People are living longer nowadays, with the average life expectancy well into their 80s. This means that if you choose to retire from work in your mid-60s, you’ll need to have financial security for the next 20+ years.

On the journey into retirement, understanding how you will generate an income is important. You’ll want to check if you are eligible for a part or full Aged Pension, Commonwealth Seniors Health Care Card, or other seniors cards and concessions.  You’ll also want to understand the best way to access and manage your superfund, exploring your options for generating income through an account based pension, annuity, lump sum withdrawal or any combination of these.

And, if you are investing outside super or selling a significant asset, you’ll also want to stay across the impacts this can have on your income and cash flow and how Centrelink considers this.

Finally, you may want to look at other ways of freeing up money to fund your retirement, something which can be done through downsizing your home or considering a reverse mortgage or equity release.