Creating a retirement financial plan
Creating a retirement financial plan
.png?1779259165)
Start your retirement financial plan early
Don’t wait until you’re getting close to retirement to start your plan. You have a greater chance of a comfortable retirement if you make your plan a priority early in your working life.
A critical part of your retirement plan is superannuation, especially if home ownership is going to be out of reach for you. Being familiar with your super fund and actively managing it is key to your financial future.
Even if you’re further into your working life, there are ways to maximise your super and savings to help you enjoy retired life.
A well-structured retirement financial plan involves:
- assessing your current financial situation
- understanding your future income needs in retirement
- learning how to budget, save and maximise your superannuation
- making informed decisions to help you achieve your retirement goals.
Your retirement plan may change as you get older or as your circumstances change so regularly review your financial plan to stay on track.
How much money do you need in retirement?
This depends on individual circumstances, needs and goals including:
- what age you want to retire
- your retirement lifestyle (e.g. travel, hobbies, living standard etc.)
- fixed and variable living expenses
- whether you’ll own a home or rent
- if others will be financially dependent on you
- healthcare costs
- potential long-term care needs.
How much money do you have now?
Evaluate your current financial standing to understand how much money you currently have and where the gaps in your plan may be.
You should include your:
- superannuation balance
- savings and investments
- all income sources
- current debt levels.
Estimate your potential retirement income
Explore these guides to help you work out how much income you may need in retirement and how much superannuation you may have when you’re ready to retire.
Retirement benchmark
The Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia’s (ASFA) estimates how much money you’ll need in retirement based on your desired retirement lifestyle (assuming you own your own home).
Retirement planner
ASIC’s MoneySmart website provides easy to understand information about super and retirement. Use their planner to help you estimate the income you’re likely to get from your super and age pension when you retire.
Superannuation calculator
MoneySmart also has a useful calculator to estimate how much super you may have when you retire. It helps you understand how things like career breaks, additional contributions and fees affect your super balance.
Work out your retirement goals
Clear goals will guide your budgeting efforts and help you determine the necessary savings and investments to set you up for the future.
As your financial situation and needs change over time, regularly review and adjust your budget to keep your retirement goals on track.
Remember to develop a budget that accounts for both fixed and variable expenses.
Review your current budget
The first step is to create or review a current budget to figure out where your money is going and what you have left to save or add to your superannuation.
Whether you’re saving up for a home loan deposit or wanting to reduce your debts, using a budget planner to create a realistic budget to help you reach your financial goals.
Create your retirement budget
The next step is to work out your retirement budget. Here are a few things to consider for your retirement financial plan.
Identify all potential sources of retirement income, including:
- superannuation
- personal savings and investments
- government pensions (e.g., Age Pension)
- part-time work (if applicable).
Estimate expenses
Estimate all expected retirement expenses, including:
- housing costs
- utilities
- insurance premiums
- healthcare expenses
- leisure activities.
Adjust for inflation
Account for inflation to ensure your savings maintain their value over time.
A general rule of thumb is to assume an average inflation rate of 2 to 3% per year.
Boost your superannuation
- making additional contributions
- reviewing your fund’s performance and fees
- consolidating multiple super accounts.
Other things to consider before retiring
- Pay off or minimise high-interest debts like home loans.
- Build an emergency fund to cover unexpected expenses or large purchases like a new car.
- Ensure you have adequate health insurance or funds to self-insure.
- Consider long-term care costs and how you’ll pay for them in retirement.
- Seek professional advice from a financial adviser or use the free Financial Information Services from Services Australia.
If you would like to arrange an appointment with one of our financial advising team to develop a retirement plan simply phone the office on tel |PHONE| to make a suitable time or alternatively book online using our online booking link here – simply select an adviser who suits your needs and choose a day and a time that works with your schedule.
Source: NAB
Reproduced with permission of National Australia Bank (‘NAB’). This article was originally published at https://www.nab.com.au/personal/life-moments/family/retirement-financial-plan National Australia Bank Limited. ABN 12 004 044 937 AFSL and Australian Credit Licence 230686. The information contained in this article is intended to be of a general nature only. Any advice contained in this article has been prepared without taking into account your objectives, financial situation or needs. Before acting on any advice on this website, NAB recommends that you consider whether it is appropriate for your circumstances. © 2026 National Australia Bank Limited (“”NAB””). All rights reserved.
Important: Any information provided by the author detailed above is separate and external to our business and our Licensee. Neither our business nor our Licensee takes any responsibility for any action or any service provided by the author. Any links have been provided with permission for information purposes only and will take you to external websites, which are not connected to our company in any way. Note: Our company does not endorse and is not responsible for the accuracy of the contents/information contained within the linked site(s) accessible from this page.