Making retirement dreams happen

This week, Starts at 60 is following the retirement journeys of three Australians who have each taken a different path into life after work.

Yesterday we met Ray, who planned for an earlier retirement. Today we meet Maree and Peter, whose dream wasn’t simply to retire — it was to make the most of every healthy year by travelling the world.

For many Australians, retirement isn’t just about finishing work. It’s about finally taking the trip they’ve spent decades dreaming about.

But turning those dreams into reality takes more than a passport and a suitcase. New ASIC research shows almost half of Australians nearing retirement worry they’ll run out of money, making financial planning more important than ever.

Brisbane couple Maree and Peter Brockee decided early that travel would be one of their biggest retirement priorities. Today they’ve visited more than 100 countries—and they’re not slowing down yet. 

Golden years. Grey Nomads. Bucket Lists. How to make sure you can fund your dream retirement travel plans.

For Brisbane social worker Maree Brockee and her husband Peter, travelling was always top of the list when it came to retirement.

Working in the disability space and hospitals, they had seen first-hand – and on too many occasions – how travel aspirations for your “golden years” can quickly become derailed by health.

Peter and Maree have spent these last years travelling around the globe. From the expansive Himalayas of Bhutan and Tibet, to the royal palaces and buzzing streets of London, the couple are determined to maximise memories and their budget.

New research from the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) shows that around half of Australians approaching retirement worry they could run out of money, yet many want to learn more to build confidence about their future.

But with about 2.5 million Australians expected to retire over the next decade, that’s a lot of travel dreams and bucket list items to consider into budgets.

For Maree and Peter, it was a matter of laying all the different factors out in one place and using the Australian Government’s Moneysmart websites retirement planner to understand how to make their dreams a reality.

“We had always been diligent savers…but we wanted to understand how all the different parts of the puzzle worked together. Downsizing, maintaining an investment property, superannuation and the Age Pension,” explains Maree.

“For us, prioritising the use of our wealth to enjoy travel while we still have our health is our number one priority. There is no where we don’t plan on visiting – the priority order just keeps changing.”

So far the couple have ticked off bucket list items in over 100 countries like the trans Mongolian Railway (from China to Russia), Eastern Europe, UK and Central and South America.

“Every time we travel really cements our goal of how to use our retirement. Standing at the foothills of the awe-inspiring Himalayas, it’s just a priceless experience.”

Next up on Maree and Peter’s travel plans is a cruise departing from London travelling down the coast of West Africa finishing in Capetown, South Africa. Next year the pair are planning on an Arctic Cruise into the Northwest passage – a rescheduled trip planned for 2021 for their 50ths. Now perhaps a retirement celebration.

So what are some of your bucket list experiences for the golden years?

Australians can access Moneysmart’s retirement tools and resources

Tomorrow: Meet Charlie, who discovered preparing for retirement wasn’t just about money — it was also about finding purpose, friendships and a whole new routine.