Stopping work is a big shift – especially when you haven’t planned for it.
Why you might face a sudden retirement:
Only one-third of Australians retire because they’ve reached retirement age. For many, retirement happens earlier than they expect due to events outside their control.
These can include:
Whatever the reason, unexpected retirement can throw your plans off course and leave you dealing with loss of income, purpose, and routine.
Key steps to help manage unexpected retirement Here are five things you can do to help regain control if you face sudden retirement.
If you’ve stopped working unexpectedly, you may not have had the time to assess your finances. But knowing what you have and what you spend can help you take control and avoid bigger problems later. Income and assets might include:
Once you know what’s coming in, you can look at what you’re spending. Start with the regular expenses that you can’t easily avoid.
These might include:
Stopping work can make it harder to keep up repayments on home loans and credit cards.
When it comes to debt, the sooner you act, the more options you have.
First, make a list of who and what you owe, and when it's due. Then, plan payments in order of priority.
Depending on your circumstances and your age, you may be eligible for government support – even if you’ve never applied before.
Read losing your job for information on what help is available and the steps you can take to find support. And visit Services Australia for more information. If you find the online information confusing to understand, Services Australia have Financial Information Services officers to help you.
Recognise that you might need support to take care of your mental health as well – and that it’s okay to ask for help. Talk to friends and family about how you're feeling.
Once you’ve organised your immediate situation, start thinking about what you want the next stage to look like.
That means making some decisions about how you want to live, and how your money will support that.
You might be living on less than you expected or using your super earlier than planned.
Planning now can help you make confident choices about:
Speaking to us to make a retirement plan can help you work through these decisions.
Some decisions are too important to rush.
Before you sell your home, start drawing from super or make major investment changes, get advice.
We can help you understand your options.
General Advice Warning - Any advice included in this article has been prepared without taking into account your objectives, financial situation or needs. Before acting on the advice, you should consider whether it's appropriate to you, in light of your objectives, financial situation or needs.
Contact us to see how we can help develop a wealth creation strategy to suit your goals and plans. If you have any questions or your personal circumstances have changed please do not hesitate to contact your financial adviser.
Source: Reproduced with the permission of ASIC’s MoneySmart Team. This article was originally published at https://moneysmart.gov.au/plan-for-your-retirement/managing-unexpected-retirement Important note: This provides general information and hasn’t taken your circumstances into account. It’s important to consider your particular circumstances before deciding what’s right for you. Although the information is from sources considered reliable, we do not guarantee that it is accurate or complete. You should not rely upon it and should seek qualified advice before making any investment decision. Except where liability under any statute cannot be excluded, we do not accept any liability (whether under contract, tort or otherwise) for any resulting loss or damage of the reader or any other person. Past performance is not a reliable guide to future returns. 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.
