Average retirement age of Australians

[mr walker]

when its time to apply for the age pension they want to know everything and they will ask for your birth certificate and how much money you have so i'd advise taking some out of the bank and hide it before applying for the pension

 

ahh, I think they already know what you may have in the bank, unless you have been very clever :D

 

I have no financial training, but agree with the ones suggesting getting advice ahead of time. I am sure the Centrelink people are very knowledgable on the rules etc, but I would be looking to get independent financial advice to ensure the best advantage.

 

Happy cruising

[Guest012]

We had advice that as soon as you turn 65 sign up for the Aged Pension irregardless of whether you are working full-time, part-time or casual.....We signed John up, i'll rephrase that, i signed him up they never saw him as he was away working at the time:p , soon as he turned 65 he never qualified for any money as we earned too much but we did get a health care card, something we never qualified for before, and all the pensioner discounts on rego, rates, gas and electric etc........ we were very happy with that... :D:D

Edited August 7, 2014 by badgerbill

[MicCanberra]

One thing to remember if on any centrelink pension is to always advise them if on a cruise that touches an overseas port. They will find out and they will penalise for not advising them. One older couple we know didn't and they lost subsidy to their expensive medication and their pension funds for a while. Very stressful for them.

Good points. Any change in circumstances (income, assets, address, travel, etc) must be reported or penalties may ensue. :D

[MicCanberra]

when its time to apply for the age pension they want to know everything and they will ask for your birth certificate and how much money you have so i'd advise taking some out of the bank and hide it before applying for the pension

And don't forget to tell us where you hid it so we can go cruising.:rolleyes:

[rkmw]

We had advice that as soon as you turn 65 sign up for the Aged Pension irregardless of whether you are working full-time, part-time or casual.....We signed John up, i'll rephrase that, i signed him up they never saw him as he was away working at the time:p , soon as he turned 65 he never qualified for any money as we earned too much but we did get a health care card, something we never qualified for before, and all the pensioner discounts on rego, rates, gas and electric etc........ we were very happy with that... :D:D

 

the blue card is good but in NSW we dont get a discount on our gas only electrics plus the other things, i would hate to be paying off a home loan and trying to get by on the pension and cruising would not be affordable

[MicCanberra]

Stationery supplies successfully dropped off at the school in Mare as well.

Well done.:D

[MicCanberra]

ahh, I think they already know what you may have in the bank, unless you have been very clever :D

 

I have no financial training, but agree with the ones suggesting getting advice ahead of time. I am sure the Centrelink people are very knowledgable on the rules etc, but I would be looking to get independent financial advice to ensure the best advantage.

 

Happy cruising

Centrelink have financial officers to help people sort out what is best but it is information not advice. A financial advisor is a good option as well. Get lots of information and then you can make an informed decision that best suits your plans.:D

[Guest012]

the blue card is good but in NSW we dont get a discount on our gas only electrics plus the other things, i would hate to be paying off a home loan and trying to get by on the pension and cruising would not be affordable

 

Hey Bob

If you are 65 and still have a mortgage it's not time to retire...unless it's a pittance per month..... scary...:eek: meant to add

our gas central heating down here is costing us around a $0.98 cents per day to run and we run it around 15 hrs a day... thank goodness for the blue card

Edited August 7, 2014 by badgerbill

[rkmw]

Hey Bob

If you are 65 and still have a mortgage it's not time to retire...unless it's a pittance per month..... scary...:eek: meant to add

our gas central heating down here is costing us around a $0.98 cents per day to run and we run it around 15 hrs a day... thank goodness for the blue card

 

Shiona....we dont have a mortgage thank god so we can still cruise but its still a struggle....down here we get the cold nights and frosty mornings so we have the natural gas on but not 15 hours a day

[Guest012]

No mortgage here either Bob and we downsized our home to maximise cash in the bank....about to do it again... this time to the retirement village...woohooo bring it on be a lot easier to leave when we travel.... big house's cost $$$ to run would rather spend the money on cruising and travel than be a slave to a property..... we live a simple day to day life so we can afford the big trips twice a year.... ;):D

 

Life's way too short to waste a moment especially now we are seniors and we don't put things off till tomorrow because for many tomorrow may never come.....

[MicCanberra]

Life's way too short to waste a moment especially now we are seniors and we don't put things off till tomorrow because for many tomorrow may never come.....

You don't have to be a senior to have this attitude.:D

[Lanwood]

Compulsory Super will have to be relied on to fund most people as I think the criteria by the time I get to 70 will be a lot tougher due to the above. There simply won't be enough funds to go around with an ageing population.

 

I can access my super at 60 but my plan is to work until I'm 70 if possible, I have an office type role currently. So key for me is to stash enough away in my super and keep on working as long as possible.

 

I think Compulsory Super is one of the smartest ideas introduced by Keating.

 

I actually avoid investing in super, other than what is compulsory.

 

I would like retire a bit younger (and cruise my remaining years :D ). As the prevervation age has increase from 55 to 60, and very likely will be tweeked several times again before I hit the required age, one could afford to retire, but actually couldn't. So I invest elsewhere.

[Lanwood]

Also children won't be receiving the inheritances from their deceased parents houses valued over a certain amount of money as the Government have changed a lot of the rules regarding aged care and the payment for services they require. A lot of oldies will start thinking about selling their most valuable asset.

Very easy here in parts of Sydney to have a million dollar house. My mother-in-law died last month.The house had to be valued for probate and for a very old and rundown house the value came in at around 1.1 to 1.2 million.

Regards Elaine.

 

I've also noticed an increase trend in Reverse Mortgages, also making inheritances less likely. There's an increasing attitude to borrow against your assets to further enjoy your remaining years rather than leaving behind capital to bequeath........good'on'em...:)

[silverwillow]

These are questions we have just started to think about and to be honest it's quite depressing. Every time we look at what we think we will need to retire in the manner we would like (aka cruising a lot :D) the age we will achieve this grows. I think I will be retiring when I'm 108. Mind you I have always had champagne taste on a beer budget.

 

What is a realistic amount to aim for $$ wise?

[Tara Jane]

Hi Blue Elephant, glad you had a great time and dropped off the goodies to the school ok. I love girlie holidays, have had a lot with friends who I went to school with some as far back as 55 years ago, but never a cruise which personally I think is the better way to travel with friends as all is included. Last trip was to Darwin and next to Coolangatta in feb. Hubby and I expect to be in Europe again next September too you never know we might meet on another cruise.

[dizzy1948]

One thing to remember if on any centrelink pension is to always advise them if on a cruise that touches an overseas port. They will find out and they will penalise for not advising them. One older couple we know didn't and they lost subsidy to their expensive medication and their pension funds for a while. Very stressful for them.

 

That's a good point. Not sure if I/We would qualify for pension - got super etc. But maybe we would qualify for scripts. I suppose you can be lulled into a false sense of security as most countries don't "stamp" passports anymore - THEY KNOW YOU ARE THERE !!!!!!! Computers do it everytime. :p

Edited August 7, 2014 by dizzy1948

[dizzy1948]

when its time to apply for the age pension they want to know everything and they will ask for your birth certificate and how much money you have so i'd advise taking some out of the bank and hide it before applying for the pension

 

Hee Hee - I feel a cruise or three coming on ;)

[MicCanberra]

I've also noticed an increase trend in Reverse Mortgages, also making inheritances less likely. There's an increasing attitude to borrow against your assets to further enjoy your remaining years rather than leaving behind capital to bequeath........good'on'em...:)

 

These people have joined the

Spending

Kids

Inheritance

club.:D

[MicCanberra]

I actually avoid investing in super, other than what is compulsory.

 

I would like retire a bit younger (and cruise my remaining years :D ). As the prevervation age has increase from 55 to 60, and very likely will be tweeked several times again before I hit the required age, one could afford to retire, but actually couldn't. So I invest elsewhere.

 

Yes, you don't want all your eggs in one basket. I have been investing in cruises and of course there is no monetary return from this type of investment but I find I enjoy investing this way just the same.:p

[The_Big_M]

Hey Bob

If you are 65 and still have a mortgage it's not time to retire...unless it's a pittance per month..... scary...:eek: meant to add

our gas central heating down here is costing us around a $0.98 cents per day to run and we run it around 15 hrs a day... thank goodness for the blue card

 

$1/day. Wow. We don't even have central heating, just basic gas, and it costs a lot more than that. And our silly state government is preventing our own gas development, so prices will only go up.

[yatchet]

One thing to remember if on any centrelink pension is to always advise them if on a cruise that touches an overseas port. They will find out and they will penalise for not advising them. One older couple we know didn't and they lost subsidy to their expensive medication and their pension funds for a while. Very stressful for them.

This is from Human services/Centrelink, Re Aged Pension

 

 

If you are leaving Australia to live overseas, or you are planning on travelling for longer than 6 weeks, you should always contact us to discuss how your payments will be affected.

 

In most cases you do not need to tell us if you are travelling overseas for less than 6 weeks.

Edited August 7, 2014 by yatchet

[Jacs]

We're only early 30's at this stage so a long way off retiring, but are putting things slowly in place to hopefully be able to retire early and enjoy a lot more cruising :D We can currently access our Super at 60 and if things pan out how we are planning we will semi retire in our 50's and use funds from investment portfolios to fund the lifestyle until we can access super.

 

Well that's the dream anyway :D

[MicCanberra]

We're only early 30's at this stage so a long way off retiring, but are putting things slowly in place to hopefully be able to retire early and enjoy a lot more cruising :D We can currently access our Super at 60 and if things pan out how we are planning we will semi retire in our 50's and use funds from investment portfolios to fund the lifestyle until we can access super.

 

Well that's the dream anyway :D

 

Plan for tomorrow and live for today. :D

Dreams are nice to have and even better when they become reality. :D

[julzcruz]

Plan for tomorrow and live for today. :D

Dreams are nice to have and even better when they become reality. :D

Amen to that. My husband was of the mindset that travelling was put off until the mortgage & school fees were paid off until he had a heart attack at 42 years of age. Soon changed his mind after this major health scare. That was 15 years ago and we have travelled the world yearly since then.

[Guest012]

$1/day. Wow. We don't even have central heating, just basic gas, and it costs a lot more than that. And our silly state government is preventing our own gas development, so prices will only go up.

 

 

 

We count ourselves very lucky with the rebates, our house is new so insulated from top to bottom indoor temp hasn't dropped below 15c even on the -3c mornings:D we keep temp around 22c in the daytime... perfect....

 

 

now

 

Saw mention on here about "Reverse Mortgages".... be very very careful if thinking about this.... do your investigations and if you really have to borrow for leisure activities:rolleyes:, something i would never consider, keep the borrowings low...however and this sounds bad but if you know you only have a few years to live .... push the boat out and spend big if that is what you want.......but if you hang about for another 20 years you could find yourself in deep doggy do do's with little to no equity left in your home if you borrow big and don't make the effort to at least pay the monthly interest and service charge's ...with these loans from what I have been told the interest is generally higher than a normal mortgage.... My opinion only but if travel is that important to you why not sell up, size down, maximise your savings and travel to your hearts content....