Looking after your health and your wealth: tips from the Aware Super team

In the wake of a global pandemic, we’re all more aware of how important our health is to our happiness and wellbeing. And when things aren’t going well for us health wise, it can be a major source of stress. In the latest NAB Australian Wellbeing Survey, health issues were the second biggest cause of stress (27%) after living costs (48%) which came out highest¹.

With inflation running higher than it’s been for almost 30 years, it’s no surprise that living costs are having a negative impact on the wellbeing of many Australians. But when we look at the survey results for people aged 65+, the gap between health and living costs as stress factors is much smaller. For this cohort, 39% say living costs were their biggest source of stress in the last three months, while 37% gave health issues as their number one stressor.

Concerns about funding for their future health issues are also on the minds of older Australians. According to a 2022 National Seniors Australia report on the evolution of retirement income, the top reason for retirees to keep savings put aside is to provide for their medical or health needs (86.3%)². This highlights how important it is to have a complete picture of your finances in retirement that includes your annual spending budget as well as a contingency for unplanned expenses like medical bills and aged care costs.

1 NAB Australian Wellbeing Survey Q3-2022, https://business.nab.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/NAB-Australian-Wellbeing-Survey-Q3-2022.pdf
2 National Seniors Australia, The evolution of retirement income: A 2022 snapshot https://nationalseniors.com.au/research/retirement/the-evolution-of-retirement-income-a-2022-snapshot

Prevention is better than cure

To keep your body, mind and finances in the best of shape, it’s definitely the case that putting some effort into looking after things now can do a lot to prevent problems in the future. Just as regular exercise and a good diet can work wonders for keeping you healthy, budgeting and planning for retirement can get you ready to enjoy a comfortable lifestyle for longer.

Top tips from our team

Here at Aware Super, we’re all dedicated to helping our members make the most of their finances and their time in retirement. Four of our team members, Andrew, Michael, Belinda and Cameron have come up with their best tips for looking after your wealth and your health before and during retirement.

Andrew Beer, Financial Planner

Have a purpose in life

“Having a clear purpose in retirement is really important. What I mean by this is, something that motivates you to get out of bed each day. This might be a volunteer position, continuing part-time work, starting a new hobby or looking after family/friends as a few examples. Many retirees that I speak to struggle with a loss of identity. Their job has previously defined them as people and without it they feel undervalued or lost. Having a purpose in life helps remind retirees how purpose vital they are to our communities and society in general.”

Michael Faehndrich, Advice Delivery Manager

Keeping exercising and get a good night’s sleep

“I’m often looking at longevity research and the things I keep coming across are related to sleep and exercise. Doing resistance training to maintain muscle mass becomes really important as you age but some cardiovascular training is also part of an exercise regime for good health.

I’m also really interested in the benefits of fasting and ice baths or cold showers as a way to reduce inflammation which can lead to all sorts of short and long term health problems.”

Belinda Lynch, Financial Planner

Consider making extra contributions

“As a Financial Planner I help people achieve their financial goals and have a better understanding of their finances. This includes educating clients on the advantages of super and what they can be doing during their working life to improve their financial outcomes in retirement. For SASS members I suggest checking on their points to make sure they are maximising their employer component of the scheme. It may be worth thinking about increasing their contributions as they can catch up their points or just accumulate more savings, as this can make a large difference to their overall benefit on retirement.”

Cameron Stewart, Financial Planner

Get the most from your super savings

“An important way to look after your financial wellbeing would be to get a good understanding of your super scheme. SASS is such a great scheme that needs some knowledge of how the scheme works to ensure you are getting the most out of your retirement savings. If you do not understand your scheme, you could be missing out on many thousands of dollars in your retirement.  

Looking at the educational information on the State Super website is a good place to start. You can also attend an Aware Super webinar which can walk you through how your scheme works and give you a chance to ask questions. When you’re closer to retirement it’s really important to speak with a Financial Planner that has an understanding of how your scheme works.” 

The information contained in this article is given in good faith and has been derived from sources believed to be reliable and accurate. No warranty as to the accuracy or completeness of this information is given and no responsibility is accepted by Aware Super Pty Ltd or its employees for any loss or damage arising from reliance on the information provided.

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