Don’t count on the pension. Plan to retire financially fit. Learn why property investment is the smart way to set up your long term financial security.
Australia is a “greying” population. Healthier than ever, we’re living well into our 80s — and beyond. This means we’re working for longer, sure, but it also means we’re retiring for longer.
Much longer.
60 years ago, the average Aussie bloke retired for just 2 years. Today, he’s expected to be retired for some 25 years! And the Age Pension simply isn’t keeping pace.
Last year, The Australian reported that “rising life expectancy and relentless relaxation of the eligibility requirements have seen the annual cost of the Age Pension — $44 billion last financial year, nearly a quarter of all income tax revenue — almost doubled since the early 1970s…”.
Case in point: in 1995, Census data revealed there were 6 taxpayers to 1 retiree. In 2020 there will be just 3 taxpayers to 1 retiree. With 1 in 6 Australians now over the age of 65, the strain on the Age Pension is only set to grow.
Retirement realities.
International reports state that older people are in fact working longer in an attempt to “plug the financial gap between an inadequate pension and a long retirement”.
Back home in Australia, recent data from the ABS tells us that, proportionally, a whopping 63% of 100 people at the age of 65 will be financially dependant. Even more stark stats: nearly half of all retirees living on an income of just $13,000 or less per year, with just 3% of all retirees living on an income $65,000+ per year.
It’s not like these folks didn’t earn money in their working life. They did — and plenty of it. Thing is, a retirement security plan doesn’t equate to how much cash you pulled in during your working life. It comes down to how much money you keep, and how hard that money works for you. It comes down to being smart.
Your retirement security plan.
Good news is, your retirement doesn’t have to be at the mercy of a perpetually ticking pension time bomb. You can build long lasting wealth through property investment. You can live off your equity. And you can be financially independent.
Step 1: Plan now.
- Step 1: use your equity in your home, or use a cash deposit, to purchase your first investment property
- Step 2: use the equity in your first property to buy investment property 2
- Step 3: continue to expand and build your investment property portfolio.
Step 2: Retire smart.
- Step 1: sell half your property portfolio to reduce debt and enable you to live off rental income
- Step 2: live off equity
- Step 3: pass your portfolio onto your children.
The first property is always the hardest. The aim of the game is to make a smart decision on your first investment property, which you can then leverage to build an investment property portfolio.
Smart property investment is a long play. It takes time, patience and planning. But when it comes to a retirement scraping by on a megre pension or living a retired life filled with travel, leisure and family — what would you prefer?
Start planning your secure retirement today.
Talk to a trusted property investment expert before kicking-off any property investment strategy. There’s a lot to consider, and OpenCorp can help.
Contact us today or watch our video on how to select a property using the Market, Area & Property (M.A.P) process.
