As Australians approach retirement, even long‑time savers often feel uncertain about whether they’re truly prepared. In the decade before retirement, many people begin to worry about whether they’ve saved enough, whether their super is invested the right way, and how long their money will last.
Between changing superannuation rules, tax considerations, and investment choices, it’s easy to feel unsure about whether you’re making the right decisions. Working with an expert financial planner can help bring clarity to those decisions, highlight potential risks or missed opportunities, and give you greater confidence about the path ahead.
For people in their 50s, a financial planner focuses on a few key areas: getting a clear picture of retirement goals, optimising superannuation, improving cash flow, reducing debt, structuring investments tax‑effectively, and building a clear, personalised retirement plan. This kind of tailored financial advice from an Australian financial planner can help ensure your savings last throughout retirement and support the lifestyle you want.
Case Study: How Financial Advice Helped Mark & Lisa — 10 Years From Retirement With $500k in Super and Savings
This scenario is common for families across Australia, from Sydney to Perth, who are planning their retirement.
Meet Mark and Lisa
- Mark, 56, works in middle management earning around $105,000 a year.
- Lisa, 54, is an administrative coordinator earning $68,000.
- They’ve accumulated $420,000 in superannuation, plus $80,000 in savings and investments.
- Their home is nearly paid off, with around $60,000 remaining on the mortgage.
- They also provide occasional financial support to their two adult children.
On paper, things looked reasonably solid. But when they stepped back, both realised they’d never actually put a retirement plan in place. Their super was sitting in conservative options, they weren’t making extra contributions, and most of their savings were parked in low-interest accounts. With retirement about ten years away, they wanted to know if they were genuinely on track — and whether there was still time to make meaningful improvements.
Why They Reached Out Now
A recent conversation with friends who had met with a financial adviser prompted Mark and Lisa to reflect on their own situation. They realised they couldn’t confidently answer key questions:
When can we afford to retire?
How much income will we have?
How should our super be invested?
What should we be doing differently?
Feeling overwhelmed by conflicting information online, they wanted a professional who could cut through the noise and help them create a clear, achievable retirement plan.
The Financial Advice Process and What Was Learned
Understanding Their Goals
In their first meeting, their financial adviser spent time understanding what Mark and Lisa wanted their retirement to look like. They hoped to finish work around 65, travel every couple of years, help their children in small ways, and maintain a comfortable lifestyle.
They wanted to enter retirement debt‑free, have a stable income they could rely on, and avoid becoming a financial burden on their family.
This conversation provided the foundation for modelling how much they needed to save, how long their money would need to last, and which strategies would support their goals.
Reviewing Their Finances
The adviser conducted a full review of their super, investments, insurance, cash flow, and debt. Several issues quickly became clear:
- Their superannuation was spread across multiple accounts with duplicated fees
- Their super investments were overly conservative for their time frame
- They weren’t using tax‑effective strategies like salary sacrifice
- Their remaining mortgage, although small, was limiting their savings potential
- Their insurance and estate planning were outdated
This overview helped highlight exactly where changes could have the greatest impact.
The Strategy: What the Financial Adviser Recommended
Rather than overwhelming Mark and Lisa with a lot of technical detail, their financial adviser laid out a clear, step‑by‑step strategy for the decade ahead of their planned retirement. This strategy addressed each concern and built a retirement plan aligned with their lifestyle goals.
1. Superannuation and Investments
Their four super accounts were consolidated into two, reducing duplicate fees. Their investment mix was adjusted to a balanced/growth portfolio aligned with their 9–11 year investment horizon. Salary‑sacrifice contributions were also introduced—$12,000 per year for Mark and $8,000 for Lisa—to boost retirement savings while reducing taxable income at the same time. The adviser also discussed using catch‑up concessional contributions later.
2. Debt and Cash Flow
Redirecting $1,500 per month toward their mortgage would allow them to pay it off in around four years, which the adviser confirmed was realistic after accounting for interest. Some small lifestyle adjustments made his achievable:
- Slightly reduced discretionary spending
- Paused larger non‑essential purchases
- Reviewed their grocery and utility bills
- Would put occasional tax refunds and work bonuses toward debt reduction.
These changes meant they could stay on track without feeling restricted. They would also work to establish a six‑month emergency fund to ensure these new commitments didn’t leave them financially stretched.
3. Tax and Investment Structure
Rather than leaving their $80,000 sitting in low‑interest accounts, the adviser helped them put that money to work in a diversified investment portfolio. They also talked through why directing more savings into super made sense from a tax perspective, and how that could meaningfully improve their long‑term retirement outcome.
4. Retirement Income Planning
The adviser walked them through what their income could realistically look like once they stopped working. By mapping out different scenarios — including income from super, likely drawdown levels, and whether the Age Pension might play a role — Mark and Lisa were finally able to connect their super balance to a real, day‑to‑day retirement income they could understand.
5. Insurance and Estate Planning
They also reviewed areas that had been left untouched for years. This included updating insurance that no longer suited their needs, removing cover they didn’t really need inside super, and getting their estate planning in order. With updated Wills, enduring powers of attorney, and death benefit nominations in place, they could be confident their affairs were organised and their family would be looked after if something unexpected happened.
The Outcome: A Clear and Confident Retirement Plan
With the strategy implemented, Mark and Lisa felt something new: clarity and confidence. Their financial advisor now reviews their progress annually, helping them refine their plan as needed.
- Super Growth. Modelling showed their combined super growing from $420,000 to around $1.1–$1.2 million by age 65—driven by a more growth‑focused investment mix, regular salary‑sacrifice contributions, fewer fees after consolidation, and the compounding effect of consistent contributions over the decade before retirement.
- No Mortgage. Their home will be fully paid off within four years. Their investments are now structured for long‑term growth, and their insurance and estate planning are up to date.
- Comfortable Retirement Income. Rather than looking at abstract projections, the adviser focused on what day‑to‑day life in retirement might actually feel like. With the mortgage gone, Mark and Lisa’s ongoing expenses would be much lower than they are today. When the adviser stepped through the year by year numbers with them, it became clear their super could support their living costs for a long time, even allowing for inflation. Using a drawdown rate of around 4% (a common guideline), they could see how their income would stretch over 25–30 years while still leaving room for holidays and the occasional helping hand for their children.
- Inheritance Plan. They also wanted to understand what might happen to their money over time. By testing different spending scenarios, the adviser showed they could enjoy retirement without using everything up. Even on conservative assumptions, there was likely to be a meaningful balance left later on, giving them confidence they could still support their children if needed.
More than anything, Mark and Lisa came away with a clearer picture of what the years ahead could look like. Instead of guessing or worrying about ‘what ifs’, they now have a plan they understand — and the confidence that comes from knowing where they stand.
Key Takeaways: The Value of Working With a Financial Adviser
This case study highlights how practical, well‑timed advice can help people make sense of their finances as retirement gets closer. In Mark and Lisa’s case, having someone step back, challenge assumptions, and put a clear plan around their super and savings turned a lot of uncertainty into something far more manageable.
Everyone’s financial situation is different, but choosing the right adviser and the right advice can make decisions feel easier. If you’d like support planning your retirement, a qualified financial planner can walk you through your options.
Disclaimer
This article is for illustrative and educational purposes only. It is based on a hypothetical scenario and does not constitute personal financial advice. All financial planning decisions should be based on advice tailored to your personal goals, financial situation, and needs, provided by a licensed Australian Financial Services (AFS) professional.
