Retirement can be an exciting phase in your life. But all the recent changes to superannuation bring with them lifestyle and financial issues you need to be aware of as you plan your retirement.

Retirement means different things to different people. For some, it’s an opportunity to travel, to begin that project they’ve been putting off for years, or to just relax, spend time with the grandkids and dabble in their favourite hobbies. Retirement should be a time to relax and be free.

Plan smart for a stress-free retirement

Your retirement should be a time to free yourself from financial stress. Planning and good advice from a qualified financial adviser is the key to a trouble-free retirement.

If you’re considering retirement, there are issues you need to think about and plan for before you take the plunge. Here are 3 decisions retirees commonly miss in planning for their retirement:

1. Have a re-contributions strategy

Few prospective retirees have heard about a ‘re-contribution strategy’ but you do need to know what it is and how it works.

Your superannuation entitlements comprise both taxable and tax-fee components. A re-contribution strategy is one where you withdraw your money from your superannuation account and re-contribute that cash back into your fund.

Why a re-contributions strategy is important

Re-contributing all or part of your withdrawn funds back into your superannuation as a tax-free non-concessional contribution increases the level of tax-free funds in your superannuation account.

This reduces the tax payable on your superannuation pension if you dip into that pension while under 60 years of age. A re-contribution strategy can also lower the tax payable on benefits paid to your beneficiaries when you direct your superannuation benefit to your non-dependent beneficiaries following your death.

2. Death nominations

A lot of retirees often forget death benefits are payable to your dependents or your estate from your superannuation fund upon your death.

There are four forms of death nominations. You can make a binding death benefit nomination while you are alive. This is a written direction to your superannuation trustee establishing how you wish your superannuation death benefits to be distributed.

Secondly, a reversionary beneficiary is where a superannuation fund member receiving an income stream nominates a beneficiary to receive those payments upon their death.

Thirdly, you can make a non-binding death benefit nomination guiding how you wish some or all of your superannuation death benefits to be distributed following your death.

Lastly, you may make a non-lapsing binding death benefit nomination directing your superannuation trustee to distribute some or all of your superannuation death benefits. This nomination, if allowed by your fund trust deed, remains in place unless the member cancels or replaces it with a fresh nomination.

Why a Death Benefit Nomination is important

If you don’t dictate how your superannuation death funds are to be distributed, the trustee of your fund has discretion as to who should receive your superannuation death benefit in the event of your death.

3. Ensuring your money will last and maximising Centrelink

Australia’s social security system is means tested. It is designed to act as a safety net. So, the higher your income or assets you have on retirement, the lower your Age Pension entitlements may be.

If your income or assets exceed the set cut off limits, you will not be eligible to an Age Pension at all. Hence Australians are expected to use more of our own savings to fund our retirement.

Currently, for every $10,000 of assets above the allowable Age Pension threshold your pension drops by $390 per year each if you’re a couple or $780 per year for single.

Why ensuring your money lasts is important

The more heavy lifting your pension does, the less you’ll draw on your retirement savings. This is important as our increased life expectancies coupled with a turbulent investment environment make it challenging to ensure your retirement savings will go the distance.

Final observation

Planning your retirement can be complicated. As you can see from the above three issues, the various legislative frameworks are complex. While it pays to understand how retirement works, contact a qualified financial adviser to discuss your personal situation and retirement needs.