Rules for retirement

When Australians retire the most popular place for them to move is Queensland — usually the Gold Coast or the Sunshine Coast, with many even making the long hop to Cairns.

But according to Owen Weeks, the Sunshine state, with its beaches, warm climate and laid back atmosphere, might not always be the best place for them to move.

Weeks, who is director of Melbourne-based planning firm Lifestyle Matters, believes offering good lifestyle advice should make up an essential part of a financial planner’s advice proposition. He and his wife Jill are the authors of Where to retire in Australia, which is, they claim, the first book that compares and researches alternative retirement locations in Australia.

Weeks says many of those who opt for Queensland are breaking what he calls the 200 kilometre rule.

“The biggest mistake people make is actually moving out of, say, Sydney and travelling huge distances or to what I call dying towns — a town that’s got no future and is going nowhere. Then 10 years later they realise they should be back in Sydney because they’ve got ailments or they get cancer or something.”

Weeks says thanks to Sydney’s ever inflating property prices they’ll have ‘no chance’ of being able to move back home, where they will often be closer to their family and friends. For that reason he argues that retirees should never move more than 200 kilometres from their original house.

He adds it is also essential that retirees consider other important factors before they decide to relocate, such as the availability of good medical facilities, broadband Internet access, security, cost of living, climate and the existence of retirement villages “for when they start to dribble”.

And once they’ve found the right place, Weeks says it is imperative that retirees find something they enjoy doing to keep themselves occupied and maybe even make a little bit of much needed money on the side.

“If you find something you really like doing, the income that comes in can be offsetting your pension or superannuation payments and give you the chance to travel.”

Some hobbies Weeks suggests can generate a buck or two include trading over the Internet, writing a book, growing and selling plants, and restoring old cars.

Weeks says he has come across someone who makes money out of trading old slide rulers. Another buys Parker and Schaeffer fountain pens for $10 dollars in Australia and sells them to Americans for $300.

“I’ve met a fantastic guy who helps sporting clubs and public servants do all the paperwork that goes to the Governor General’s office before someone gets a service award. He’s done about 300 applications for them and charges $2,400 a pop.”

“There’s people doing incredible things right across Australia. They’re just beavering away in their own homes, using the Internet, using contacts — and they may only be making $10,000 or $20,000 a year extra, but it’s the extra that makes all the difference.”

Owen Weeks’ session, ‘Retirement Lifestyle — How You and Your Clients Can Get the Best Outcomes’, will be held on Thursday 2 December at 11:55am-12:55pm.