Patricia Howard - The No Regrets Guide to Retirement: How to live well, invest wisely and make your money last

1. Chapter 1
2. Chapter 2

PATRICIA HOWARD

First published in 2021 by John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd

42 McDougall St, Milton Qld 4064
Office also in Melbourne

Set in 11/15pt AdobeCaslonPro by SPi Global, Chennai, India

John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd 2021

The moral rights of the author have been asserted

ISBN: 978-0-730-39090-9

All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the Australian Copyright Act 1968 (for example, a fair dealing for the purposes of study, research, criticism or review), no part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, communicated or transmitted in any form or by any means without prior written permission. All inquiries should be made to the publisher at the address above.

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Tables 1 and 2: Australian Taxation Office for the Commonwealth of Australia; tables 3 and 4: Commonwealth of Australia. Services Australia website content is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Australia Licence https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/au/.

Disclaimer

Patricia Howard holds an Australian Financial Services Licence (AFSL no. 412820). This book outlines general advice only. It should not replace individual, independent, personal financial advice.

The material in this publication is of the nature of general comment only, and does not represent professional advice. It is not intended to provide specific guidance for particular circumstances and it should not be relied on as the basis for any decision to take action or not take action on any matter which it covers. Readers should obtain professional advice where appropriate, before making any such decision. To the maximum extent permitted by law, the author and publisher disclaim all responsibility and liability to any person, arising directly or indirectly from any person taking or not taking action based on the information in this publication.

So many people enter retirement expecting the worst. They worry they won't have enough money. They worry their funds won't last as long as they do, no matter how much money they have. They worry they will miss out. That they won't be able to do all the things they've dreamed about doing in life. That they simply won't enjoy life anymore.

In writing about retirement in Australia, I wanted to write a positive, practical, uplifting book. A book to help you make the most of your financial situation, whatever that is, but more importantly a book that will hopefully change your attitude. A book that will help you plan your retirement in an optimistic way, even though I know this will be a stretch for some readers.

Throughout the book, I refer to Australia's generous welfare system and I do believe Australians are fortunate to be able to access the Age Pension. I know many will baulk at this. I can hear them grumble, It's impossible to make ends meet on the Australian Age Pension, so how can she call it generous?

Let me give those comments context.

I have been blessed with the great opportunity, and challenge, of living overseas, mostly in what are referred to as third world countries such as Brazil, Mexico and Kenya. I'm not really sure where the first and second worlds begin and end. That's just one of life's great puzzles, I guess. It is a term, though, that suggests these countries somehow lag behind a so-called first world country like Australia.

However, I would not rush to judge any of these three countries. I certainly wouldn't call them impoverished. The standard of living for most people in these countries is very poor compared to Australia and opportunities are very much more limited. Yet the people in all three countries can teach Australians a lot about enjoying what we have here and appreciating so many things we take for granted. The fresh air they don't have in Mexico City, the clean water that is so hard to come by in Kenya and the ability to walk safely through the streets, which many in Brazil only dream of.

I do think Australia's Age Pension rate is generous and I do think people retiring in Australia have the most wonderful opportunities. So many in the world don't have access to these.

I was also fortunate enough to be born in Australia. I am very mindful never to take that for granted. If you are lucky enough to be entitled to hold an Australian passport, either by birth or by choice, you have won the global lottery. We, as a nation of people, are the big winners in this world and we should always be mindful of that.

Don't waste time wishing you had more money in super or that you owned a bigger house or lived closer to the beach.

Be present in your life. Retirement is your opportunity to chill, breathe and enjoy.

Patricia Howard

The biggest fears most people have as they approach retirement are not having enough money saved and regardless of how much money they have that it won't be sufficient to get them through their retirement. That their money simply won't last as long as they do.

The challenge is to put those fears aside. Australians are fortunate to have access to a generous Age Pension, and this is a significant safety net. What's more, with good management their other assets should provide more than enough to live on.

In this book, I encourage you to be optimistic and to think through the endless options you have for making the most of your life in retirement. I present you with strategies and suggestions that will help you plan your financial retirement.

Each of the nine chapters explores an aspect of money in retirement. At the end of each chapter there's a summary of the main points in the chapter and a short activity for you to complete should you wish to develop your plan further. There is ample practical advice on how you can make the most of your financial situation and make sensible choices so you can live happily for the rest of your life.

This book will help you:

• work out how much money you will need to live comfortably in retirement. I will help you develop strategies for making your money last and inspire you to look outside the square. To think about where you want to live and how you want to spend the next few decades of your life. And how you can tailor those dreams to fit within your budget.
• discover that you already have a half-a-million-dollar nest egg. The Australian Age Pension is much the same as having half a million dollars in super. In fact, it's better. You can't lose it, it will always increase with inflation and it will last as long as you do no matter how long you live. You'll learn about your Age Pension entitlements to ensure you make the most of them and how you can use your own savings to top up whatever pension you receive.
• grasp the concept of making the most of your investments. Managing significant amounts of money can be a challenging task. I'll outline the key investment choices you should consider to help you make the most of your retirement savings. Ensuring you are confident about where your money is invested is a key step for achieving financial peace of mind. And it's something that's within easy reach of every Australian in retirement.