Financial Advice - It's Not Just for the Young
Financial advice — it's not just for the young
A client came to me not long ago — let's call her Sandra — with a familiar story. She was a year or two from retirement, her home was paid off, her children were independent, and her Will was in order. She'd done everything right, or so she thought. But when we sat down together, it became clear she had almost no visibility over what her financial life would actually look like once she stopped working. She hadn't thought much about her superannuation, wasn't sure how the Age Pension worked, and hadn't considered what would happen to her estate beyond the Will she'd had drafted years earlier.
Sandra isn't unusual. In fact, her situation is one I encounter regularly.
There's a common misconception that by the time retirement arrives, the significant financial decisions have already been made. In reality, the transition into retirement is one of the most consequential financial periods of a person's life. Unlike earlier stages where there's time to recover from mistakes, errors made at this point can have a lasting impact on your standard of living for decades.
Here's what often surprises people approaching retirement.
"I've left it too late to make a meaningful difference."
A surprisingly common belief is that arriving at retirement without a strategy means the opportunity has passed. In reality, the years immediately before and after retirement are often where the most impactful decisions are made. Contribution strategies, asset structuring, and pension commencement timing can all materially affect outcomes even with a short runway.
"The Age Pension is something other people get."
Many self-funded retirees assume they won't qualify for any Age Pension entitlement and don't factor it into their planning. The means test is more nuanced than people expect. Partial pension entitlements, concession cards, and associated benefits are often within reach and worth structuring around.
"I should be investing conservatively now that I'm retiring."
The instinct to protect what you've accumulated is understandable, but a retirement that could span twenty to thirty years still requires your money to grow. Shifting entirely to conservative investments at retirement can introduce a different kind of risk: the risk of outliving your savings. The right investment approach in retirement depends on your drawdown needs, your timeline, and your overall asset position, not on a default assumption that caution equals safety.
"Retirement is when financial complexity goes down."
A natural assumption is that once you're no longer earning, things should be simpler. In practice, retirement introduces a new layer of complexity: coordinating drawdowns, managing sequencing risk, navigating Centrelink rules, reviewing estate structures, and adapting to legislative changes. Many retirees find they need more active advice in retirement than they did during their working lives.
Estate planning is another area where people are often further behind than they realise. Having a Will is a starting point, not an endpoint. A thorough estate plan also addresses:
Powers of attorney
Superannuation benefit nominations
Asset protection strategies
How wealth passes between generations, and the tax and legal implications of each pathway
What good financial advice provides at this stage isn't just a strategy document. It's the confidence that comes from understanding your position clearly, and having a plan that's reviewed regularly as your circumstances, markets, and legislation evolve.