Q: In recent decades, redundancy has become increasingly common for Australians in the corporate world. Were you shocked when it happened to you?

A: Yes. It was a big thing for me because my work was my life and my life was my work. I was there six days a week, 12 hours a day, and I travelled a lot, across Europe and the Asia-Pacific region. I’d been with my last employer, an American IT company, for 32 years and suddenly I didn’t have anything to wake up to.

I hadn’t planned on retirement for a few more years so, at 62, I had to pick myself up, dust myself off and try to find something to do.

I also had to look at the prospect of drawing on my super to live on. There was some stress for me around thinking about whether I should still try to earn some money to support myself on a daily basis. It took a while before I was able to tell myself, ‘You’ve got your house, you’ve got your super – just relax into it and let your stress go’.

Q: What was your next move after you were given the news?

A: I went back to Europe – I’m from Amsterdam originally, although Australia has been my home for the last 40 years – and I trekked a section of the Camino trail, the last 100 kilometres, through Galicia in Spain. During that time I did some thinking about what I wanted the next stage of my life to look like.

After I returned to Australia, I saw a financial planner to talk about how I should invest my super – whether I should leave it where it was, roll it over into a better-performing fund or make a lump sum withdrawal. Around that time, a friend said to me, ‘You have a car in the garage. While you’re thinking about what to do next, why don’t you try ridesharing?’ And I thought, ‘That’s a good idea!’

So I started driving a few hours a day for different platforms. I’m still doing it and loving it. Not everyone is a fan of the gig economy, but it’s a good model for retirees – you can still get up, make an income and meet people, on your own terms.

Q: Two years on, as a single, semi-retired woman, do you feel relaxed about your financial position?

A: Yes. I am absolutely in a comfortable place and I can only be thankful for that. When I read stories about women my age in difficult financial circumstances, I feel very blessed to have worked for a long time in an industry and a professional environment where I earned good money and super was taken out of your pay and added to by the company. I didn’t think much about this when I was younger because I was busy, working and raising my daughter, and I had enough to live off – my super was just accumulating in the background.

Q: Do you have any advice for younger women who aspire to being financially independent in retirement?

A: When you’re 20 or 30, you don’t realise what 60 is going to look like and how quickly it comes around. If young people only understood that, they’d do very different things. You really need to be aware of how much money you’re going to need to live a certain lifestyle when you’re 60 or 65.

It sounds pretty basic, but living within your means – not letting your expenses exceed your income – is really the key. Although I’ve never had a budget, I’ve always done that. When you’re younger and you don’t have a lot of responsibilities, it’s easy to live for the day – to see the nice dress and put it on your credit card and not think too much about saving for tomorrow. But not spending it all today can mean a lot more choices later on in your life. And get rid of your debts – paying off your mortgage gives you a lot of financial freedom.

Further reading

• Retirees benefitting from the gig economy
• 10 Australian women share their number one money tip
• To fly in retirement, plan your own path

Disclaimer: The information contained in this communication is general in nature and does not take into account your objectives, financial situation or needs. You should consider whether it is appropriate for your personal circumstances prior to making any investment decision.