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Boomers Lack Good Planning
By Sam Holmesmany, Daily Telegraph
Australia
November 3, 2005
Austrailians hold unrealistic expectations about their retirement plans, with a large number of baby boomers ill-prepared to fund their twilight years.
Count Wealth Accountants drafted a list of the top 10 mistakes regarding retirement decisions based on a survey with its advisers.
Count chief finance officer Michael Spurr said retirees' number one mistake, according to advisers, was a failure to seek professional advice prior to retirement.
"I think there can be some unrealistic expectations about how long their money's going to last," Mr Spurr said.
"They don't really have a good knowledge about how their retirement savings should be invested - a lot of them leave their planning for retirement too late."
Inappropriate investment based on a lack of understanding of risk and return and redeeming eligible termination payments at the wrong time were also considered common mistakes.
Mr Spurr said the ideal time to look at retirement was when the children had moved away or when the mortgage was paid off.
"You start to get more surplus funds and they have to be invested appropriately," he said.
Soon-to-be retirees also put too much faith in the social security system as a means of supporting their retired lifestyles.
Not only was the old age pension less accessible than people thought, it was not enough to sustain an annual retirement plan, he said.
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