Advice when planning for retirement

If you're approaching retirement, you may have a number of options to boost your savings. One strategy you might consider if you are aged 55 or over and still working is a 'transition to retirement' strategy, in which:

• you put part of your pre-tax salary directly into your super fund
• you invest some of your super into a Transition to Retirement Pension (TRP), an income stream that draws on your super, and
• you use the regular payments from the TRP to replace the income you sacrifice into super.

This allows you to grow your retirement savings, without impacting the amount of money you have to live off.

If you are self-employed, investing some of your business income in your super will get the strategy working, and you can also claim a tax deduction for your contribution.

Investing in a TRP could also allow you to maintain today's income and standard of living while you reduce your working hours by drawing on your super.

Establishing a TRP is just one of a range of strategies that could help you get ahead. To understand if this or other strategies are relevant to your unique circumstances, you need to speak to a financial adviser.