Life’s too short for regrets
Your retirement is a phase in your life that has been a long time coming. At Generation Life, we believe that retirement is something that you should look forward to and not be afraid of.
It is an opportunity to enjoy new hobbies, overseas travels, nice restaurants and holidays with grandchildren, not a time to avoid purchases and experiences that would make the early years of your retirement most memorable. After all, life is too short for regrets.
Funding your desired income in retirement
It is important to have access to savings to fund your desired lifestyle in retirement. That’s why it’s a good idea to have a plan that combines more than one retirement income solution. With the assistance of your financial adviser, you can develop a retirement plan that meets your retirement objectives now and into the future, as well as manage some of the risks.
Building your retirement plan
Everyone’s retirement plan will be different, because everyone’s objectives, preferences and circumstances are different. When developing your plan, it is important that you speak to your financial adviser to consider all income sources available and help manage them according to your goals and objectives.
To help you with this conversation, here’s a brief look at the common sources of retirement income available for Australian retirees today:
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Account-based pension - A flexible superannuation income stream offering wide investment choice, lump sum withdrawals and the ability to vary income. With an account based pension you can switch between investment options at any time, make lump sum withdrawals and vary your income at any time. It is important to remember however, that there is no guarantee of income.
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Age Pension - Government social security support, which can include income and other benefits such as, healthcare discounts. If you are eligible to receive social security support such as the Age Pension, the benefits it brings are significant. The amount of Age Pension you receive can change over time with indexation, but can also rise and fall depending on your total assessed level of assets and income. Around two thirds of Australian retirees receive income from the government Age Pension.*
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Non-super assets - Assets accumulated over time including savings, the family home, shares and other investments.
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Lifetime annuity - Lifetime annuities provide an income that is guaranteed for life and has the potential to provide access to some or more of the Age Pension. Lifetime annuities complement account-based pensions as they address longevity risk, whereas account based pensions are not guaranteed. Recently a new type of lifetime annuity has been released into the market - namely an investment-linked lifetime annuity. Generation Life is at the forefront of this innovation, having launched an innovative lifetime annuity called LifeIncome that generates an income for life that can grow over the longer term.
