I was reading an ABC news article on the weekend which shared the statistic that 50% of retirees are living in poverty. It's definitely a sentence that caught my attention (and if you are reading this email, caught yours too!)

They shared that the single most key reason for this figure is simple - that the age pension assumes home ownership (which is becoming rarer).

It goes on the share superannuation statistics (which I have shared multiple times) but it does bring point this fact about the average superannuation balances:

"grossly inflated by the fact some people have very large superannuation balances. 75 per cent of retired renters have total assets, including any car and personal effects, of less than $125,000," Brendan Coates says"

One of the key takeaways from the article is that in years to come there will be a huge percentage of retirees who will need to rent in retirement and the age pension certainly doesn't allow enough for this fact.

All because people cannot buy a property today to accumulate capital growth that can be tapped into a later date.

You can read the article here:

Now if nothing changes then certainly this will be the case. If people don't approach their financial future strategically then there is a very good chance that even their simple lifestyle today of having takeaway once or twice a week, perhaps going to the movies every now and then and enjoying an indulgent Christmas dinner will be incredibly difficult on the age pension and minimal super.

The article shares that a core problem is that people aren't experiencing home ownership and that is impacting their retirement. However the fact is people are treating home ownership as something they MUST live in, in a location that suits their lifestyle.

This is not strategic thinking.

If you are renting today in an area that you love but cannot afford to purchase in then stop trying to force a square box into a circle hole.

Start looking at where you can afford to buy (and continue to live where you want to live). What I am talking about is rentvesting. For example, there are currently properties in QLD that are between $300,000 and $400,000 that are in locations that have already started to boom (I have one client that has already made $50,000 in 3 months in this region).

No one is saying you have to live there. Stay where you are, tighten your frivolous spending and invest for your financial future. Even $300,000 will be at least $600,000 if you're retiring in 10+years - probably more than your superannuation ever will be.

If you need to play financial catch up – feel free to reach out for a complimentary chat at christine.williams@smarterpropertyinvesting.com.au I’d be glad to give you some tips 😊

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