So many people go through their working life waiting for the magical day when they can ‘retire’ from their job. This retirement date may be the date when they become eligible to receive the age pension or another arbitrary date that they have been working towards. But often these same people reach their retirement and twelve months later discover that it is not what they had expected it to be.
Once you hit your forties, you usually start to take your own and your family’s financial future more seriously. You may be more settled in your career and at, or near, your earnings peak. In recent years the cost of housing and general living expenses have risen faster than wages, leaving many households spending all or most of what they earn. This can make it difficult to achieve financial objectives, such as reducing your mortgage and saving for retirement.
Being the trustee of a self-managed super fund can be a challenging task at times, and most people need help at certain stages when running a SMSF, particularly when a decision, or strategy, requires financial advice.
One of the first things a financial planner will ask prospective clients is how much money they think they will need to fund their lifestyle throughout retirement. Most people find this difficult to quantify and will answer saying that they would like a ‘comfortable’ retirement.