Retirement - How to avoid the five of the biggest mistakes and retire on your terms

We have a highly experienced team here at Newcastle Financial Planning Group, with over 84 years of combined experience, spanning in both domestic and international markets.

Why is this important? It means we have seen a variety of circumstances, provided advice for clients all over Australia, spoken in front of audiences from around the world, both learning from and educating others on the value of advice and avoiding the mistakes of those before us. In addition, our team must complete 540 hours of yearly education to make sure we stay on top of our strategies, products, and new concepts to support our clients.

Retirement is a time where you should be able to sit back and enjoy the life you have worked so hard for, however, only 44% of Australians over age 40 feel prepared for retirement.¹

Here are the five most common mistakes people make with their retirement planning:

Your home is your largest asset: it cannot produce an income and you cannot sell part of it.

Investment risk: reducing your investment portfolio risk when interest rates on offer from defensive assets like Government Bonds are at all-time lows or even negative rates.

Too much cash: acting like an ATM for your family. Focus on yourself first!

You have become a Self-Storage unit: if you have accumulated 40 years of ‘stuff’ that serves no other purpose than holding nostalgic value, do you need all of it? Could it be sold?

Comparing yourself to the Jones’s: the benefit of professional advice is that we are able to provide thoroughly researched and tailored advice to enable you to acquire assets that will help you to achieve your individual retirement goals.

This year, 439,000 Australians will retire with not enough money to last their retirement.²

NFPG CEO Daniel Brown states “If we can impact your retirement accumulation by just 1% p.a. for your working life by utilising the most appropriate strategies applicable to you, the value should outweigh the cost”.

If you want to enjoy retirement with peace of mind knowing there is a financial strategy to take care of the future, book an initial appointment with one of our Retirement Advice Specialists. We have offices located in The Junction (NFPG), Erina (CCFPG) and Sydney CBD (SWA).

REFERENCES:

1: https://www.amp.com.au/retirement/prepare-to-retire/retirement-planning-tips

2: Roy Morgan. (n.d.). More Australians intend to retire despite inadequate savings levels. [online] Available at: http://www.roymorgan.com/findings/7949-retirement-intention-201904260129 [Accessed 17 Sep. 2020].