The bulk of working Australians have access to compulsory superannuation funded by their employers, with the option available to them to add their own regular contributions. Unfortunately, it seems we are not as careful with our superannuation as we should be. For example, we lose millions of dollars every year in administration fees through not consolidating our superannuation into one fund when we move from one job to another.
Thousands of people are lax with keeping records, so they lose track of their superannuation over time. The government is constantly calling for people to access the relevant website to find their lost superannuation, an exercise that is relatively easy to do. Most of this irresponsible behaviour is the result of complacency, and in the case of the younger people in the workforce, the belief that retirement is something so far into the future that they can think about it tomorrow.
Don’t Wait – It Is Never Too Late
However, as the older and wiser members of the community can attest, the years speed by and before they know it, twenty or thirty years in the workforce have passed. Now retirement is a real prospect, but many opportunities to maximise the value of their retirement funds have already been lost. This is the perfect time to make contact with an accountant and seek the assistance of a professional financial planner.
The obvious benefit of having a healthy superannuation balance for retirement is the improvement it will bring to the retiree’s lifestyle. A government aged pension is the absolute minimum a person needs to live, but in order to enjoy retirement, travel, socialise and take up hobbies, everyone needs a solid superannuation strategy. This is where the skills of a financial planner are invaluable. The shockwaves from the GFC are still reverberating around the world, and most people now understand that they are personally ill-equipped with the financial knowledge needed to protect their investments from a similar scenario.
Maximise Gains – Minimise Risk
A financial planner will examine all assets held by a client, including any real estate, shares, personal valuables such as art, jewellery, collections, passions like classic cars, patents and copyrights, in fact anything of value that could be used to build wealth. They will talk with the clients to establish their future goals, how they intend to fund those goals and look at their current financial position as a starting point. From there, they will develop a plan using their current assets as a base, to build a portfolio of investments that will secure their financial future well into retirement.
An experienced financial planner will recommend that investments be spread across a range of wealth-building vehicles to minimise risk. Economic hiccups are inevitable as the markets rise and fall, but the risks can be mitigated by adopting a balanced approach to the investment strategy. Superannuation, for example, can be held in cash management funds, shares, property, speculative endeavours and financial institutions, amongst others. The skill of the financial planner is in adopting a spread that will maximise the return to the client at minimum risk.
There is no time like the present to speak with a professional about where your superannuation is, and whether it is working as hard for you as it could. If it is just lazily languishing in a fund with an annual growth that is little more than bank interest, it is time to take charge and shake it up. Click here for more information. With the likelihood of the human life span increasing well past the traditional retirement age, spending all those years without a reasonable income is a real possibility unless action is taken now.
