The truth is there is no universal magic number (sorry to disappoint you). While it might seem like a standard answer: how much a person needs to fund their retirement relies solely on their individual circumstances.

Here are some of the things that we consider when we are calculating that “magic number” for an individual:

• How old are you?
• When do you want to retire?
• Do you have a partner? Will they retire at the same time?
• Will either of you work part-time?
• Do you own your own home?
• How much do you want to spend in retirement? Will there be extras like holidays, renovations or car upgrades?
• Do you want to leave your children assets apart from your family home?
• How is your super invested now?
• How will your super be invested in the future?
• How likely is that you will receive the Age Pension?

If your circumstances aren’t too complex, many of these aspects can be boiled down into a simple expenditure multiple. However, the fly in the magic-number-ointment is Age Pension. Specifically, what will Age Pension payment rates and means testing look like over time? We believe relying on Age Pension to remain in its current format over a 2 to 3 decade period poses a huge risk in calculations of required retirement lump sums.

For example, the ASFA Retirement Standard is a widely-referenced source for how much you need to retire (in fact, on member’s annual statements, some superannuation funds were tracking member balances versus the ASFA figures to determine if members were close to being able to fund their retirement). The ASFA assumes that current Age Pension payment rates and means testing thresholds increase with inflation throughout retirement. In August 2015, due to tightening of Age Pension means testing, they were forced to increase their estimated retirement savings required for a couple who wanted to fund a ‘comfortable retirement’ (a bit under $60,000 per year in today’s dollars) by $130,000, from $510,000 to $640,000 (that’s a 25% increase!). Anyone relying on these figures (in particular, the overly optimistic Age Pension assumptions) will either run out of money much earlier than expected, take a reasonable pay cut in retirement or will need to keep working longer than they wanted to.

The balancing act
In fact, balancing assumptions in relation to Age Pension, returns and longevity risk is key to retirement planning. If these assumptions are too aggressive you might run out of money and/or take a sizable pay cut in retirement; if they are too conservative, you might work for much longer than you want to or not enjoy retirement as much by being too frugal.

So, where does that leave you?
The only way to know how much you need for retirement is to formulate your own retirement plan. This looks at the numbers and also your attitudes towards retirement: i.e. would you rather enjoy more of your money in the first part of retirement and risk running out of money late in retirement or would you rather spend less now to give you more certainty that you never run out of money. Everyone’s circumstances and attitudes vary.

Get started on your retirement plan today. Give our Senior Financial Advisor, Sam Campbell, a call on 0268832200.

Related article: Retirement: The Great Unknown

Disclaimer

The post How much super do you need to retire? The million dollar question… appeared first on Luka Group Accountants & Advisors.

The financial concerns sometimes seem to be more prevalent than lifestyle concerns. Lifestyle concerns can include: how you will fill in your time, being bored, health, relationships, not wanting to cease work or worried that it’s the end of your productive life. To this end, it is just as important to plan your lifestyle as it is your finances.

From a financial side, transitioning from the financial security of a wage from a stable job to paying yourself from your hard-earned retirement savings and making sure those savings last 25 to 35 years can be immensely stressful and take away from the enjoyment of retirement.

Given this stress comes from the unknown, it can be mitigated by increasing your knowledge and setting a retirement plan. These two items go hand-in-hand in successfully navigating retirement.

Knowledge is power
Many retirees employ the ostrich solution to retirement planning. They stick their head in the sand and hope for the best. However, when you have complete knowledge of your finances (both current and future) you gain two things:

1. The power to make positive changes to your current and future situation if you are not happy with the trajectory of your finances; and
2. The freedom to make future decisions (like holidays, renovations or upgrading your car) with full knowledge on how it will likely affect you later in retirement.

Along with gaining knowledge in relation to internal aspects that affect your retirement, you should also focus on the external aspects such as superannuation, investment markets, Age Pension and legislation that may impact your retirement.

This should be followed up by mapping out what the future might look like by setting out a retirement plan.

Your Retirement Plan
Once you know where you are, you can plan for the future to ensure that you can fund your desired lifestyle expenses and retirement goals, such as traveling.

Your retirement plan contributes to a crucial part of your knowledge – it maps out your assets and expenses throughout retirement. It allows you to see what might be achievable and should be adjusted as your circumstances, goals and external factors inevitably change over time.

More than just the numbers
Your plan should focus on what is within your control – good strategy, discipline in sticking to your strategy and patience, nothing happens overnight. A good strategy is pointless if you do not have the patience and discipline to stick to it.

Transfer the stress…
Using a financial advisor can help you with the technical side of your retirement plan by crunching the numbers. However, using a financial advisor is about more than the numbers… through strategy, discipline and patience, a financial advisor can help reduce the amount of time you spend worrying about money and let you spend more time enjoying your retirement.

Want to know more? Give our Senior Financial Advisor, Sam Campbell, a call today on 0268832200.

Related article: How much super do you need to retire? The million dollar question…

Disclaimer

The post Retirement: The Great Unknown appeared first on Luka Group Accountants & Advisors.