Planning for your Wishes in Retirement!

When I was a child I always had dreams.

Dreams about being a Fire Fighter was one of them.

I think it was the excitement of playing with fire.

When I was young we lived on a farm.

I would always find a nice quiet place when no one was around.

I would have a pack of matches and just sit there on my own lighting them.

Not sure whether the excitement was just the lighting of the match or watching the flame on the match.

I certainly kept my parents on their feet.

One could say that I had my fair share of talking too’s and many smacks to boot.

Think back to when you were a  child.

What dreams did you have?

When considering your wishes in retirement, think big.

Wise planning for your retirement wishes will give you options when things change.  A well thought out plan will give you levers you can pull and make adjustments when required.

While it may not be where you end up, having something to aim for will help you manage your way to a successful retirement.

It will definitely help you ROCK RETIREMENT and make the most of the only life you have.

If you follow the steps from the previous weeks you will build your personal playbook.

Imagine the flexibility you will have as live pans out.

You just need to follow the plan.

A quick recap:

Lever 1 – we discussed planning for the necessities in retirement, the baseline amount of money to fund your daily lifestyle.  You can read the post here if you missed it>>

Lever 2 – we talked about planning for your wants, the sauce to your pasta to make it a little tastier.  You can read the post here if you missed it>>

A good solid plan will ensure you can reach for the skies, and if you don’t make it you have something to fall back on.

You have the information to make well-informed decisions based on what’s possible and what’s important to you.

We get to dream big here, let your imagination run wild a little.

Before we get to that we have that all-important disclaimer.

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This is not advice, I don’t know you, you don’t me or you might know me a little from these posts. 

I don’t know your personal circumstances and you should not take any advice from anyone that doesn’t know you.  That includes your family, friends, and mates at the pub.  They don’t know your circumstances.  

I only give advice to people I know, clients I work with where I know a lot about them by walking alongside them in their journey. 

If you are looking for advice and someone to walk that journey with you, feel free to book a call here to see if we are a fit.  Otherwise, seek the advice of financial professional or accountant before implementing any advice to make sure it’s right for you.  That’s only common sense.

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What are your Wishes?

While this can seem a little extravagant, I believe it’s important for everyone contemplating and planning retirement to consider.

Think of it an extension on your values or how you want to contribute either to the next generation or the wider community.

It’s your legacy.

When considering wishes you could fall into a number of categories.

You’re overfunded in your retirement plan, worked hard while finding it hard to let go.

Overfunded in your retirement plan, worked hard but feel you have an obligation to help the next generation, to contribute.

Or you’re underfunded in your retirement plan, still worked hard to scrape together what you have but feel you’ll there’s not going to much anyway.

No matter your position it’s important not to miss this step.  It’s one way of working through what you value.

What do wishes look like?

Everyone is an individual, however, what we find after working with pre-retirees and retirees after many years it is wide and varied.

You may want to partially or fully fund education costs for grandchildren!

They are my two boys, Joshua and Nicholas.

I find this is a big one and comes in many forms.

It could be that you want to contribute on an annual basis.  Either a set amount or funding the whole amount.

I’ve had clients who have set a certain amount at retirement in separate accounts and parents choose when to access the funds.  When they require assistance.

Then you have those who like to help on an ad hoc basis when they can.

Either way, it’s important to consider and take into account whether you are going to assist the next generation via lump sums or regular amounts.

Funding Holidays with your Family!

This is a big one and more popular than what you think.

Rather than giving your family cash or a handout, you fund a holiday with them.

This is a great way to create experiences for yourself and your family.

It could be anything from a family cruise, to something more substantial like taking them to Mexico or Europe for a month.

Not only do you create memories for yourself but also for your kids and grandkids.  Money well spent I say.

I’ve had a number of clients that have arranged holidays for their families.  Either a cruise of Christmas is Hawaii to name a few.

Buying a Holiday Home!

Another popular one is funding a house by the beach that the whole family can enjoy.

Others could be a special trip overseas to a special place like Antarctica to celebrate a 50th wedding anniversary for instance.

Think big and plan big.

Doing this now will ensure you have focus, aiming for mars and if you happen to still make the moon, you have done well.

You may balk at all this planning and dreaming big.  We want you to have a great life both and in your retirement years.

What this will do is provide you with your roadmap, one that you will continually iterate as your life changes.

Surely, that’s got to be worth it?

Estate Planning!

I wanted to touch on this one a little.  Many don’t think ahead and taking a little time to consider your wishes when it comes to your estate can be vital in making sure the funds end up where they are supposed too.

It can take many forms depending on the amount of wealth you have built up.

If you are underfunded, it’s generally the consensus we’ll spend what we can and the rest can go to the kids.

On the one hand, you’re overfunded and it’s all about being a good steward now and passing to the next generation when you are no longer alive.

Either way, it’s important to ensure to review and implement plans to ensure it passes to the right at the right time.

Imagine, your daughter or son is married.

You pass away however at the time either you’re daughter or son is going through a divorce.

In your will, the estate goes straight to your son or daughter.

But given there is no protection in the will, the funds will now form part of the divorce.

Sure, you wouldn’t be here so really does it matter?

But what if there was something you could do about it?

All it takes is a review of your will and adding some clauses.

Using something like a testamentary trust could be used to hold the funds inside an estate until safe to distribute.

I’m not a lawyer, so best to seek the advice of a great Estate Lawyer.

When planning for your retirement it’s important to consider this as part of your plan.

Not only will you create some experiences for which you will value, but give you options.

Options that will allow you to make changes based on the events going around you.

This will ensure you will get the most out of your retirement.

Practical Planning!

Spend some time and consider what your wishes are.  Add them to the previous week’s activities and what you would have built is your retirement plan.

The next steps are to work out whether you are on track and what changes you can make to make it a reality.

Do you need to adjust your plan?

Do you need to take other action such as working longer, saving more or finding avenues to earn more?

Now you have the framework to achieve the retirement you want and the power to ROCK RETIREMENT!

Now, go ROCK this…

NEED SOME HELP?

If you’re someone who is up to 15 years away from retirement.   You plan on being self-funded. You have accumulated some assets and want some help in figuring this stuff out.  Feel free to book in a 15 min Rock Retirement call here>>> and we can help you work out what that first step is for you.

I’ll be honest here, we won’t do your pushups for you.   But if you are motivated for the right reasons we can save you a lot of time and heartache.  We can save you from the mistakes most people make to fast track your way to a ROCKING RETIREMENT.

Ps. We don’t sell you anything on this call.  We will help you determine what the next step is for you.  However, if you are someone who is looking for a get rich scheme, silver bullet or believe you know everything we are not for you. If you are someone who really wants to achieve financial freedom, committed and wants to work collaboratively then we can help.

Hope that’s been useful.

 

Know someone that would gain benefit from the information, feel free to forward on.

Glenn

Make it a great Life!

Challenging the Status Quo!

Glenn Doherty – CFP – Founder & Financial Organiser at Jigsaw Private Wealth

Website: jigsawprivatewealth.com.au

Email: gdoherty@jigsawprivatewealth.com.au

Mob: 0401 253 729

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