‘Cold turkey’ not an ideal approach to retirement

By Grace Ormsby

December 13 2019
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Workers looking at retiring in the next 10 years have been warned they need to start planning for what life will actually look like in the post-work years – not just focus on the financial aspects.

Cold turkey not an ideal approach to retirement

Vincent O’Neill, Stanford Brown’s director of private wealth, has conceded that while having a healthy superannuation balance is important, “it’s not the only consideration for making sure the retirement years are positive and rewarding”.

He said it’s unfortunate that people tend to focus solely on the financial side of their retirement planning and neglect the lifestyle considerations.

“Retirement can mean very different things to different people, and we encourage our clients who are contemplating life after full-time work to spend time envisioning and planning their future years from all perspectives.”

According to the director, going “cold turkey” into retirement “is never a good idea”.

“We often see people struggling with the first few years of retirement because they haven’t spent enough time thinking about what they want their lifestyle to look like, well before they retire,” he conceded.

Mr O’Neill said it’s more important than ever before for people to ask themselves what they are retiring to, not just focus on what they are retiring from.

“When people think about retirement, the focus is on broad themes of ‘travel’, ‘relaxation’, ‘family’, [and] golf,” he commented.

“Whereas little thought may have been given towards what retirement looks like on a daily basis.”

The director said such retirement planning failures “can lead to a lack of direction, a lot of time in front of the TV and, in many cases, periods of disenchantment”.

About the author

Grace Ormsby

Grace is a journalist on Momentum Media's nestegg. She enjoys being able to provide easy to digest information and practical tips for Australians with regard to their wealth, as well as having a platform on which to engage leading experts and commentators and leverage their insight.

About the author

Grace Ormsby

Grace is a journalist on Momentum Media's nestegg. She enjoys being able to provide easy to digest information and practical tips for Australians with regard to their wealth, as well as having a platform on which to engage leading experts and commentators and leverage their insight.

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Retirement