Retirement. It\u2019s one of those milestones that everyone looks forward to, but if you\u2019re not careful, it can sneak up on you. If you\u2019re not careful, you might find yourself still working well into your golden years, scratching your head about where all the money went. So, what\u2019s the biggest mistake many Australians are making when it comes to preparing for this chapter? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
One of the most common mistakes people make is working longer than they need to. Sounds strange, right? You\u2019d think we\u2019d all want to work less, not more. But Chris Strano, founder of Super Guy, points out to Yahoo News<\/a> that many people, when they first sit down with a financial planner, discover they don\u2019t actually need to work those extra three or four years they\u2019ve been budgeting for. They\u2019ve been too conservative in their planning, thinking they needed to pad their savings just in case.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let\u2019s face it, no one wants to waste their best years behind a desk just because they didn\u2019t run the numbers. If you\u2019re approaching retirement, it\u2019s a good idea to figure out if you can afford to walk away sooner than expected.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The next big mistake that creeps up on retirees is not optimising their super contributions. As you near retirement, you\u2019ve got a chance to significantly reduce taxes by contributing more to your super. This might mean salary sacrificing or making after-tax contributions, but Strano stresses the importance of making these contributions in a tax-efficient manner. If you don\u2019t do this right, you\u2019re essentially leaving money on the table, which could have helped grow your retirement fund.<\/p>\n\n\n\nMissing Out on Superannuation Contributions<\/h2>\n\n\n\n