retire. Just know, it’s not an irreversible decision, and the super system is actually well designed to help you have the best of both worlds. 

I have so much more to say on this topic, but I’ll save it for the book!

Welcome to our thousands of new subscribers that joined us over the holidays! I hope you enjoy this newsletter as much as I enjoy making it.

I’m back from holidays and I feel very fresh. I had a quiet summery holiday near home, swimming at the beach, dining with family, taking out our little boat and reading books. It was magic. I hope you did too!

During the holidays you might have heard me on the radio - many thanks to the handful of national ABC radio shows that featured Epic Retirement and invited me for a chat. You’ll be hearing me more on the radio, with regular spots starting in ABC Southern Queensland Drive, and ABC NT Brekky too, where I have a regular spot called ‘retire like a rockstar’! Super fun!

And over the next few weeks I’ll be speaking at a few events - all around the country! I’ll let you know more as they pop up!

The year is coming back to pace and I have a few things to talk about, that I want to get you involved in.

The Epic Retirement Flagship Course

The Epic Retirement Flagship Course will be launching soon and I’ll be offering an amazing deal on our first course.

Launching our new online education program is no small feat! It’s made up of 100 videos, as well as quizzes, worksheets and tools. It’s delivered in 14 modules over 5 weeks (run synchronously - so we can learn from the community too). I’ll be kicking off our first course to a limited audience, and for the first one, because I’m going to ask you to provide detailed feedback and input all the way through to improve it, I’m going to be offering a huge discount. Register your details here to be notified of the opportunity to be one of our first course participants. The first course numbers will be capped so I can have a personal level of feedback on the program!

Be a part of our response to the Federal Treasury’s call for feedback on the Retirement Phase of Superannuation - take my survey here

In December, the Federal Government called for feedback with a discussion paper on the Retirement Phase of Superannuation. I think we should respond. We would love to hear your thoughts or feedback guiding our response to the Federal Government's call for input on the trajectory of the superannuation system. If you’re interested take the following short quiz, complete with some input fields that send us your insights and we'll put together a response. Let's build a voice of the pre-retirees in Australia that the government can hear. You can read the Treasury Discussion Paper here. And take the quiz here.

And finally, a little poll of the week, which I know you love.

That’s probably enough for the first working week of the year. So, until next week make it epic!

Many thanks! Bec Wilson

Author, podcast host, columnist, retirement educator, and guest speaker

This week on the Prime Time Podcast we talk about the secrets to success in retirement as a couple when it really is a very personal and individual journey.

Joanna Nell is a doctor, an advocate for positive ageing and the author of five best-selling novels. Her latest book, 'Mrs.Winterbottom takes a gap year', is a heartwarming exploration of mismatched expectations in your Prime Time years and early retirement. And it reinforces some of the importance of living life in the moment. 

When I read her book, I felt like I was reading a fiction version constructed on many of the lessons I talk about in ‘How to Have an Epic Retirement’. So chatting with Joanna about the process of approaching a modern retirement was fun indeed. 

The idea and role of a ‘retirement gap year’, which can be a real time of reinvention, between one phase of life and the next. A gap year or a period of transition, seems like a terrific concept for early retirement, now that we are having a more active phase of life in retirement than ever before. A time to challenge ourselves and find out who we are for the next stage of our lives. 

Listen now

LISTEN HERE - LATEST EDITION (S1E11) - OMNY

or listen on APPLE PODCASTS

or SPOTIFY PODCASTS 

Thanks for reading Epic Retirement! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.