How Financial Planning Helped Adam & Christine Prepare for Retirement

When we met Adam and Christine

We met Adam and Christine when they were in their 50s. Both were established professionals with two daughters in secondary school, and they wanted to move to part-time work from around age 60 without compromising their long-term financial position.

They had already built a strong foundation, including savings, superannuation and several investment properties. However, the different parts of their finances were largely operating independently rather than working together as one coordinated retirement strategy.

One property still had an outstanding loan, while another had ongoing holding and maintenance costs that the rental income did not fully cover. Their properties, debt, savings and superannuation all needed to be considered together.

Consolidating some of the properties and reducing debt appeared sensible, but Adam and Christine were understandably conscious of the potential capital gains tax consequences and wanted to avoid making major financial decisions in isolation.

Most importantly, they wanted confidence that they could transition towards part-time work and retirement while maintaining a sustainable financial position for the years ahead.

 Where They Are Now: Ongoing Financial Planning Clients 

Adam and Christine decided to become ongoing clients of Money Over 50, allowing us to implement and continue managing their financial plan over time.

Their strategy brought together their property assets, debt, investments, superannuation and retirement planning so each part worked towards the same long-term goal.

Over time, they sold their investment properties and repaid their remaining loan. Through careful planning around superannuation contributions and capital gains tax, a significant portion of the sale proceeds was able to be directed towards their superannuation.

During their remaining years of full-time work, surplus cash flow was also directed towards tax-deductible superannuation contributions. This helped reduce their personal tax position while continuing to build their retirement savings.

After reaching age 60 and satisfying the relevant conditions of release, Adam and Christine were able to convert their superannuation into retirement income streams. Under current superannuation rules, eligible account-based pension earnings and payments can receive highly concessional tax treatment.

Their retirement income strategy now provides them with a strong source of ongoing income and greater flexibility around how much they choose to work.

Christine has since reduced her hours and is working part-time, while Adam continues working because, apparently, saying “no” is still a work in progress.