Who knew living a long and happy life could be so expensive?
Most people have no idea how expensive retirement can be. We tend to live longer and longer these days; thanks to advancements in modern healthcare it’s possible for people to live until they’re well over 100. It’s incredible when you think about it, when aged pensions were introduced the average life expectancy was 58, now it’s almost 90. And that number is growing each year!
Over the years I’ve noticed there are mainly two types of families who were preparing for retirement:
a) Family one had spent every cent they had earned along the way. Nothing was planned and nothing was left over…they were expecting to survive on the aged pension. You’ll notice I said survive on the pension, not live on the aged pension. Living means having choices, surviving means having limited or no choices in lifestyle.
b) Family two had done a bit of forward planning and saving…instead of spending everything they’d made some smart decisions; they had some investments thanks to saving some of the money they’d made over the years. These types of families were smart, they intended on having choices in retirement…living with choices instead of merely surviving. And those families who had planned were able to enjoy a great retirement lifestyle.
Now it’s time for those ‘Family Two’ people, the one’s who’ve been smart and accumulated a tidy nest egg, to get smart again. Unless some effective planning is done, they’re likely to loose some of their aged pension after being impacted by changes to Centrelink Asset Test changes that take effect from 1 January 2017.
Right now is the perfect time to consider how to protect your lifestyle, your asset base and your aged pension entitlements. Call Gayle on 0407159298 to discuss your options.
