The No-Regrets Retirement Newsletter

As we are getting close to being halfway through the year, I think this is a good time to give everyone a bit of a booster concerning the economic outlook and more importantly where their superannuation sits among all the doom and gloom.

There is no doubt that a large number of Australians are doing it tough with inflation pushing up the cost of many day-to-day essentials and higher interest rates making it even tougher to meet monthly mortgage repayments.

It is easy to get caught in the here and now and lose site of what you are trying to achieve in the long term. As Tony Robbins would say, most people plan to achieve too much in a year and are disappointed by the results, while they underestimate what they can achieve in a decade.

These tough times will pass and it’s important to make sure you are focused on making sure you come out of these tough times in as good a shape as possible and that you don’t give in to thoughts that it is just all too hard.

This is particularly important for those who feel that their superannuation savings are so low that they are not worth worrying about. A low superannuation balance means you need to be more concerned and proactive, not less.

As you will read, even a low superannuation balance will make a big difference to you in retirement if it is managed correctly.

More with the end of the financial year just around the corner, now is the time to act to minimize your tax bill and ensure that money that would otherwise go to Canberra stays safely in your super account.

There are just two months until the end of the financial year and so it is important for you to act now to think about how you can minimize your tax obligations while boosting your superannuation balance.

Finally, while I would discourage anyone from dipping into their superannuation before they retire, there are times due to ill health or financial pressures, when this choice of last resort becomes very much your only choice.

Again don’t give into the doom and gloom of today but stay focused on the years ahead.

If you find yourself in this situation, then dipping into your superannuation may be an option but only if you do so as part of a coherent approach to get your entire financial situation under control. Don’t think drawing down from your super is the full solution.