• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

SuperGuide

Superannuation and retirement planning information

  • SuperGuide Premium
  • Account
  • Log In
  • SuperGuide Premium
  • Account
  • Log In
  • How super works
    • Super for beginners
    • Super rules
    • Employers guide to super
    • Super contributions
    • Super and tax
    • Accessing super
    • Super news
    • Women and super
    • Super tips and strategies
    • How-to guides
    • Super quizzes
    • Superannuation Q&As
    • Superannuation glossary
  • Super funds
    • Best performing super funds
    • Super fund rankings
    • Best performing pension funds
    • Pension fund rankings
    • Super fund average returns
    • Super investing strategies
    • Comparing super funds
    • Choosing a super fund
    • Choosing an investment option
    • Super fund fees
    • Insurance and super
    • Super fund profiles
  • SMSFs
    • SMSFs for beginners
    • SMSF administration
    • SMSF checklists
    • SMSF compliance
    • SMSF investing
    • SMSF pensions
    • SMSF strategies
    • SMSF Q&As
  • Plan your retirement
    • Retirement planning for beginners
    • When should I retire?
    • How long will I live?
    • How much super do I need?
    • Will I get the Age Pension?
    • How much will I spend in retirement?
    • Financial advice
    • Retiring overseas
    • Preparing for retirement
    • Retirement planning strategies
    • Retirement calculators and reckoners
  • In retirement
    • Income in retirement
    • Super lump sums
    • Super pensions
    • Age Pension
    • Working in retirement
    • Life in retirement
    • Senior concessions and services
    • Aged care
    • Estate planning
    • Super death benefits

Home / In retirement / Life in retirement / 3 very different types of retirement

3 very different types of retirement

September 1, 2019 by Barbara Drury Leave a Comment

Reading time: 5 minutes

On this page

  • The second career
  • The new part-time business
  • The senior gap year

Once upon a time, you worked until you could go on the pension and then shuffled off into the sunset. These days, there’s no such thing as a typical retirement.

Whether it’s down to baby boomers reinventing retirement, older Australians being forced to work longer, or a bit of both, is a moot point. While our retirement income system is stuck in a 20th century straight-jacket, 21st century retirees are busting out all over.

Some have retirement thrust upon them via redundancy or illness. Others enjoy the freedom to ease into retirement gradually, swapping the daily grind for part-time work, early retirement, starting a business, volunteering, a senior gap year or passion projects.

Not only are we living longer than previous generations, but our expectations of retirement living are also higher. There comes a time for many when the body may be saying “give me a break” but the head is saying “just a few dollars more”.

Whatever the reason, the number of people working well into their 60s and 70s is increasing. According to the latest figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, 36% of 65-69-year-olds were still working in 2017 along with 18% of those aged over 70.

While some people are continuing to work well into their 60s and 70s because they enjoy it, in many cases necessity is the mother of invention. With the age of eligibility for the Age Pension gradually increasing from 66 today to 67 by 2024, the trend is likely to continue. SuperGuide spoke to three people whose retirement didn’t go as planned…


Advertisement
SuperGuide Premium is ad-free

The second career

National Seniors chief advocate, Ian Henschke, a former teacher and journalist, explains why his ‘retirement’ is typically atypical.

Around three years ago, at age 61, Ian Henschke retired from the ABC on a good defined benefits pension. Then almost immediately he was offered the job at National Seniors.

“I didn’t have to work but I was lucky to be offered a job and my wife said go for it.” So he did.

Around the same time his wife was made redundant and despite professional qualifications had trouble finding full-time work. With children now aged 13 and 15, a joint retirement heading off in a camper van wasn’t an option.

“I wanted (the children) to see a role model of a Dad who is working.”

Henschke says over the past 25 years late life fathers have become more common. And men and women are more likely to have older children still living at home at an age when their own parents had already retired.

Compare super funds

Read more...

Advertisement

Life is often complex and rarely goes completely to plan.

The new part-time business

The lives of today’s 50-plus Australian women are also complex in ways their mother’s lives were not.

When Perrie Croshaw sold her online holiday accommodation business on the NSW South Coast in 2017 at age 61, the aim was to set herself up for retirement and slow down a little.

Like many women of her generation, she entered her 50s with very little in superannuation. “I had time out to raise my children and I worked overseas before that.” Divorce also hammered home the point that a man was not a financial plan.

With the sale proceeds from her business, she bought an investment apartment in Kiama outright which she plans to live in eventually. When that happens, she’ll sell her current home to fund her retirement.

“It was the perfect time for me. Mum’s in a nursing home nearby so I can visit during the week without feeling I’m taking my eyes off the ball at work.”

Advertisement

Building her business over 10 years, beginning from her living room, became her retirement plan. Although she didn’t need to keep working after selling up, she wasn’t ready for retirement.

“I’m a knitter, but I would have gone mad just knitting. The thing you miss when you sell a business is the loss of society – it was like family. We had people in their 20s, 30s and 70s and we would bring in cakes to the office to share.

“I’m single and haven’t got a partner to buy a Winnebago and travel the country, so I got back on the horse.”

Rather than wind down, she’s busier than ever with a mix of work and passion projects.

She and a friend “in a similar space” started a small property sales business on a part-time basis. “We can pick and choose properties to list, enjoy what we do and have fun working with clients without having to build a business to sell.”

She’s also on the board of Destination Kiama, a member of the Berry Chamber of Commerce and co-founder and organiser of the Bird Haven festival now in its second year.


Advertisement

For the time being at least, the traditional notion of retirement isn’t even on the horizon.

The senior gap year

Chris Herrmann was 62 when his wife of 40 years suddenly passed away three years ago.

“The suddenness of it brought home that we’re not here forever,” he says. That got him thinking about a break from his normal routine as a transition to another life stage.

What came next was a surprise even to himself.

“I used to joke about kids going off on a gap year and that they should get a job like the rest of us.” Not anymore.

“As we get older, we get stuck in our comfort zone. One person was stopping me from doing a trip and that was me. I kept thinking I’m too old, I’d be travelling alone, what would happen if I got sick or had a heart attack.”

At the time, he had a small online business that he could operate from anywhere. So, he sold or stored his possessions and bought a round-the-world ticket with three stop-offs on three continents. First stop was Spain and he played it by ear from there, eventually travelling to Central America and Southeast Asia, staying mostly in hostels alongside young backpackers.

“Even though I was travelling alone I was never lonely.” In Spain he tapped into the local expat community until he learned some Spanish then branched out to meet locals. With three kids and 7 grandkids back in Australia, he says he spoke to them more regularly while he was away than he did when home in Perth.

Towards the end of his gap year he sold his business as the seeds of a new life emerged. “It’s never been my intention to retire,” he says.

His book My senior gap year is a record of his travels and a call to others his own age to set off on their own adventure. He’s working to set up online courses and create programs for people to go for 1-3 months, to explore local culture with a network of people to connect with.

He’s also looking to develop volunteering for people who have reached a point in their life where they want to give back.

While it took a crisis for Herrmann to make a radical life change, he urges even comfortably married couples not to get stuck in routine.

“Sometimes you need to create a crisis so one is not thrust on you,” he says.

The takeaway is, there’s literally no end to the possibilities for retirement – it can be whatever you want it to be.

Do you have an unusual or exciting retirement plan that you would like to share? We’d love to hear from you. Email us at contact@superguide.com.au with the details.

Want to understand the super and pension rules in retirement?

Become a SuperGuide Premium member and access independent expert commentary on important retirement rules, including taking a super lump or starting a super pension, working in retirement, the Age Pension rules, Commonwealth Seniors Health Card and the latest super rates and thresholds.

Includes performance rankings for 235 super funds and 166 pension funds, more than 600 articles, how-to guides, checklists, tips and strategies, calculators, case studies, quizzes and a monthly newsletter.

Find out more


Learn more about life in retirement in the following SuperGuide articles:

Reverse mortgages: What are they and how do they work?

December 2, 2020

Age Pension rates (March 2020 to March 2021)

September 18, 2020

Age Pension calculator: How much could you be eligible for?

September 18, 2020

Case studies: How is the Age Pension assessed?

September 17, 2020

How to maximise your Age Pension

September 17, 2020

Am I eligible for the Age Pension?

September 3, 2020

What is the Pension Loans Scheme, and how does it work?

September 2, 2020

What government services are available for older Australians?

September 1, 2020

How to make super contributions after you’ve retired

July 8, 2020

Video: Wellbeing in retirement

July 1, 2020

Worried about your post-virus finances? 10 tips to help stretch your retirement dollars

April 1, 2020

What strategies can I consider to reduce tax on my super pension?

April 1, 2020

Minimum pension payments for 2020/21 (including calculator)

April 1, 2020

Is a bucket strategy the solution for your retirement income plan?

March 23, 2020

How does your super affect the Age Pension?

March 1, 2020

Introduction to aged care

February 13, 2020

What concession cards are available for Seniors and Pensioners?

January 15, 2020

Your simple guide to state Seniors Cards: How they can save you money

January 1, 2020

How to choose an investment option for your super pension

December 11, 2019

Commonwealth Seniors Health Card: What it is and how to apply

October 15, 2019

Have you got an exit plan? The importance of estate planning

September 4, 2019

Who gets your super when you die? A guide to death benefit nominations

July 12, 2019

Starting a pension from your super

July 1, 2019

Related topics

In retirement Life in retirement

IMPORTANT: All information on SuperGuide is general in nature only and does not take into account your personal objectives, financial situation or needs. You should consider whether any information on SuperGuide is appropriate to you before acting on it. If SuperGuide refers to a financial product you should obtain the relevant product disclosure statement (PDS) or seek personal financial advice before making any investment decisions. Comments provided by readers that may include information relating to tax, superannuation or other rules cannot be relied upon as advice. SuperGuide does not verify the information provided within comments from readers. Learn more

© Copyright SuperGuide 2009-21. Copyright for this article belongs to SuperGuide Pty Ltd, and cannot be reproduced without express and specific consent. Learn more

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

How super works
Super for beginners
Super rules
Employers guide to super
Super contributions
Super and tax
Accessing super
Super news
Women and super
Super tips and strategies
How-to guides
Super quizzes
Superannuation Q&As
Superannuation glossary
Super funds
Best performing super funds
Super fund rankings
Best performing pension funds
Pension fund rankings
Super fund average returns
Super investing strategies
Comparing super funds
Choosing a super fund
Choosing an investment option
Super fund fees
Insurance and super
Super fund profiles
SMSFs
SMSFs for beginners
SMSF administration
SMSF checklists
SMSF compliance
SMSF investing
SMSF pensions
SMSF strategies
SMSF Q&As
Plan your retirement
Retirement planning for beginners
When should I retire?
How long will I live?
How much super do I need?
Will I get the Age Pension?
How much will I spend in retirement?
Financial advice
Retiring overseas
Preparing for retirement
Retirement planning strategies
Retirement calculators and reckoners
In retirement
Income in retirement
Super lump sums
Super pensions
Age Pension
Working in retirement
Life in retirement
Senior concessions and services
Aged care
Estate planning
Super death benefits
Advertisement
Compare super funds

Footer

Important: Disclaimer

All information on SuperGuide is general in nature only and does not take into account your personal objectives, financial situation or needs.

You should consider whether any information on SuperGuide is appropriate to you before acting on it.

If SuperGuide refers to a financial product you should obtain the relevant product disclosure statement (PDS) or seek personal financial advice before making any investment decisions.

Learn more

About SuperGuide

SuperGuide is Australia’s leading superannuation and retirement planning website. Learn more

Superguide Pty Ltd ATF Superguide Unit Trust as a Corporate Authorised Representative (CAR) is a Corporate Authorised Representative of Independent Financial Advisers Australia, AFSL 464629

  • Contact us
  • Advertise on SuperGuide
  • Careers

Before using this website

  • New to SuperGuide?
  • Terms and Conditions of Use
  • Financial Services Guide
  • Privacy Policy and Privacy Collection
  • Copyright Policy
  • Editorial Policy and Complaints
  • Disclaimer

  • SuperGuide Premium
  • Subscriber feedback
  • Sitemap