Whether you’ve just entered the workforce or are eyeing an early retirement, questions around retirement loom large on the minds of many Australians.
When? Where? And how much? Are just some of the key questions that many Australians have when it comes to considerations around retirement planning.
Let’s look at some of the stats behind all of this.
In 2022, Australia’s national retirement age for women was 64.8 years old and for men it was 66.2 years old.
Australia’s world-class super system has indeed done well to help everyday Aussies get set up for retirement. There is however a gap.
According to Australian Super, for individuals in the 60-64 age bracket, the average super balance for men is $322,184 and for women it’s $246,885.
And while that might seem like a lot, for many it’s not enough to live comfortably in retirement.
Based on data from the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia, to achieve a comfortable lifestyle in retirement, a couple needs a super balance of around $640,000 and an individual requires a super balance of around $545,000.
Why Investing and the key to any retirement equation
This gap is one of the reasons that thinking about saving, investing, and in general thinking of ways to grow your income before you retire – even when it is far off – is incredibly important.
Investing consistently over the long term has long been considered a key method of wealth building. Take the S&P 500 index – which between 1957 to 2022 returned an impressive 10.15% per annum.
Returns have been similarly strong in recent times. Had you invested in the S&P 500 at the start of 1990 and stayed invested until the close of 2022 – you would’ve generated a total cumulative return of 798% (with dividends reinvested). That’s the kind of return that turns every $10,000 invested into $89,800, before fees of course.
It’s important to realise that stocks aren’t a one size fits all proposition though. Thinking about retirement ultimately requires perspective.
While the long term returns of the S&P 500 have been nothing less than stellar, in the short term the returns have been choppy. Stocks, are called risk assets for a reason!
In 2022 the S&P 500 fell close to 20%, in a year marred by panic and uncertainty. And while stocks roared back to life in 2023, the volatility of 2022 underscores an absolute vital point for investors with an eye towards retirement: your time frame matters, seriously.
If your investment time frame is 6 months or a year, investing in stocks might not be appropriate (unless you are able to tolerate extreme volatility or course).
Start Achieving your Goals Today
Ultimately, questions around specific time frames come back to your financial goals and how you think about them.
How and why you invest will be radically different based on who you are and where you are in your life. For shorter term goals income-centric products such as bonds might be something worth exploring, while for longer-term goals stocks might be more suitable, depending on how much risk you are willing to take on.
The flip-side of this equation is someone who doesn’t know what their goals are. For this person, lining up their ambitions with their investments can be difficult and even confusing. This is where Syfe’s Goals feature comes in, which allows you to set, track and invest against your biggest goals.
With Syfe’s intuitive goals feature you’ll be asked four key questions to help you define and put you on the path to achieving your goals:
- Choose and define a goal spanning: Financial Freedom, Retirement, House Deposit, or set a Custom goal
- Choose a dollar amount you want to assign to your chosen goal
- Define the time period you want to achieve your goal in
- Decide how much you want to invest on a monthly basis + your initial investment amount
- Link your Goal with your investments (Smart Baskets or choose from 12,000+ stocks & ETFs)
By making specific goals, you get closer to your aspirations; letting you match up your investments with your ambitions – setting you up for success – in all aspects of your life.
Smart Baskets are pre-packaged orders formulated according to investment attributes of the underlying securities/ETFs (such as geographic and industry exposure, historical dividend yield, and historical capital appreciation), and do not take into account your personal circumstances, risk appetite, and goals. Past performance figures are based on information provided by third parties and may not be accurate. Past performance is not indicative of future performance. The information provided does not suggest or imply and should not be construed as any guarantee of future performance, or as investment advice or strategy. Each Smart Order comprises several separate orders for ease of execution only, and should not be construed in any manner as a managed discretionary account or a managed investment scheme.Investing involves risks, including the risk of losing your invested amount. We do not provide personalised advice or recommendations. You should decide if the orders to be placed are suitable for you. Any information we provide is general advice and current at the time written. Please speak to your financial or tax adviser for personal advice.
