Death, taxes and TBC.

There are three certainties in life: Death, Taxes, and that John Farnham will always have another “Last Tour”.

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There’s not much to be said about the first two, other than that they are unavoidable (unless there is a fountain of youth in the Cayman Islands that I haven’t heard about). But as the John Farnham example shows, retirement isn’t always as clear-cut.

When the average person will work 45–50 years of their lives, it’s just not that easy to walk away from employment. There are financial aspects, of course, such as making sure you are in a good position to retire, but the social aspects and mental aspects involved are just as significant. Many of our clients identify that the most substantial change in retirement that they experience is the social change—how to keep themselves mentally stimulated when they are no longer going into work every day and engaging with customers and colleagues.

Those that plan only up until the day they retire are not going to be ready for what comes after. Sure, you might be planning a trip around Australia in a caravan or three months in Europe, but after that, what comes next? Our last column discussed transitioning to retirement as an effective plan for easing yourself into your non-working life, but a transition strategy isn’t a feasible option for everyone. And not all retirees can afford to spend six months of the year overseas (wouldn’t that be great?!). Therefore more realistic planning is required to envisage what your retirement is going to look like.

With the average life expectancy creeping up year-on-year, retirement is going to make up over a quarter of the average worker’s lifetimes, so why not plan for it? If you have an idea about what you want to achieve in retirement, plans can be implemented to help you achieve your goals. So, when you do reach the point where you feel it’s time to hang up the boots, you aren’t asking yourself if this is ‘maybe the last time — I don’t know?’.

ROPAN has been proudly supporting Gippslanders in planning for their retirement for over 17 years, helping them reap the benefits of implementing a plan early to achieve the lifestyle that they have worked their entire lives for. It’s never too early or too late to consider planning for your retirement, whether you plan on touring Australia on stage or in a campervan.
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This article has been caringly penned by Scott Henning, a Financial Advisor at ROPAN Financial Services. As generous supporters of Gippslandia since our inception, ROPAN is committed to providing advice that benefits all Gippslanders.