Jeanette and her husband have retired with $700,000 in super, but are worried that they will run out of money. They have asked Noel Whittaker for guidance.
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Q. Jeanette
My husband and I are both retired. I am 61 and he is 64. We are living on an income stream. We are in a growth area. But the money is fast depleting from our income stream and I am starting to get worried we will run out of money. We have $700,000. Are we doing the right thing leaving it there?
A. In view of your ages, it is probably not wise to have your entire assets in the growth area. Certainly, growth should give you the best returns in the long term, but you need to have assets in your portfolio that will not be affected by market fluctuations.
You need to talk to a good adviser and agree on an asset allocation that suits your goals and your risk profile.
I have long recommended that retirees keep at least three years’ planned expenditure in the cash area. This should give sufficient time to handle the normal market volatility.
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Noel Whittaker is the author of Making Money Made Simple and numerous other books on personal finance. His advice is general in nature, and readers should seek their own professional advice before making any financial decisions.
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