We take superannuation seriously here at Rising Tide.
Retirement planning is extremely important for all of us and we take great pride in ensuring that all of our clients are well informed and prepared in this regard.
When discussing superannuation with our clients we consider the following:
Superannuation is individual to everyone and to plan for it you really need to think about the sort of person you are.
Are you the frugal type that exists on $300 a week? Or do you spend $1000 a week and love to go on holidays to Europe every year? What ever the case, it’s important to sit down with your financial planner and discuss YOUR individual situation.
When would you like to retire?
Do you want to keep working until you are 70 or do you want to retire at 50? This too, will dictate how much super you will realistically need.
What superannuation structure is most appropriate for your individual age and stage?
Your superannuation structure shouldn’t just remain static over your entire career. As a general rule, your policy should be higher risk when you’re in your younger years before returning to a more conservative structure as you get closer to retirement. We work with each individual client to determine the best structure for them.
The most important piece of advice we have for clients when it comes to superannuation is not to leave thinking about your super too late. Typically people tend to focus on paying off their mortgage first and then start thinking about their super in their 50’s. It’s our belief that you need to be doing both from the very beginning. Make your own salary sacrificed contributions AND pay off your mortgage with any money left-over. When super was first introduced, the actuaries recommended 15% as the mandatory contribution and yet we’re still at 10.5% over 20 years later. Everyone should be trying to contribute at least 15% of their income to super.”
When it comes to retirement needs, no situation is the same. However as a bare minimum, people should assume that they will continue to spend around 60-70% of their pre-retirement income. For many people $1m in super would be ample. For others perhaps not. In either case, a two-pronged approach to financially preparing for retirement is vital, the idea being to build up your assets both inside of superannuation and outside of the superannuation environment as they both have different liquidity & accessibility.
We strongly recommend that young people seek out financial advice from a trusted and qualified financial professional who will be able to devise an investment strategy tailored to their unique needs so that you can feel confident about your retirement.