Do I have Enough Super to Retire: Considerations Before Leaving Your Job

Published on: 06 December 2018 Last Updated on: 22 February 2020
Retire

As you get older, you start thinking about retirement and if you have enough money to live comfortably afterward. In some cases, people don’t even usually get to decide their retirement age due to health reasons.

Retirement planning is an important process, and part of it is asking questions like “How much super do I need to retire?” or “Is my current lifestyle something I can afford?”. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics or ABS, the average retirement age is at 65.5 years for men and 65.4 for women.

If you’re someone who’s nearing this age, then you should think about these considerations before you retire or leave your job.

How is your account doing?

account

Some of the biggest mistakes that people make is not knowing what their superannuation account is worth or where they’re money is invested. This reason is that a lot of people don’t really understand what it is and the advantages of having one.

At the end of the day, it’s money that you’ve earned, and you’ve set aside for retirement. Make sure to check how much you already have in your account so you can plan your retirement correctly. According to experts, you need to have at least $545,000 in your account if you’re single and $640,000 if you’re married to be able to have a comfortable retirement. This amount already covers health insurance coverage, home renovations, activities, and food.

How much money do you need?

money do you need

You also have to take note that the amount you need will still depend mainly on how your lifestyle will be. Take this example below to find out how much you need to earn to have a modest or comfortable retirement:

  • Modest lifestyle
  • $27,430 for a single person
  • $39,445 for couples
  • Comfortable lifestyle
  • $42,955 for a single person
  • $60,604 for couples

A modest retirement would mean that you still get to enjoy activities like eating out once in a while and go on short trips within the country.

A comfortable lifestyle, on the other hand, will mean that you can go to a lot of recreational activities, get good private health insurance, buy a reasonable car and travel. Taking into account what your lifestyle is will have a great impact on how much money you need to be pouring into your super account.

Where do you wish to live during retirement?

After retiring, the house you’ve lived in for many years may seem dull and boring. Consider where you want to live as this will have an impact on your overall life satisfaction.

An option that’s popular for retirees is downsizing and selling off some of their assets. The reason behind this is because they want simpler things in life. They don’t have kids living with them anymore, and house maintenance cost can be expensive and impossible to do down the line. Additionally, downsizing can actually help you increase your superannuation account.

For example, Australians age 65 and over can make a non-concessional contribution to their superfund account for up to $300,000 from the sale of their primary home. This does not take into consideration of your work status, account balance, and history of contribution. Moreover, for couples, this amount can double up to $600,000.

Downsizing has some significant advantages such as:

  • Ability to stay closer to family and friends
  • Ability to purchase better health insurance coverage
  • Tax benefits
  • Affordable cost of living depending on your location
  • Ability to put money in other investment opportunities

Are you debt free?

Debt is something that can eat up a lot of your retirement income when not handled properly. Most experts advise that you carry no obligation when you retire or at least 90% as close to debt-free.

Ensure that you’ve already paid off your mortgage, credit cards, and other types of loans that you may have. If you’re planning to retire but still have a lot of payments needed for your mortgage, you may want to reconsider it or making additional payments into it. A debt after your retire can derail your plans of having a comfortable retirement.

Conclusion:

Taking time to ask yourself these considerations will help you get the life you want after retiring. Additionally, it helps to paint a bigger picture of how your life will be moving forward. Being mentally and financially prepared is what is going to help you achieve the life you have always dreamed of.

Read Also:

Content Rally wrapped around an online publication where you can publish your own intellectuals. It is a publishing platform designed to make great stories by content creators. This is your era, your place to be online. So come forward share your views, thoughts and ideas via Content Rally.

View all posts

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related

Core Banking Solutions

Core Banking Solutions: A Game Changer?

The sense of competition in the banking industry has been growing pretty eminently since the previous decade. Hence, if you can’t keep up with the core aspect of digitization, it won’t be possible for you to ace the industry. But, how do you do it? Well, in this case, opting for core banking software can be quite a choice for you. For example, it can make all the proceedings much easier and simpler than before. Besides, a business can also get a bit more agile than it was before. And, if you want, you can also automate all the “boring” tasks and focus on the “real” stuff. Sounds pretty amazing, right? We know, it does. However, before we implement the same in your business, you should learn a little about it first. What Is A Core Banking Solution? Core banking, in essence, is a back-end system, which processes various banking transactions through different branches of a bank. The system essentially comes with - Loan,Credit processing, andDeposit. Apart from these, it can also offer servicing loans and help you create floating accounts for a user. In some cases, you can also use the same to perform customer relationship management activities, process withdrawals and deposits, and much more. A core banking system generally aims at empowering an existing consumer to have a greater sense of freedom. And, it does so by making the transaction process much easier and simpler than before. And, each and everything under the same can be automated accordingly. Types Of Core Banking Solutions The category of core banking software can be segmented into two different divisions. Each of them comes with a unique feature or two of its own. So, it’s best to learn more about them. 1. On-Premise Solution. This type of software usually focuses on a locally-hosted structure. It, in turn, helps it to offer more than one specific customization to the bank administration. 2. Cloud-Based Core Banking Software. Unlike the former, this software program is hosted in the cloud. Hence, the cloud vendor can provide the application as a CaaS (Cloud as a Service) on a subscription-based method. The Advantages Of A Core Banking Solution If you can understand the core essence of the titular system, it can improve your efficiency to a massive extent. Keep reading to know more about this aspect. Advantage - 1: Better Security. A core banking software module generally uses an advanced encryption system to protect the infrastructure from malware. In addition to these, it can also help you create an excellent data security environment by offering two-factor authentication and bio-verification systems. Advantage - 2: Higher Productivity Level. The core banking platforms can effectively increase the operational efficacy of a company by increasing the connective efficiency between branches. As a result, a bank can process every possible transaction much faster than before regardless of the consumer’s location. Advantage - 3: Decreased Operational Cost. In a core banking solution, you can operate almost everything automatically. Hence, there’s no need to hire new people to do the same boring tasks again and again. Additionally, the AI-powered structure can also boost the completion rate of an operation and decrease the risk of errors to some extent. Advantage - 4: Availability Of More Than One Currency. The transactional flexibility of a core banking solution tends to be pretty amazing as well. In this case, you won’t have to worry about getting errors while trading multiple currencies. And there’s no need to pay a huge amount price while you’re at it. So, Should You Choose The Solution?  Now, here’s the moment of truth. In our opinion, using a core banking solution can certainly be ideal for your organization. It’ll make your corporation much more agile than it was before. Besides, you'll get to boost your overall efficiency with it as well. However, there are a few things that you need to keep in mind before integrating the same into your business. For example, a failure in your core banking system can sometimes affect your organization and its branches as a whole. Also, due to the complexity of the infrastructure, it’s quite prone to system failure too. And, it will take quite a lot of money to take care of the situation too. So, it’s best to learn about everything before choosing the solution and using it for your purpose. Additionals: Top Ten Solutions Offered At Ocbc SecuritiesMargin Trading Tips & Strategies For BeginnersWhat To Know About The Royal Bank Of Scotland?How To Make Your Online Business More Humble By Managing Your Reputation

READ MOREDetails
Investment in Gold

What Investors Should Know about Investment in Gold and Silver Assets

The stock market is one of the investment platforms that readily come to mind when (especially) new investors think about investing. The truth is that this investment platform promises a lot. This is the reason many people take this investment route. Be that as it may, you need to know that this investment platform has its few downsides. However, they are few enough to have caused many people financial wrecks in the past. The point is not to discourage you from investing in the stock market. Trading commodities can be a great decision if you are looking to diversify your portfolio. Historically, precious metals like gold and silver have been tried-and-tested safe investment options as far as traders are concerned. You can get in touch with a leading gold trading broker to evaluate your options and then proceed accordingly by trading these commodities. However, it is about opening your eyes to some of its dark sides and making sure you see the need to diversify your investments. This way you can make the most of many investment platforms or make sure you are not completely at a loss if the stock market has problems. For those that need to better understand the possibility of the stock market crashing, you can visit: https://en.wikipedia.org/ You would discover that regardless of where they are situated, no stock market is completely immune from a crash. Investors in places like the United States, the United Kingdom, China, Brazil, EU Nations, Dubai, Japan, South Korea, and many other places have had this experience. It is for this reason we all need to equally consider investing in other profitable assets as well. On this note, this article will shed some light on gold and silver investment. The ways this can play out and a few other things will be explained here. The information here is very important and so you are advised to keep reading. You should also pay rapt attention as you do so. Gold or Silver – Which Should You Invest in? For the record, both precious metals are not the only options that can be considered by those hoping to make the most of the precious metal market. However, both are unarguably the most common options for precious metal investors. Other than this, some of the details discussed concerning both precious metal assets are equally applicable to others. Having established this, the million-dollar question on many people’s minds is “should I invest in gold or silver?” There are many things you need to consider to make the proper decision in this regard. One of them is something known as the gold-silver ratio. This is about using the value difference between both precious metal assets to make informed decisions as an investor. Fortunately, there is always a clear figure of this ratio to help people make the right choice. You need to make your decisions based on this ratio amongst other things. This is so that: You choose precious metals based on their prospects You get your assets at a market valuation that is fair Your assets will not be undervalued when it is time to liquidate the assets These are some of the basic reasons you should take this ratio seriously as there are a few other reasons. Against this backdrop, you should also make sure you are working with real-time information. This is to be certain that your investment decisions are well informed. If you would like to know more about the gold-silver ratio (especially how it is calculated), you can read this article. Investing in Gold and Silver Some similarities come with investment in gold and/or silver. One of them is that they share the same investment methods for the most part. So, this is valuable information for those planning to invest in silver, gold, both precious metals, and even a few other precious metals. Having established this, some of the methods that can be considered include: 1. Bullion Purchase There are a few precious metal forms that would pass as bullion. However, the underlying factor here is that the precious metals are gotten, sold, and valued based on their weight. This is unlike what is obtainable with collectibles and special precious metal coins. Speaking of bullion, they would either be offered as bullion coins or bars. The latter usually weighs one ounce and its valuation is based on this. On the other hand, the former weighs a lot more. This is no less than 400 ounces. To invest in gold and silver using this method, you have to work with a precious metal exchange company. Many service providers are in this business. Some of the very common ones include Money Metals, JM Bullion, Vaulted, and a host of others. It is very important that your chosen precious metal exchange company ticks all the right boxes. This is in terms of credibility, impressive track record, and a long list of other important things. You are advised to get a full review from a credible review platform(s) to make the right choice. 2. Gold IRA The Internal Revenue Service is heavily involved in formulating tax laws and seeing to it that they are implemented in this country. This is especially at the federal level. You should also know that this body is also actively involved in regulating the IRA scheme. The IRA scheme offers a lot of tax benefits to account holders and the good news is that there is an IRA plan that allows people to invest in precious metals. The truth is that there are only 4 precious metal assets that the system allows account holders to invest in. These are gold, silver, platinum, and palladium. You are advised to understand the rules set by the IRS as regards investing in precious metal assets. These are especially rules that center on withdrawal of precious metal assets, storage, eligible forms of precious metals, approved purchase techniques, and so on. 3. ETFs This is an investment option that is quite popular. This is especially as it concerns investment in the stock market. The good news is that the Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) system is not restricted to the stock market. You can also make the most of the precious metal market using this system. Other than the bullion purchase method discussed above, this one would not require handling the assets physically. Frankly, this is one of the advantages of this silver and gold investment method. For more on this subject, you can visit: https://www.businesstoday.in/commodities/story Conclusion We have discussed a few things you need to know as someone hoping or planning to invest in silver or gold. You should also know that some of the information here will help you invest in other precious metal assets properly. So, you are advised to make the most of these details going forward. Read Also: 5 Reasons Why Bitcoins Are Considered Reliable Investments 5 New Assets To Diversify Your Investments In 2021 Top 5 Investment Decisions You Need To Make In Your Thirties

READ MOREDetails
Construction Loans

How Do Construction Loans Work?

It can be difficult to find your dream home, even when the downturn in house prices is the largest on record. If you’re considering finance for your home build then you need to understand how construction loans work. The simple reason is that houses are still incredibly expensive, and, even if you have the funds to buy, you’re getting someone else’s idea of a dream home. It doesn’t matter how much you spend, you’re going to need to modify it to suit your own tastes. That’s why so many people are building their own homes. It’s actually cheaper than buying and you get to design the layout yourself. Of course, you still need enough funds to complete the build, that’s where a corporate finance specialist comes in handy! The Lending Criteria for construction loans: The first thing to understand is that the loan company does not have a physical asset to secure the loan against. This makes this type of lending riskier. As such, the criteria tend to be tighter, you’ll need a good credit history, and the percentage they will lend you is going to be less than with a pre-built home. It’s likely that they will expect you to put 20-30% of the funds upfront yourself.  This shows your commitment and reduces your risk. The Lending Stages: Once you’ve agreed on the number of funds that you’ll need the loan company will not just give them o you. Instead, there are released in three distinct phases: 1. Foundation: The first step is to purchase the land, clear it and build the foundations. Along the way, you’ll need to get planning permission and the designs approved. This is the stage where little appears to happen but it creates the base for everything else. Once the finance company is happy this is completed they’ll release the second installment: 2. Construction: The main construction phase involves getting the walls and roof up. In short, your building project will start to look like a home. This will be a frame. You’ll need to verify with the lending company exactly what is included in this stage, they may want to see doors, windows, and internal wall ups. 3. Finishing: Finally, the third stage of funds will be released and this will cover the most labor-intensive stage, where the electrics are fitted, plumbing completed, and the interior finishing is done. This doesn’t mean your home is ready to move in, this will depend on the contract you’ve agreed with the builders. It’s possible you’ll still have to finish the decorating. Construction loans can be used if you’re undertaking the building work yourself, or if you’re using a company. But, you’ll need to have each stage checked and signed off before the next lot of funds are released, it reduces the risk to the lender. Once the house is completed the lender will expect the loan to be repaid very quickly. At this stage, you can obtain a standard mortgage for your home. Read Also: 5 Tips For Buying A Second Household How Industry-Specific Loans Can Support Your Business 7 Expert Tips In Finding The Best Mortgage Broker In Vancouver

READ MOREDetails