Retirement is powerful and freeing. It’s time we treated it that way

In your working years, there’s structure. A job to show up to. Bills to pay. A mortgage to chip away at. School runs, packed calendars, the occasional holiday, a few career steps to climb.

Life is shaped by outside forces – deadlines, obligations, the steady rhythm of earning and spending. You can stay busy in that rhythm for decades. Never look too far ahead. Never open your super statement. Never stop to ask what happens next.

Retirement is not a set of rules that apply to everyone. It’s a phase of life that is packed with choices.Credit: Louise Kennerley

But then one day, the structure starts to loosen. The kids leave home. The career ladder stops looking so appealing – or maybe you’ve climbed as far as you care to. And for the first time, the idea of retirement starts to feel real. Not theoretical. Not distant. Just … there. On the horizon.

And suddenly, there’s no clear next step.

There’s no manager giving you a new title. No family schedule running your days. Just questions. Can I afford to stop working? Do I even want to stop? How do I turn my super into income? What will my life actually look like when it’s not ruled by routine?

This is the moment that catches many people off guard. Retirement has been sold to us as a finish line, a reward. But in reality, it’s a blank canvas. There’s no script. No formula. Even financial planners, when asked by clients what to do next, often throw the question back: Well, what are your goals?

Retirement is not a set of rules that apply to everyone. It’s a phase of life that is packed with choices.

It’s disorienting. But it’s also powerful.

Because this next stage of life is entirely self-driven. The era of external demands is winding down – and what comes next is shaped almost entirely by what you decide to do with your time, your money, and your values. It’s not a time to coast. It’s a time to shape your life into what you want it to be.

But most of us are out of practice. We’ve spent decades reacting to life – earning, working, raising, paying, coping. And now, in our 50s and early 60s, we’re being asked to switch gears completely.

To lead. To plan. To learn how our money actually works. To understand the mechanics of superannuation, retirement income, safe spending, housing choices, purpose and lifestyle – things we were never taught and have likely ignored for too long.

The challenge is, this next phase is financially complex. Retirement isn’t one decision, it’s a whole series of decisions that stack. And the order matters.

The smartest place to start isn’t with your super balance, or your pension eligibility, or even when you might stop working.

It’s with how much life actually costs. Most people have no idea how much they’re spending now, let alone what they’ll need later. But if you don’t understand your cost of living, it’s impossible to answer the big question, “Do I have enough?” with any confidence.

From there, the next step is mapping out your future income streams. Not just hoping that superannuation and the pension will cover it, but working out where your money will come from, in what form, and at what rate and pace.

Is it time to think about downsizing?Credit: Simon Letch

That means learning how to turn your super into a regular income stream. It means understanding drawdown rules, eligibility for the age pension, and whether part-time work might be part of your plan.

Once the income strategy is clear, it’s time to think about your home. For many Australians, it’s their biggest asset, but also their least flexible one. If it’s too big, poorly located, or tying up money you’ll need later, it’s worth asking whether your housing is still the right fit for the next 20 years.

Repositioning your home can free up capital, reduce costs, or even make you eligible for more support, if done wisely and with time to plan. It could also blow up your chances of getting the age pension, so don’t do it without thinking about it properly.

Next, take a good look at how long you actually want to keep working – and in what form. Do you still enjoy what you do? Are you prepared to keep doing it full-time, or is it time to step back a little?

For many, the answer isn’t a full exit – it’s a shift into part-time work, consulting, or something entirely different that suits your lifestyle and values in this next phase.

This is where your energy, income needs and bigger life goals need to align. The goal isn’t always to work longer – it’s to work on your terms, with a clear view of what comes next.

Then, get across how superannuation actually works in retirement. Most people grew their super thanks to defaults, and they don’t really know how to use it. The tax system flips entirely once you hit retirement phase, with many people eligible to draw their super tax-free – but you have to meet specific conditions and set things up the right way.

If you’re still contributing to super, you should also know the rules around concessional and non-concessional contributions, carry-forward caps, and when you might be better off putting money into your mortgage, your partner’s super, or another investment entirely.

None of this is passive. No one is going to hand you a road map. Not the government. Not your employer, your financial planner, or your super fund, unless you come prepared with clarity about what matters to you and what kind of life you want to lead.

This is what modern retirement looks like: it’s not automatic, and it’s not universal. It’s not a set of rules that apply to everyone. It’s a phase of life that is packed with choices. To make it epic, you need to be willing to step up, educate yourself and make those choices yourself.

Bec Wilson is the author of the bestseller, How to Have an Epic Retirement, and the newly released Prime Time: 27 lessons for the new midlife. She writes a weekly newsletter at epicretirement.net and hosts the Prime Time podcast.

• Advice given in this article is general in nature and is not intended to influence readers’ decisions about investing or financial products. They should always seek their own professional advice that takes into account their own personal circumstances before making financial decisions.

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