Welcome to the 11 July AboutSeniors Friday Bulletin.
This week we are focusing on the issue of retirement.
Our short advice for those who wish to lead a long and productive life is "don't".
Retire, that is.
Keep at least an element of work in your schedule - paid or unpaid. It is vital to maintain a sense of purpose and worth that only work can bring.
But the retirement planning process is critical, from a financial point of view. And the best way to start this planning is to consider longer term goals and aspirations and just how much money you will need to achieve a reasonable standard of living for (potentially) a very long time.
Start with our downloadable PDF - Your Retirement Countdown - which considers ages and stages for those aged 40-50, 50-55, 55-60 and 60-65, and the key actions - both financial and emotional - which you will need to address. This PDF is reprinted from the Winter issue of Your Life magazine, currently on sale in newsagents, or buy a special AboutSeniors subscription. Your Life also includes a 10-page Becoming Financially Fit report prepared in conjunction with the Financial Planning Association.
There is a plethora of retirement planning information in the market place - so much so, that it can be confusing - and consumers are becoming increasingly aware of material which is promotional rather than objective and informative.
We have done some of the hard work for you by creating a shortlist of some of the more helpful websites and tools for "starter" planners. These include information from government, not-for-profit and financial services companies and online calculators which help you to quickly assess your expected and/or required retirement incomes.
Whatever shape your financial planning for retirement is in, we strongly recommend you do not make this an exclusively DIY exercise. It is important to visit a financial planner, or accountant who specialises in financial planning, for your review of tax and Centrelink implications.
We hope you find this information useful and an incentive to review your savings plans. And, if in doubt, why not take the Are you ready to retire? quiz and see how you rate.
Keep warm
David & Kaye Fallick
Karen's Chicken Corn Chowder
Although the weather may be cooling down outside, our soups are here to heat you up. This week we sample Karen's Chicken Corn Chowder.
And don't forget the staff at AboutSeniors are here to help with all your queries, whatever the topic, on help@aboutseniors.com.au
To subscribe to the free weekly AboutSeniors enewsletter, put your email address into the subscribe here box on the left hand side of our homepage. Go there now.
To unsubscribe from this email list please