Real retirees share their best retirement-planning tips

You’ve no doubt heard countless pieces of advice from financial and wellbeing experts about the journey through retirement and how to prepare yourself, but what about other retirees and how they do it?

After all, they’ve encountered the same speed bumps along their journey as you have or will on yours, so have helpful advice to give and experiences you can compare against your own. So Starts at 60 asked the retirees in our community for their best advice.

Save for and in retirement

Remember your parents or grandparents advising you to save your pocket money rather than spend it all on lollies? It may be annoying but those words of wisdom still ring true for many Starts at 60 readers, who say you never know what’s round the corner and so making your money last should be a prime concern.

Fran Spears, one of our longest-serving bloggers, describes how she found herself single in retirement, with only a small superannuation balance of her own from which to draw an income.

“Learn to look for ways to save on food, like using frozen vegetables and cooking in bulk,” she suggests. “Access you senior status once you’re over 60 and use your card whenever you can. Just a dollar or two adds up.”

Spears also suggests finding cheap activities to fill the time. But that doesn’t mean you have to lock yourself away, she adds, just be savvy about what you put your money toward.

“I have also learned that my tiny bit of super won’t help me much so try to use it for things like car rego and tyres and the rest to treat yourself to a weekend trip or the ballet,” Spears explains. “My council has things like tai chi classes for a couple of dollars … If you find you have any money left over at the end of your pension fortnight, save it, even if it’s only $10. It will add up and then you can treat yourself.”

Be open to change in retirement

You may have your whole retirement planned but things can change with the drop at the hat and according to our retired Starts at 60 community members, you just have to roll with it. Vivienne Beddoe who, like Fran Spears is a long-time blogger, knows all too well that friendships, finances and health can all take an unexpected direction in later life.

“If we are lucky there is more than one stage to retirement,” she explains. “Leaving our permanent employment is the first stage and you need to be certain of your entitlements and what best suits your particular circumstances. In the first stage you may be fit and healthy and able to do casual work.

“[But] your circumstances may change and you need to keep a flexible attitude. I didn’t think I would downsize or move but the time came when that was the best option. I can’t close my mind to further changes.”

Blogger Barbara Easthorpe says the same goes for your health. “Be realistic and plan for your current state of health, but also consider what you’ll do if your health deteriorates or your partner dies,” she says.

Meanwhile, one Starts at 60 community member, who prefers to remain anonymous, advises pre-retirees against going into retirement with preconceived ideas. “The beauty of this time, which you well and truly earned, is that there are no boundaries,” the reader says. “Embrace it all. Take risks in the things that you do. Some things you might enjoy, some you may dislike. That’s okay. Just be open to new ideas.”

Explore your passions in retirement

With work out of the way and a new-found freedom to explore, the majority of Starts at 60 community members recommended finding something new and exciting to occupy your time, whether it be through volunteering for a worthwhile cause or ticking off your bucket list items.

The main suggestions were to find an organisation or charity to volunteer at and make sure you tick of those bucket list items that you’ve always dreamed of doing, like travelling through Europe or America.

“If you like being busy, look at volunteering, work out what crafts you can do or learn,” Barbara Easthorpe says. “Happily married couples can struggle to stay happy sometimes when they are around one another all the time, [so] try seperate and together activities.”

Starts at 60 community member Joy Christian takes part in church activities, including plenty of ones she hasn’t tried before.  “Apart from things within the church like cleaning, flower arranging, being on various rosters, I’m learning handbell ringing and enjoying that very much,” she says.

“I would highly recommend finding something new to learn and join some clubs like U3A [University of the Third Age] or if you are a lady, the WI [Women’s Institute]. They’re not stuffy as you might imagine. Go for it, life can begin at retirement.”

Carrol Harrison has the same advice: “Best emotional tip – replace ‘work’ with a passion or a hobby so you start retirement excited and full of energy.” While an anonymous community member recommends simply enjoying every day.

“You’re a long time dead,” they say. “Enjoy each and every day. Do something special every day – like taking a walk, enjoying a coffee, reading a book. It’s the little things that are truly special.”

Think seriously about what age to retire

Although there is no mandatory retirement age in Australia, there are specific ages at which you can start to receive the Age Pension or access your superannuation – which, of course, are important things to consider when deciding the right time to say goodbye to paid employment. However, there are other factors to weigh up, such as having enough time to fulfil your dreams in retirement and spend time with your loved ones.

Blogger Pamela Cole suggests not to leave retirement too late. “You need to have the time to enjoy your retirement while you are in good health,” she says. “I have known people who leave it too late and are not fit enough to enjoy life.”

Dennice Kay Scannell, meanwhile, recommends coordinating your retirement date with your partner if circumstances allow. “I retired a few years earlier than my hubby due to my mum and her cancer treatments,” she explains. “I wanted to spend quality time with her. She passed and my hubby retired a year later. I had already settled into retirement and he was a workaholic. I recommend you both retire at the same time.”