Ask yourself, “What is our plan to give ourselves a comfortable retirement?”.  If your answer is, “we don’t have one” you might be in for a nasty surprise if recent talk from the Government is any indication.  There appears to be only one certainty, that change is coming.  This is quite a strong statement and yet to be proven, I would suggest something more along the lines of ‘and the impact could mean changes for the  majority of working Australians.’

The most common “rumour” is increasing the retirement age from 67 (as it will be in 2023) to 70.  Other rumours that regularly appear in the news include increasing the age to access superannuation and the abolishment of negative gearing.

Again, ask yourself  “Are we prepared to work that long”, “Will I be able to get work until I’m 70” and “Will I be physically able to work until I’m 70, particularly if I’m a manual worker”

A sound financial plan will look at all variables and plan for some of the “what if” scenarios.  I encourage all my clients to take the matter into their own hands, and Future-Proof their own retirement.  Be comfortable with the knowledge that when legislation changes, our long-term goals and dreams won’t be affected.

Whatever the future holds, a couple of simple principles will always apply:

• The earlier you begin preparing the better.  Even contributing a little extra to Superannuation each week, from a young age can have significant impact at retirement.
• Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.  Have options.  Take the extreme example that Superannuation is not-accessible until age 70.  It pays to hold some investments in outside of super.  You may not have the same tax concessions that Super enjoys, however, you will have full control as to when you access them.