New research from the University of Sydney suggests that how well you retire has far less to do with your savings than most people assume. It has everything to do with what you’re retiring to.
For anyone approaching retirement in Sydney, that finding should change how you think about getting ready. Not just financially, but personally.
Most retirement conversations start with a number. How much do I need? Will I have enough? Can I afford to stop?
Those questions matter. But researchers at the University of Sydney and the University of Queensland have found that retirees who focus only on finances are the ones most likely to struggle.
The research identifies different patterns of retirement adjustment. Some people stay closely connected to their former careers. Others make a clean break and build something new. The ones who tend to do best are those who keep some connection to what they know while actively creating new interests and relationships.
The ones who do worst? Those who disconnect entirely from their old life and from anything new.
If retirement is still a few years away, you have a real advantage. You can start shaping what comes next before you get there.
That means thinking beyond the spreadsheet. What does a good week look like for you when work is no longer in it? Who are you spending time with? What gives you energy?
They’re the questions that determine whether your retirement savings actually deliver the life you want. A well-funded retirement with no structure, connection, or direction is not a successful retirement.
At 5 Financial, this is how we’ve always worked. Before we look at a single number, we ask about your goals.
It shapes everything that follows your investment strategy, drawdown plan, timeline, and risk tolerance.Two people with identical savings can need completely different plans depending on what they want retirement to look like.
Some of our clients want to keep working part-time well into their seventies. Others want a hard stop at sixty and a caravan by sixty-one. Some are already thinking about how to help ageing parents while preparing for their own next chapter. That’s where our aged care financial advice and retirement income planning work together.
Every one of those goals changes the advice.
The research makes one more point worth sitting with. The retirees who struggled most were the ones who never thought about who they’d be without work. They had the savings. They had the super. They just didn’t have a plan for the rest of it.
If you’re approaching retirement and the only planning you’ve done is financial, you’re missing the bigger picture. The money is a tool. What it’s for is the thing that matters.
A few questions worth thinking about now, while you still have time:
— What would you do on aTuesday morning if you didn’t have to be anywhere?
— Which relationships in your life exist because of work, and which will survive without it?
— Is there something you’ve been putting off that retirement could finally make room for?
If those questions feel uncomfortable, that’s a sign they’re worth asking. If you’d like to talk them through alongside the financial side, we’re here. Our team works with pre-retirees, and these are the conversations we have every day.
General Advice Warning: This information is general advice. We have not considered your objectives, personal or financial circumstances. You should consider the appropriateness of the advice for your circumstances before making any decision.
Disclaimer: While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information, it is not guaranteed. It is based on our understanding of regulations and laws as at the publication date. As these are subject to change you should talk to a professional adviser for the most up-to-date information.