Thread: Thinking about retirement? you may have to think again.

Originally Posted by trog

Not under my bridge I hope ! We have never met and if we didn't get along it might be hard getting enough cardboard to build a dividing fence 🏗

hehe,, all good. I don't think my new swish box would fit under too many bridges anyway,,,

No secrets here.
I am 72, I've been retired sinse I was 55, because I thought about, and planned for, where I wanted to be, as I got older, a long tme before I was "older",...... in my case,... 55,
Anyone can do it, ...I've never earned big dollars, I've simply been conservative in my thinking about my retirement.
My advice is, think about it, as soon as you can.
Pickles.

Originally Posted by Homestar

In all seriousness though, I'll be quitting full time work in under 4 years now and going on the road and earning a living as I go and as needed. I'll be 51 when I do this - there's no way I'll be working for someone else when I'm in my 60's or 70's.

I am lucky enough though to have a skill set that will allow me to earn a quid no matter where I go.

I haven't worked for anyone else for over 26yrs......and probably never will again.

That is apart from the tax department

I have told my boys mid 2019 i am out of here,but whether that comes off who knows.I will then be 58.

It is very difficult to make plans when being self employed,and these days,only have my sons working for me.

They can sort 99.9% of issues out,so now i do have a lot more time off.

Having someone reliable to do the office work is the problem.

Financially,there are no problems,we will be self funded,but i actually still enjoy the work,which means giving it away will be difficult.

Originally Posted by Bigbjorn

If you are not happy about the eligibility rules and amount of Age Pension then perhaps you should seek out and read the preamble to the first legislation in 1909 that enabled a govt. pension.

This is not quoted verbatim but it went something like this. A pension for those who through disability or misfortune were unable to fully provide for themselves in their old age. Now note the use of the words "fully provide". Parliament obviously considered that it was your own responsibility to provide for yourself but for those who fell upon hard times a small pension could be paid to assist.

Decades later the populace have come to consider the Age Pension as a right and their sole support. Recent changes to income and asset tests may be considered unfair by some but it remains a fact that one can be rich in Australia and still get a part pension. We are a very generous nation.

1301.0 - Year Book Australia, 1988

Originally Posted by Pickles2

No secrets here.
I am 72, I've been retired sinse I was 55, because I thought about, and planned for, where I wanted to be, as I got older, a long tme before I was "older",...... in my case,... 55,
Anyone can do it, ...I've never earned big dollars, I've simply been conservative in my thinking about my retirement.
My advice is, think about it, as soon as you can.
Pickles.

Good advice Pickled one.Planning ahead is the key. Conservative living in retirement, a necessity. It is a fact that those who went thru the Depression, living on their wits, survive best in retirement, on the pension.

Originally Posted by Bigbjorn

If you are not happy about the eligibility rules and amount of Age Pension then perhaps you should seek out and read the preamble to the first legislation in 1909 that enabled a govt. pension.

This is not quoted verbatim but it went something like this. A pension for those who through disability or misfortune were unable to fully provide for themselves in their old age. Now note the use of the words "fully provide". Parliament obviously considered that it was your own responsibility to provide for yourself but for those who fell upon hard times a small pension could be paid to assist.

Decades later the populace have come to consider the Age Pension as a right and their sole support. Recent changes to income and asset tests may be considered unfair by some but it remains a fact that one can be rich in Australia and still get a part pension. We are a very generous nation.

Indeed we are.

7.1 Age Pension

Originally Posted by DoubleChevron

I've never worried about pension or retirement .... simply to the fact I'm Gen X ... which means liek every other "helpful" things the previous generation had ... it will no longer exist by the time we get there ... free schooling, job security, free healthcare, pensions etc... I don't expect them to exist by the time the last of the Gen X's get there. We paid for our higher education... hit the job market in the biggest recession in decades ... The housing prices went up litterally several hundred percent as we hit the housing market ...

Simply because the baby boomer grew up in boom times. They were a huge burden on every system on the way through (eg: schooling system) as there were simply so many of them. The same will happen in retirement. The pension and heathcare will be so stretched, it will be cut back to nothing. I'm guessing this is the main reason for the absolutely staggering amounts of people allowed to immigrate each year. We need there population the prop up the baby boomers over the next 20years or so ( The issue is .... then what do we do with all of these people ?? It will be the baby boomers probably again when they all hit retirement age).

fun and games right ?

Hey it could be worse... We could be millenials ... Never able to afford our first home and be stuck living with our parents until were 40

seeya,
Shane L.

Until you wrote this Shane I hadnt thought about it,,,but yes,, all of what you say ( first Paragraph) is right,,
not our fault but,, the previous to us Gen were the Politicians,,,
yea, you guys got stuck with the Boomers housing capatilism,,
the first Gen that could actually afford housing,, and then after 30 years, retired on the property value,,
some may have even left it to their kids---

Originally Posted by Lewy110

I plan on retiring at 57.

12 years and counting

I plan on retiring at 60 - I’m 63