Having a readiness plan is priceless for your peace of mind when planning for your retirement. To get started, you will need to review your lifestyle now and how it will change when you retire. A readiness plan will help you determine where you need to focus to help you retire successfully. 

Tip 1 - Have a budget. It is a really good idea to actually calculate your likely retirement income based on what you have already saved and any other planned sources of income. Will you have a side-hustle, or continue to be financially active even on a part-time basis? This will help you make realistic and appropriate choices about whether to continue working in some capacity to supplement your income, reduce expenses and/or increase your level of savings and investments now.  

People are generally living longer, and this means your retirement savings may need to be able to support you for 20-30 years. Don’t forget to consider your possible future medical expenses. 

Tip 2 - Try to pay off any debt and reduce expenses. By limiting new debts and reducing existing debt you can save on interest. If you don’t have a documented budget, it is hard to see where you can cut expenses, both now and in future. 

Tip 3 – Increase your retirement contribution. As you approach retirement you may want to increase your contribution to your retirement annuity. It is important to make sure your savings are maximised to take advantage of tax benefits and diversified for growth. Retirement annuities and tax-free investments offer great tax benefits and a range of underlying local and offshore investment options. 

Tip 4 – Check in with your HR department. And while you countdown to your big retirement day, take time to learn more about your retirement benefits and how to access them. 

Tip 5 – Have an estate plan. Your retirement plans are affected by whether or not you wish to leave a legacy for your loved ones. While you are doing your retirement planning, it is a good time to review your will and your estate plans so that you have peace of mind that your wishes will be acted on if you are incapacitated or die. One of the simplest and most practical things you can do is review and specify beneficiary nominations for any retirement annuity, living annuity, and endowment investments so that your wishes are clear. A financial planner is best qualified to help you. They have a range of advisory tools to help you structure your finances and invest smartly to minimise estate duty (with endowments, and other smart investment opportunities and life insurance solutions) and provide cash-flow for your loved ones during what will already be a very tough time. 

The most important thing to remember out of all of these tips, is to speak to a retirement coach or a financial planner to ensure that your plan is feasible and will help you achieve the financial freedom you want during your retirement. 

Quaniet Richards, Head of Institutional at Nedgroup Investments, recently shared his insights to a successful retirement. Listen to the podcast here. 

Need help? Talk to our retirement coach
Nedgroup Investments offers a free, no obligation retirement coach to help you assess your needs. To contact our coach, click here, alternatively speak to your financial planner about your retirement needs.