What does retirement look like to you? Do you have a specific date or age in mind. Do you want to fully retire? Alternatively, could you work less hours and transition to retirement over time?

A planned retirement may also be impacted by outside factors. These may include when you can access your superannuation retirement savings account. You may also work in an industry where reduced hours are not feasible. Alternatively, you may be able to work part-time or even on a consultancy/Directorship basis.

Every retirement scenario is different. Understanding your desired age of retirement is the first step to considering and implementing a retirement plan.

As you can imagine every individual, or couple, has their own vision as to what a retirement lifestyle might look like.

You will need to consider how much you would need to cover the usual day-to-day living expenses. You may also wish to spend some capital to prepare for retirement. This might involve renovating your home or upgrading your car. You may also wish to purchase fun items – a caravan, boat, or motor home? What about travel? Will it be overseas, domestic holidays or a mixture of both? How often would you like to do this?

As people age, it is usual for their spending needs to change. It may be that there is less spending on dining out and leisure, but more on healthcare, home support and medical expenses. How will your expenses change over time?

It is important that you identify the retirement lifestyle you want so that you can have a better chance of achieving it.

You may know when you would like to retire and the lifestyle that you may wish to have. However, the next step, from a financial perspective, is to better understand where you are now. Is your retirement plan feasible? Will your current assets and investment strategies provide the base to allow you to meet your plan?

Understanding where you are now will allow you to make more informed decisions as to what you need to do to achieve your retirement goals. It may mean that you need to adjust the timing of your retirement or the lifestyle that is attainable. Alternatively, you may have not realised that you are already able to retire. You may just not want to, just yet. However, having that knowledge might put a little smile on your face every time you go to work!

Understanding where you are now is a key step in implementing your retirement plan.

There are multiple strategies that you will need to consider as part of your retirement plan. Among others: How will you accumulate the wealth that you require to fund your retirement? Where will your retirement assets be held – superannuation, outside of superannuation, or a combination of both? How tax effective will your retirement be? From where will you receive your retirement income?

Whilst retirement strategies can be similar, the reality is that they can vary significantly from individual to individual. By understanding your situation and implementing the strategies applicable to you, you will have a clear understanding of what you need to do. Empowerment is key!

We have no doubt that having a detailed retirement plan in place with well thought out, but flexible, strategies will help you achieve your retirement goals and objectives. The key thing is to have a plan in place.

One thing that we can guarantee is that, between now and retirement, things will change. Your personal situation, your employment situation, government legislation, taxation the investment markets to name but a few.

Establishing a retirement plan is not a one-off exercise. To achieve your goals and objectives, you will need to be flexible and to make changes as required. It will be important to regularly review your strategies and to receive ongoing guidance. W2 Wealth can do the heavy lifting for you and provide the guidance that you will need over time.