How to Successfully Plan Out Retirement Living

The process of retirement planning can seem quite daunting, not to mention complicated. With that in mind, it isn’t too much of a surprise to know that only 44 percent of Aussies over 40 feel as though they’re ready for retirement living — or prepared in any sense. 

With that noted, it’s good to keep in mind that the more prepared you are for retirement living, the better your quality of life is likely to be. You will have the foundations and preparation work in a place that ensures you’re able to be financially independent, well-looked-after as well as able to live and retire in a location of your choosing. 

When we leave things too late, especially retirement living, we run the risk of none of our plans or expectations falling into line as we had hoped, and with that, we are giving up a good portion of our senior years to stress and a generally poorer quality of life. 

With those points in mind, we have a few tips when it comes to successfully planning your retirement living. Take a look below. 

Always Consider Your Requirements

Off the top, you will always want to make sure that wherever or however you intend to retire checks off all of your lifestyle requirements. By this, we mean taking into consideration the recreational activities and things you enjoy doing or would like to do in your retirement. Keep in mind that the more active you are, the happier and longer you’re expected to live, and so choosing a retirement home or space that fosters a healthy, active lifestyle is a good place to start. 

A second thing to make a note of is whether these types of requirements are likely to cost more than a typical retirement plan. If they will, then you are able to pre-plan for this cost early and ensure you’re able to retire in a space that is optimal for your lifestyle. 

Knowing When You Can Access Super

A second big part in planning out retirement living is knowing and being prepared for when you can access your superannuation. As you would agree, being able to access your super, and how large this sum is, can greatly change your retirement plans, and so you will want to know when and how much super you are predicted to have by retirement age. Keep in mind that most Australians are able to access their superannuation from around the age of 55 to 60 years old; however, this will depend on your date of birth. 

On top of this, if you want to make sure that you’re accessing your super in a way that reduces as much tax on this income as possible, then you should determine whether it is best to wait until you’re 60 or older to make use of this cash fund. 

Dealing with Other Matters 

Another key part of ensuring your retirement living is going to run smoothly is making sure that as much of those other essential matters are taken care of sooner rather than later. For example, you will want to get on top of investment preferences for your income as well as estate planning if this is something you’ve not yet taken care of. 

Those points in mind, you may also want to make sure that insurance and income protections are in place prior to your retirement or selection of a retirement village such as Kew Gardens, for example — as these extra protections will give you some added peace of mind. 

Whether to Downsize or Relocate

From the times we retire and look to live without a full-time job, it might be worth considering whether it is best to downsize from the family home and relocate or move into a retirement village that offers a little more fun, on top of a bunch of other things. 

In most cases, living at home or in a large family home can become more burdensome over time, and this means you’re likely to draw upon help from others to make life a little easier in your old age, and so it might be worth considering downsizing to a smaller home, living closer to friends and family or making a move to a senior living space. 

Keep in mind that these choices do take time, and it might be worth mulling over these options for up to a year or more before you make a final decision on whether to move or stay at home. 

However, tie these choices into your income and retirement fund as well as your lifestyle requirements, and you’ll be on your way to successful retirement living. 

Ensuring Debt-free or Low-debt Retirement 

One of our final tips here is to make sure that you are well aware of debts that have accumulated over the years. If you have the means to pay these down or pay them off completely, it would be wise to do this in order to cut back on interest fees as well as the stresses that come with debt in a general sense. 

On top of this, you could also work to reduce your debt by making routine and large debt repayments that cut down on the time remaining on your loans and credit card debts. It is always important to ensure you’re living a low-debt lifestyle, especially when you’re looking into retirement, and so this is our final tip for successful retirement living.

The Takeaway 

With all of our points above noted, it is not too difficult to see that retirement living can be a smooth experience and a rather stress-free one as well – if you work to plan it out the correct way. Remember that getting in as early as possible and being pre-emptive is the key to successful retirement living, and so we suggest that you have a plan developed and ready to follow, even in your younger years. 

The more time you have to plan your retirement, and the more diligent you are with your debt, income, and super, the less stressed you are likely to be when it comes to retiring, and the more comfortable your life are likely to be.

LivingBetter50 is a magazine for women over 50, offering an over 50 magazine free download for women with spirit!