Pre-Retirement Planning
The financial decisions you make in the next few years will define what retirement looks like. Let's get them right.
You've worked hard. Now it's time to plan smart.
The years immediately before retirement are where financial advice delivers its greatest value. Not because the concepts are necessarily complicated, but because the decisions made in this window are largely irreversible. Getting your super investment mix wrong in the final years, missing a contribution opportunity, holding assets in the wrong structure, or misjudging your Centrelink position can cost tens of thousands of dollars and meaningfully change what retirement looks and feels like.
We've guided hundreds of Sutherland Shire families through this transition over more than 25 years. We know this territory well, and we know where the common mistakes are. Our job is to make sure you don't make them.
As an investment management firm, we don't just advise. We actively manage the portfolios that fund your retirement. The transition from accumulation to income is one of the most technically complex periods in a person's financial life, and it requires active attention to both strategy and execution. That's what we provide.
From building wealth to preparing for income
In your working years, your investment portfolio is focused on growth, with the aim of accumulating as much as possible over as long a time horizon as possible. As you approach retirement, the strategy needs to evolve. The portfolio starts to shift from maximum growth toward a balance of growth and capital preservation, positioned to generate the income you'll need without taking on more risk than your situation warrants.
This transition is not automatic, and it's not something that should be left to chance or to a super fund's default settings. We manage this repositioning deliberately, taking into account your expected retirement date, your income requirements, your other assets, and the current investment environment.
Our fee remains a percentage of the portfolio we manage for you throughout this transition and into retirement. We have a genuine interest in getting this right.
How we help in the years before retirement
-
Super contribution strategies
These are often the most financially significant years for super contributions. Salary sacrifice, catch-up contributions for those who have had career breaks, non-concessional contributions, and spouse contributions. We identify every strategy available and model the after-tax impact of each.
-
Investment portfolio repositioning
We review your current investment mix and manage the transition toward a portfolio structure appropriate for someone approaching retirement, reducing volatility where appropriate without sacrificing the returns needed to fund the lifestyle you're planning for.
-
Transition to Retirement (TTR) strategies
If you're aged 60 or over and still working, a Transition to Retirement income stream may allow you to supplement your income from super while continuing to build your balance. We assess whether a TTR strategy makes sense for your specific situation and manage the implementation if it does.
-
Centrelink and Age Pension planning
The Age Pension means test looks at both your assets and your income. Structuring your assets correctly in the years before retirement can significantly affect your entitlement. We model your projected Centrelink position and advise on how to structure your affairs to maximise what you receive.
-
Debt elimination strategies
Entering retirement with debt, and mortgage debt in particular, creates ongoing pressure on your retirement income. We build a clear plan for clearing remaining debt before you stop working, and integrate it with your super and investment strategy.
-
Insurance review
Your insurance needs change significantly as you approach retirement. Income protection, for instance, becomes less relevant once your mortgage is cleared and your super is substantial. We review every cover you hold, identify what's still needed, and what can be allowed to lapse, reducing premiums without leaving you exposed.
-
Retirement income projections
We show you in clear, dollar terms what retirement can look like at different ages and income levels, based on your actual numbers. This is not a generic calculator result. It is a detailed projection built from your specific portfolio, contributions, and expected expenses.
-
Estate and beneficiary review
As assets grow and circumstances change, it's important that your super beneficiary nominations and investment account structures are current and set up to pass assets to the right people in the most efficient way. We review this as part of every pre-retirement engagement.
When is the right time to start?
The honest answer is earlier than most people think. Many clients come to us three to five years before their intended retirement date, which is ideal. But we regularly work with clients who come to us twelve to eighteen months out, and there is still much that can be done. What we would caution against is leaving it until six months before retirement, because at that point the options narrow considerably.
If you're within ten years of retirement and haven't yet had a detailed pre-retirement review, now is the time.
Ready to talk? Your first meeting is on us
We’ve been helping individuals, families and business owners make confident financial decisions for over 25 years.
Let’s start your conversation.