Superannuation for Women Over 40 + 50: How to Boost Your Retirement Savings

If you're a woman in your 50s and you've ever looked at your super and thought, “Is this actually enough?”, this episode is for you

Your 50s can be a bit of a financial wake-up call. Retirement suddenly feels closer, while you might still be supporting grown-up kids, helping ageing parents, paying off the mortgage or recovering from years out of the workforce.

But being behind on super doesn't mean you've missed your chance.

Molly chats with Ruth from Australian Retirement Trust about superannuation for women over 50, including how to catch up, make the most of your remaining working years and feel more confident about retirement.

In this episode, we cover:

💰 How much super you might need for a comfortable retirement
📈 What to do if you're behind on your super at 50
💸 Catch-up contributions and how they work
💰 Salary sacrifice and why small contributions can add up
👩‍👧 How career breaks and raising children can affect women's super
💔 What happens to super during separation or divorce
🏠 How downsizing and inheritances can potentially boost your super
📊 Why your investment timeframe doesn't necessarily end when you retire
🔄 Transition to Retirement and accessing some of your super while still working
🧠 How to stop panicking about your super and start taking action

The biggest message?

It's not too late.

If you've been avoiding your super because you're worried about what you'll find, this conversation is a great place to start.

This episode is part of our five-part Get Rich series on superannuation, proudly brought to you by Australian Retirement Trust.

This episode contains general information only and doesn't take into account your personal circumstances. Consider seeking professional financial advice before making decisions about your superannuation.

The opinions and comments shared by people in this podcast are theirs alone. The information was accurate at the time of recording. This is general information only and is not based on your personal objectives, financial situation or needs. You should consider these factors and read the relevant Product Disclosure Statement and Target Market Determination before making any decision about any financial product. If you’re still unsure, speak with a financial adviser.

CHAPTERS

00:00 - Introduction: Making Aussie Women Super at Super (Women in Their 50s)
00:55 - Behind vs. Real Trouble: The "Light Bulb Moment" at 50 for Your Superannuation
02:18 - How Much Is "Enough"? Understanding the Role Super Plays in Your Retirement
03:17 - What Is a Comfortable Retirement in Australia? The ASFA Retirement Standard Explained
04:10 - Age Pension Explained: Your Safety Net if You Have Little Super
06:23 - How Much Super Should You Have at 50? The $300K Milestone and the Power of Compounding
07:39 - Starting From Scratch in Your 50s: The First Steps to Boost Your Super
08:22 - Divorce, Separation and Super: What Women Over 50 Need to Know
10:28 - Catch-Up Contributions: How to Use Your Unused Super Cap and Save Tax
13:35 - Downsizer Contributions and Inheritances: More Ways to Boost Your Super
14:56 - Super Investment Options at 50: Why Your Investment Timeframe Is 40 Years, Not 10
16:50 - Transition to Retirement Explained: Accessing Your Super From Age 60
18:45 - The Sandwich Generation: Balancing Kids, Ageing Parents and Your Own Retirement
20:18 - Small Super Habits That Add Up: Salary Sacrifice, Co-Contributions and Starting Small
22:28 - Why Most People Retire Twice: How Retirement Is Changing in Australia
23:26 - It's Never Too Late: Final Thoughts on Feeling Empowered About Your Super

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TAKEAWAYS

SOUND BITES

 "Don't panic, ladies. Don't panic. It's gonna be okay."
"If you're 50, and you're gonna live till you're 90, your investment timeframe's actually 40 years."
"We do need to be a bit more selfish when we're in our 50s... please prioritise yourself. It's time to look after yourself."
"The biggest regrets are just the little things... The key here was to start today and to start small."
"It's never too late. If you're in your 50s and you've got 10, 15 more years, that is more than enough time to completely shift the dial on what your retirement might look like."

TRANSCRIPT

[00:00:00] Welcome to our special five-part Get Rich series on superannuation, where we are helping Aussie women get super at super. This series is proudly brought to you by the Australian Retirement Trust, trusted by over 2.4 million members. So over the next five episodes, we are making sense of super, so let's get into this week's episode.

[00:00:19] And just a quick note, everything we cover is general information only and does not take into account your personal situation, so consider seeking professional advice before making any big finance or fashion decisions.

[00:00:36] Okay, welcome back to another episode, and this one is about women in their 50s and super. So if you're a woman in your 50s, or maybe you're coming into your 50s, this one will be a great one, 'cause we're all about helping make Aussie women super at super. So Ruth, there's a particular woman listening to this show.

[00:00:55] She's spent years raising kids, maybe she took time off work, um, and she's suddenly realizing, gosh, retirement's not that far away. I guess, what's the first thing she needs to hear, and what is the difference, I guess, when you look at your super fund and being behind versus being in real trouble? Yeah, 50 is a light bulb moment, Molly.

[00:01:15] We see a lot of members a- and a lot of people I talk to really have that moment when they hit 50 that, uh-oh, I've gotta look at this. But there's also sometimes… There's two emotions. There's often fear, oh my goodness, I'm behind, but then there's a level of excitement as well. It's like, this money that I've been building up for 30 years is gonna soon be money I can start to spend.

[00:01:38] So there's two types of emotions, and I think a lot of it comes down to how aware you are around what you have to have or what you should have to do what you want, and also how likely it is that you have a plan. People who have some kind of plan and goals in place are usually a lot less worried, and the plan doesn't have to be to have lots of money.

[00:01:59] It is about being in control of what you do have. If you're in your 50s and you've looked at your superannuation and you think, "Oh my goodness, I am so far behind and I'm so stressed," you've still got plenty of time to do some things to improve your situation. So it's not all doom and gloom. And I guess when you actually picture retirement, what does having enough money look like?

[00:02:18] Because I guess I hear from a lot of women, they're like, "I just wanna have enough." Yeah. What's enough? Well, what is enough? I mean, it- a lot of it will come down to, what do you need the super to do? Yeah. Right? So superannuation for most of us will be a really important source of income.

[00:02:37] Yeah. But it's not the only source for a lot of people as well. Remember there's a safety net, so there is an age pension out there, and many people will qualify for all of that, and if you don't qualify for all of it, you might qualify for some of it. So the super just needs to be a top-up to what you might get from the age pension. But you might have assets outside of that as well, maybe an investment property.

[00:02:57] So it comes down to understanding, number one, what's the role my super needs to play? Does it have to do a lot of the heavy lifting, or are there other things that are going to do a lot of that? Let's just say, though, that you are somebody who doesn't have other assets, and your super is going to be a very active, um, source of income for you in retirement.

[00:03:17] A lot of people want to know, what do people now have? What is comfortable? And we talked about this in a previous episode around the ASFA retirement standards, and ASFA is the Association of Super Funds in Australia. They basically interview current retirees, people who are retired now, and say, "What's comfortable? How much do you think someone should have to be comfortable during retirement?" So if you're single and you're thinking, "Well, what do current single retire- retirees say is comfortable?" They generally say that you should be aiming for an income somewhere between 50 and 55,000 a year.

[00:03:51] So that's kinda giving you a ballpark. And then you say, "Okay, well, where's that gonna come from?" Will I get some of the age pension? They might do a lot of the heavy lifting, in which case I only need the rest to come from super. So it's about, this is why having a plan and a bit of an understanding can take away some of the worry, 'cause maybe you're worried about something that you don't have to worry about.

[00:04:10] And what is the age pension at the m- Yeah … obviously it changes every year, but what is it currently? Yeah, so for, for the age pension, first of all, it doesn't kick in till you're 67. Okay. So you have to have- Ah, okay, yeah … that in mind. And if you wanna retire before that, and you can- Yeah … then you're gonna have to have that little bit more, aren't you? Because you're gonna be spending it earlier. But if you're, uh, getting the full age pension, and say you're a single person, that's getting close to about 33,000- Okay … for a single person.

[00:04:36] Mm. And as a couple, it's about 47,000. So I would want someone in their 50s to think, "Well, that's my worst-case scenario, right? Even if I haven't got a dime of superannuation, I know that that's something that I can fall back on." And then super does the rest. Whatever above that you can generate can come from super.

[00:04:55] And that is, with that 55 amount, that's you own your own home or you're renting? That's generally assumed that you own your own home. It's a bit more if you think you're going to rent, but you want to maintain the lifestyle, of course. And it's different for everyone. It depends on a lot of things, you know, but generally, um, about 53 to 55 is where a lot of current single people say is a kinda comfortable.

[00:05:18] Um, and comfortable is not luxurious either- No by the way. Yeah. You know? Comfortable is can I have private health, can I keep a good car on the road, can I go for a nice meal for my friends' birthdays? It's not luxurious as in, you know, traveling around the world. Overseas holidays. Yeah. Yeah. It does allow, it does kind of factor in that you could potentially have the odd overseas holiday- Yeah but it's not luxury.

[00:05:37] 'Cause I think it actually breaks down- It does … what to consider. So what we'll do is in the show notes we'll pop a link in where people can actually go, "Okay, this is what they're saying." This is what a… Yeah. Comfortable is, because comfortable might be quite different to our definition of comfortable. Absolutely. I think it probably will be. Yeah, absolutely. I look at it and I think, when I look at, you know, I'm in a household, I've got three teenage kids, I've got school fees, I've got mortgage, I've got insurance costs, and when I think about getting to retirement, a lot of those costs are gone.

[00:06:03] And then I look at what's left over and I think, "I would be very comfortable on that." Yeah. I don't think I have that now- Yeah … as a disposable income after all those expenses are met. So it's different for everyone. Yeah. And what's the minimum amount a woman should have in her account by 50? Well, if you said, "I like the idea of aiming for that- Yes … comfortable one," right?

[00:06:23] Yeah. And like let's say they're- Yeah aiming for that. Let's say that's what you're aiming for, whether you get there or not, but let's just say I put that aim in. Well, to have, to, to, to achieve that right throughout retirement up until your 90s, you're probably gonna need about 600,000 or more in your balance. Mm. Now, don't get scared if you think, "Oh my God- Ah I'm never gonna get there." Yeah.

[00:06:41] If that's what you're aiming for, then at the age of 50, you probably want to have somewhere near the $300,000 balance. Okay. Right? Or roughly. Okay. That's based on the- Yes … ATFA numbers. Uh, um, or you know, the numbers based on age. Um, the bigger the balance, then the faster it grows, right? So you might say, "Well, it's taken me, if I'm 50, it's taken me 30 years or 35 years to get to a balance of 300,000. How will I get to 600,000 in the next 15?" Well, the bigger your balance- Mm … the faster it grows.

[00:07:12] Compounds. Yeah. Mm-hmm. Because of compounding. So yeah, the first 10 years or the first 20 years in super, it is kind of slow, and then the momentum picks up. So when you're in your late 50s and 60s, if you do have a couple of hundred thousand, the, the speed of growth- Mm … really starts to increase. So for a woman in her 50s who's genuinely starting from scratch, like they opened up their super fund and they don't have a whole lot in there- Yeah … like, what are the first three things they should do?

[00:07:39] Number one is don't panic. Okay. Don't panic, ladies. Don't panic. It's gonna be okay. It's gonna be okay. Uh, look, you may not be able to have the lifestyle you, you imagined in your head, right? But chances are, if you're someone that has very little super, you, there is a reality that you're aware of as well, you know, right? So you know you've got your age pension as a benchmark, and everything you can have is going to be above and beyond the age pension rates.

[00:08:03] So that's good. First thing you need to do is think, "Well, can I actually make some contributions here and do a bit of catch-up? Can I… Is there things I can do now to really improve my situation?" If you're 50 and you're planning on working till you're 65- Mm … that's 15 years, right? And that's 15 years of getting money in and compounding returns on that.

[00:08:22] You can do an awful lot with your super between 50 and 65. Don't underestimate the power of that. And are you seeing, um, divorce and separation have an impact on a lot of women? 'Cause we know that the average age in Australia that women are separating is in their early 40s, around 44. So by the time they get to 50, are you seeing that have an impact?

[00:08:42] I'll tell you where you see the financial impact of it, more so than superannuation per se, is housing, is somewhere to live. And you often find that, you know, women are, women in their 50s are the most vulnerable people to face homelessness. Uh, and that can often be a result of a separation, particularly if you're somebody that had kids and you stayed at home to look after the kids.

[00:09:04] You sacrificed a career, you sacrificed the income potential. And remember, if you're at home looking after kids or looking after elderly parents and you're not earning an income, there's two, there's two impacts here. Number one, you don't have the income today, but number two, you also don't have it tomorrow because if you're not working, you're also not getting super contributions.

[00:09:23] So I would say divorce and separation, um, it's not so much the direct impact it has on your super balance, it's more around the security that you had through, generally, it's housing, Molly. That's where a lot of the vulnerability comes in. Gosh, it's unfair. It is unfair. Mm. It is very difficult. Remember, though, if there is separation and there's splitting of assets and things like that, superannuation is an asset that can be split through divorce proceedings.

[00:09:47] It's often an area women forget, and I shouldn't say women. You know, sometimes, you know, you're kind of a situation where maybe it's the female who's working and the, the male's at home, maybe the dad's at home looking after kids. But super is an asset, and it's an asset that can go through the divorce proceedings, and you can, you know, you can not go down the, the, the formal route or you can just come up with an amicall- amicable settlement yourself.

[00:10:10] But don't forget about it as an asset. But, yeah, it's definitely not one to be forgotten, because- No, because it can be a lot of money. Yeah. And I also think, like, ladies, you're entitled to that as well. You've taken step backs in your careers, your earning potential- Yeah … to look and raise a family. So somebody else could make contributions. Yeah. And someone else could have that career- Yeah … and earn that money.

[00:10:28] Yeah. Definitely make sure you're getting good advice from a family lawyer and you're getting, um, your fair share. 100%. Now, we've spoken about it in a previous salary sacrificing episode, but let's talk about catch-up contributions. Can you just explain the concept and why it's such a significant tool for women who've maybe had those career interruptions or have taken that time off to look after family?

[00:10:50] Catch-up contributions are designed, I think- particularly with women coming into their 50s in mind, right? So you think about what is a catch-up contribution. At the moment, there is a limit every year on how much money can go into superannuation through the 15% tax bracket.

[00:11:10] It includes what your employer puts in for you, which is 12% of your income, and then you can contribute to super, often through salary sacrifice, up to the limits, which today is 30,000, will be 32 and a half thousand. Now, you're in your 50s. The kids are teenagers or maybe through uni or, or starting to move out Often in your 50s, you actually are at your peak earning as well.

[00:11:34] So if you've come through your career, you're often at that point where you're earning the most. The mortgage is often starting to get under control if you have one, so it's not as high as it was, and there's an extra disposable income sometimes, and you think, "Well, now I'm gonna start really pumping money into superannuation," and then you see the limits and you think, "Oh, no," you know, "it's, it's kind of restricting me."

[00:11:52] That's what the catch-up contributions are for. So what happens is, even though we all start the financial year with the limit, which is 30 or 32,000, 32 and a half thousand, you actually are looking back in f- previous financial years as well, and if you never reached that amount in the previous four financial years, you haven't lost out on the ability to use it.

[00:12:15] It actually brings it with you. So it's always the financial year you're in and then the four previous financial years. And let's say the financial year before, you only used 10,000 out of the $30,000 limit. When you hop into the next financial year, you get your $30,000 limit, plus the 20,000 you didn't use last year, and it comes in.

[00:12:37] So you could be working with 50,000 this year, and that actually goes back four financial years. And what happens is it's added up for you. The best place to find out your number is myGov, in the super section of myGov, and you'll see that number. The idea is to give people an opportunity to really address maybe the shortfall they- Mm notice when they're 50.

[00:12:57] Yeah. And they say, "Oh, I'm behind and I, you know, I have the ability now. I don't wanna be limited by this, this 30,000 or 32 and a half thousand limit." That's what it's for. There is a couple of things to be mindful of though, Molly, and one is your balance. You can only do that strategy when you have less than half a million in your super, okay?

[00:13:16] So if you've got a half a million in your super, you're probably not as worried as someone who doesn't, okay? So that's just one thing to be mindful of, but it's a brilliant way to really build up a little bit of wealth, quite quickly as well, with a lovely tax benefit attached to it, because all of that money would go in at 15%. What other strategies are there?

[00:13:35] I know this isn't directly related to super, but you've got, like, the downsizing, so you sell a home. Yeah, that's becoming a lot more popular- Yeah … these days, downsizing. So this is whereby you have a principal place of residence. Kids are gone now, right? The kids are moving out and you're thinking, "I don't wanna clean this place for the rest of my life." Yeah.

[00:13:54] So you decide to downsize. Yeah. And what that means is you sell your house, you buy a smaller place, you've got a, maybe 100 grand or- Yeah … 200 grand left over. You can put that into super if- Mm-hmm … you want, and it doesn't impact any of the other limits- Okay … that you've got, all right? That doesn't come into effect, though, until a little bit later. Um, so that's just one strategy to think about.

[00:14:14] If you are planning on selling your principal place of residence, you might be able to, you know, put the, put the proceeds in. Another thing that we, that the proceeds of the sale, the extra bit. The other thing we see a lot with people in their 50s, and it's a bit morbid- But generally, if you've got elderly parents, and when you're in your 50s and 60s, that's often the time when your parents are passing away, unfortunately.

[00:14:36] And it's also a time where we see a lot of people receive inheritances. Yes. Yeah. And that can be lump sums of money that come into your bank account. Mm. And we do see a lot of people wanting to boost their superannuation through those types- Mm … of, of, um, lump sums. Okay. So you can make big lump sums into superannuation- Yeah as an after-tax contribution as well, if you're in that situation.

[00:14:56] What about your investment options? Is that where you would relook at, okay, where's my super actually invested? And if I'm gonna retire in the next 10 years or so, is that where you should start relooking at it, or is that maybe later on? I think 50 is a great age to look at your investments. Generally, if you've never looked at it before, um, you would've been in the super fund's default investment option, which might be kinda growth orientated.

[00:15:23] Um, and maybe now you're thinking, "Okay, you know, I'm planning on retiring in the next 10, 12 years. How do I really feel about volatility? So if I'm in an investment option and half of that is shares, am I still comfortable with that?" Um, what I would say to people is, the biggest mistake people make when they think about investments and they get to 50, and they're, they're basically saying, "When am I gonna retire? 62." 12-year investments time.

[00:15:50] Wrong. Right? You get to 62 when you retire, your super's still invested right throughout retirement, maybe in that same investment option. So your- So it might be another 20, 30 years- Absolutely … it's invested- Yeah … or 40, even longer. So if you're 50, you're, you know, if you're gonna live till you're 90, your investment timeframe's actually 40 years. Wow, so it's not actually, like, 10 years.

[00:16:09] Yeah. It's 40 years. The only difference is you're starting to take… Maybe you're gonna take it all out. Yeah. It's not common, but maybe you will. But if you're just gonna drip feed some income- Mm … into your bank account, most of that's still gonna be invested right throughout retirement. That is- Don't fall into the trap … so important to remember. Mm. 'Cause a lot of, like… You just think, "Oh, well I'm retiring. Boom, that's it." Yeah. I don't… You know, or, "I'm retiring in five years, I've only got an investment timeframe of five years." Five years.

[00:16:32] No, you don't. You know, unless you're taking it all out, your super will be invested right throughout retirement as well. So don't underestimate- Mm … your timeframe when you're looking at your investments. So important. And that transition to retirement, is, is that the transition? The st- it's a strategy called retirement transition- Transition to retirement … to retirement.

[00:16:50] Wonder how they came up with that one. Um, what, what is that, in plain terms? Well, you can't do that until you're 60, but you should be thinking about whether it's something you might do maybe in your late 50s, okay? What it means is, historically it was designed so that the government wanted to keep people working a bit longer. So you might be getting close to 60 and thinking, "I can't do this anymore. I can't keep this pace up anymore." In which case, you might either step back a little bit, maybe take a lower paid job or go part-time.

[00:17:20] But you still like the income that you had. So the idea is you can start to access some of your superannuation- Okay … even though you're still working. So once you get to 60, if you move your money into a transition to retirement account, you can take up to 10% of that money, of that balance, out in any financial year. And you can do it every financial year.

[00:17:39] So if you had 300,000, you moved it into a transition to retirement account, you can take 30,000 out in that year. That gives you then the option to do lots of things. Maybe you wanna pay off the mortgage, maybe you wanna- Yeah … go on a big holiday, or maybe you want to salary sacrifice on the other side. Now, it can get complicated, but any money that's coming out of your super at 60, that's tax-free.

[00:18:00] So let's say you're taking 30,000 out tax-free. That's given you an opportunity maybe to think about, do I get it back in the other way and take advantage of the 15% tax? So there's lots of- Ah, okay … really cunning and beautiful things you can do with the transition to retirement. If you're 60 or you're nearly 60, do talk to your super fund or a financial advisor about what is this and would it work for me.

[00:18:26] Yeah. ' Cause there's some great benefits you can get from it. Okay, fantastic. I'd never heard of that, so there we go. But then again, I'm not retiring anytime soon. Yes, yes, yes. So that's probably why. When you're 50, Molly, I'll be coming knocking, telling you to start thinking about it. Yeah. It's something that you can do from the age of 60. Mm-hmm. I guess a lot of women in their 50s are caught in the middle.

[00:18:45] They're h- helping grown up kids on one side, looking after aging parents, but trying to save for their own retirement at the same time. How do you figure out where to put your energy and your money when everything feels urgent? Mm. You know, I've got a lot of friends that are coming into this stage. Um, we call it the sandwich generation. You're sandwiched between- Yeah … the elderly parents and- Yeah … the kids that are probably- Yeah … still a little bit needy in some ways.

[00:19:08] Plus throw menopause in that as well. And then you're going through a biological shift called menopause, and everything's out the window, so it's a really, really challenging time for many women, and the last thing you're thinking about getting into bed at night after dealing with all of that is your super. Totally. Right? But we do need to be a bit more selfish- Yeah … when we're in our 50s and say, "You know what?" I need to start thinking about myself here now and my own, uh, financial health so that when I do get to retirement, I'm not going to be vulnerable.

[00:19:36] This is the time to think about that extra money, now I'm gonna invest it for myself. Yeah. You know? I'm finished with school fees, I'm finished- Yeah … paying off the roof over our heads or whatever. This is my time now, and I'm gonna take advantage of every single opportunity. So if you're in that Gen X category, you're caught between the two generations, please prioritise yourself.

[00:19:56] Most importantly, prioritise your financial health and, you know, really think about where that extra dollar can go. It's time to look after yourself. Whenever I speak to women at events, they always come up to me and they're like, "God, I wish I'd gotten onto this earlier. I wish I'd known about this sooner." Yeah. Especially when it comes to investing. Is there anything you hear a lot from women where they're like, "I wish I'd known this earlier"?

[00:20:18] Yeah, exactly. I- exactly the same thing. I wish I'd known, a lot of it is about salary sacrifice. Yeah. Contributions is the one. Because realistically, if you think about superannuation, there's usually only two l- two big levers you've got, Molly, right? One is, can you get money in? That's contributions. And the other is, when it's in there, is it invested in the right investment option at the fund?

[00:20:41] They're the two big, big strategies you've got. And the one that people really say that they m- 'cause most people would end up in the default option, which suits the majority anyway, right? And say, "Gosh, I wish I'd, wish I'd known that if I salary sacrificed, you know, $20 a week or $100 a month, the impact that that would've had."

[00:20:59] Yeah. The government co-contribution is another one. People I meet that think, "Oh, you know, I worked part-time for, for 10 years," or, "I didn't work for 10… I could've been doing that. I could've been putting $1,000 in my account and then getting the 500 reward from the government if I qualified for it." So there's a lot of little things.

[00:21:19] What I always hear though, is that the biggest regrets are just the little things. It's not someone saying, "Oh, I wish I'd put 50,000 in." It's not. It's people realising- The key here was to start today and to start small. So that doesn't mean if you're 50 you've missed that window.

[00:21:37] You absolutely have not. And I usually say, "Don't make a move that's so drastic to your everyday- Mm … finances today that it's stressing you out." If you're gonna start salary sacrificing, start with a small bit. Just do a small bit and then get used to that, and then maybe every time you get a pay rise, say, "Hmm, I might put half of this into super."

[00:21:57] Start with an amount that's not going to make you resentful- Yeah … of your super. You know? You don't wanna be thinking, "God, every penny I've got's going into my re-ti-" Don't do it, don't do it that way. Do it in a way that's gentle enough for you to not be resentful of where it's going, and to not really notice it as well. And then grow from there. Are you seeing retirement change slightly in the sense that, um, now people are still working into their- Yeah … retirement, as opposed to, like, maybe 20 years ago when it was like, "Celebration. This is your retirement. You never work again." Yeah.

[00:22:28] That is so unusual. There's actually, it's less common to work full-time and then retire full-time. Yeah. That's less common these days. That's how we used to do it. It is far more common now to work, retire, take a year out, maybe travel, come back and contract. Or go part-time and transition yourself slowly in.

[00:22:47] Really common for people to dabble with retirement- Yeah … a couple of times. I think most people retire twice. Yeah. You don't retire once anymore. Interesting. You tend to retire twice. Plus, I guess you've gotta get your head around it. Yeah, it's a big shift. You've been doing, working your whole life or- Yeah … and then to transition to, like- Yeah.

[00:23:03] It's a big shift. It's not just the financial shift, but it's the lifestyle shift that people often get caught unaware with, and they think, "God, I, I actually valued the company every day," or the structure to, you know, the having a goal every day and having a structure. People often underestimate the importance for planning for that part as well. I guess women in their 50s listening to this conversation, what do you want them to feel now?

[00:23:26] Well, if you came into the episode and you felt fear and worried, I'd like you to feel a little bit less fear and a little bit less worried, but most importantly, empowered, right? Because there's no point in learning about all of this and having all the information in your head if you're not translating it into action. So I want you to feel a bit more confident and a bit more empowered to say, "You know what?

[00:23:48] If super is complex, yeah, but it's not actually that complex. It is just like an account that I can control and I can contribute to, and, and nothing that I do with my superannuation is a commitment for life. So if I wanna put a little bit of money in, yes, I can't get it out till I get to retirement, but I don't have to do it all the time.

[00:24:07] I can stop, I can change, and I feel more confident now in the fact that I can control a little bit more of what's going in. And you know what? Worst case scenario, and I don't have a lot of super, there is the safety net out there called the age pension." Which is, I guess, why it is there. Which is why it's there. Exactly, for these situations. Yeah.

[00:24:25] Okay. Exactly. I love that. Yes, and I want you to feel hopeful after listening to this conversation, and you've still got time- That's it, yeah … to make those contributions and catch up. Absolutely. Absolutely. It's never too late. Do n- you know, as I said, if you're in your 50s and you've got 10, 15 more years, that is more than enough time to completely shift the dial on what your retirement might look like.

[00:24:46] Absolutely. If you've been keeping your head in the sand about this, you are not alone, but it is time to start taking action, start having some conversations with your super fund. Thanks for listening. Now, remember that this was just general information and it might not be right for you. Super rules can be complicated and they change over time, so make sure you consider your own situation before acting on any of what we've talked about.

[00:25:09] For more information about today's episode, check out the show notes.

KEYWORDS
superannuation, super for women, women over 50, retirement planning Australia, catch-up contributions, transition to retirement, age pension, ASFA comfortable retirement, salary sacrifice, downsizer contributions, divorce and super, sandwich generation, Australian Retirement Trust