Boy, did we get some advice… from you!

We asked and you responded…

You may recall that we asked you to answer a short 5-minute Retirement Pulse survey a couple of weeks ago. Well you did. And to say that your answers delighted us is an understatement. Here’s why. They shared a lot of common sense and were very instructive about how to live a good life. We have certainly learned a thing or two about human nature from your insights.

Advice helps

The most emphatic response in the survey was to Question One, ‘Have you ever received good advice?’ to which 79% responded Yes, with 21% saying No.

The questions that followed this one were split, according to this categorisation (you either had, or had not, received good advice at some point in your life). There were very different responses between these two groups, with those who had been happy with advice received much more open to seeking further advice, as well as willing to pay for it (see below).

But before we jump into these quantitative results, we wanted to share some fun and interesting answers to the more qualitative questions which asked about the worst and the best advice you’ve ever received. The responses ranged across the personal, emotional, health, wellbeing and various financial needs.

Let’s get the ‘worst’ advice out the way (where we only had a handful of answers, but they are still worth sharing).

My worst advice was to …

• invest in a Paulownia tree plantation
• invest in race horses

The best advice was …

Personal:

I think it was when our daughters were about to enter their teenage years. The advice was ‘choose your battles’.

My brother-in-law advised me to continue working after my wife died, though I was already contemplating retirement. It was excellent advice as it gave me time to gradually restart my life.

Financial

To repay the debt with the highest interest first

To record a monthly snapshot of all bank and superannuation accounts, shares, credit card balances, assets and property. This identifies expenses, investment performance and will inform current and future goals.

A reminder of gratitude
To be grateful for the things that I have. Live simply and don’t envy other people’s lifestyles and possessions. Try not to spend more than your monthly budget income.

Pithy

Save money for a rainy day

You can’t take it with you.

Don’t get married!

And our favourite:
My best advice is from this site. It’s unbiased and relevant to retirees.

When we asked those who were happy to receive advice the areas where they had received what they described as ‘good advice”, the most popular were (in descending ranking):

• Tax returns
• Retirement finances
• Health and exercise
• Investment advice
• Centrelink benefits

This group was also happy to pay for future advice, selecting the following areas of need, again from most important to less so:

• Retirement finances
• Centrelink benefits
• Investment advice
• Aged Care funding
• Tax returns

Interestingly, health came sixth in the ‘would pay for’ ranking, so perhaps our members are receiving their health and exercise advice free of charge? It’s also good to see our members thinking ahead and signalling that they are aware they may at some stage need some aged care advice inputs.

So here are three talking points we might take out of this brief snapshot of some of the February 2024 Retirement Pulse results. We’d love to hear your thoughts on our comments. They are neither right nor wrong, but certainly up for discussion:

1. Without health, retirement finances are less important. Don’t you owe it to yourself to value your ongoing health needs as highly as your financial concerns?
2. Those who have enjoyed good advice across the years place a high value on it and are prepared to pay for more
3. A not inconsiderable 21% maintain they have never received any good advice. Can this be possible? Or is this more to do with not listening or missing the message?

Let the discussion begin!

Retirement Essentials offers many different types of advice consultations, across Age Pension needs, superannuation know-how, maximising entitlements and retirement income projection. Here’s a quick overview of some bite-sized advice appointments that may work well for you:

Retirement Forecasting (Compare two scenarios of  how your assets and income will look during your retirement journey)
Understanding more about super (Assess the options to help make your super work better for you).
Maximising your entitlements (Assess any changes you might be able to make to maximise your Centrelink entitlements)
Understanding impacts of your home (look at the benefits of repaying or maintaining your mortgage in retirement)