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Bec Wilson<\/a>Money contributor<\/p>\nSeptember 5, 2026 \u2014 5:00am<\/p>\n
September 5, 2026 \u2014 5:00am<\/p>\n
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Remove items from your saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n AAA<\/p>\n If you\u2019re in your 50s or 60s, you\u2019ve probably spent most of your adult life contributing to super. But has anyone actually taught you what to do with it when you retire? And does the thought of having to make that money last for the rest of your life make you nervous? You\u2019re not alone.<\/p>\n Think about it. Do you know how much you can afford to take out each year? How much should stay invested? What happens if the sharemarket falls just after you retire? How might the Age Pension fit into your retirement picture? Or how you can tell whether your money is likely to last until you\u2019re 90 or 95?<\/p>\n These are pretty fundamental questions when you\u2019re about to give up your pay cheque and live off your life savings. Yet most of us have never been taught how to answer them.<\/p>\n And frankly, why would we know? For the past 30-odd years, almost all the attention has been on getting money into super, not teaching us how to confidently get it back out.<\/p>\n I want to turn this problem into a simple metaphor, so we can all see some fun in it.<\/p>\n Related Article For decades, Australia has been building planes. And every single one of us has our own plane. Some are big and some are small, but thanks to compulsory super, most working Australians will have a solid, well-constructed plane when they get to retirement, with fuel in the tank, ready to fly. Most of us don\u2019t know where we want to go yet \u2013 but that\u2019s easily fixed with a few maps.<\/p>\n The problem is, we\u2019ve spent all the past 33 years building the planes, and making them bigger and better, and filling them with fuel. But we forgot to build the runway and the flight school. And, heaven forbid, nobody has taught anyone how to fly a plane.<\/p>\n Now, as millions of Australians approach retirement, we\u2019re handing them the keys to these planes, and expecting them to know how to fly them.<\/p>\n No wonder we\u2019re nervous.<\/p>\n And we are nervous! AMP\u2019s latest Retirement Confidence report has found that only 52 per cent of Australians feel financially confident about retirement. Almost three in five worry that they will run out of money.<\/p>\n Getting to retirement doesn\u2019t fix it. Confidence among Australians aged 65 and over actually fell from 65 per cent to 61 per cent this year.<\/p>\n You need to understand the basic controls, know where you\u2019re heading, have a flight plan, and know what you\u2019ll do if the conditions change.<\/p>\n But perhaps the most interesting finding is what might make us feel better. A whopping 84 per cent said knowing they had income for life would make them more confident about spending in retirement.<\/p>\n That says something pretty important. We don\u2019t necessarily solve this problem by building bigger planes (or bigger super balances). We need to teach people how to fly the planes they already have, and potentially build some really good autopilots.<\/p>\n But most Australians shouldn\u2019t need to become deep-seated retirement experts. They just need to understand enough to know where they\u2019re going, how much fuel they\u2019ve got, what the important controls do before they flash red, and when they need help. Increasingly, there are ways to put part of the flight on autopilot, using retirement products that can provide some income for life \u2013 but most people don\u2019t know about them yet.<\/p>\n Let\u2019s consider this your first fear-free flying lesson. There are four things people should grasp if they\u2019re trying to reduce their fear of flying into retirement.<\/p>\n Know where you\u2019re going \u2013 and what it could cost<\/p>\n Before you ask yourself \u201cDo I have enough super?\u201d sit down and think about what you want your retirement to look like, everyday weeks, holiday weeks and exciting moments. Then, work out what that might cost. Think about your weekly or monthly budget \u2013 the money you want to spend every year and how that might change as you get older. And think about the cool things you want to be able to do \u2013 the trips, the celebrations and the renovations.<\/p>\n You can\u2019t know if $400,000 in super is enough without knowing the life it\u2019s supposed to pay for.<\/p>\n Related Article Most people don\u2019t have just one source of income in retirement. In fact, for most, their pay cheque is built from multiple sources \u2013 we often call them layers of income.<\/p>\n You might draw an income from super, receive some or all of the Age Pension, have income from investments outside super, or even keep earning some money from working. And, you might choose to put parts of the flight on autopilot, using the newer types of retirement products that can provide some income for life as long as you live. When you put all these things together, that\u2019s how we get to your retirement pay cheque.<\/p>\n And there\u2019s something else to think about when you consider this. Your super balance isn\u2019t just a big pile of money that you spend down to zero. It\u2019s an investment, and it continues to earn returns over many years if you use it well. It\u2019s worth learning a little more about how it\u2019s invested, and considering whether it\u2019s invested appropriately for what you need from it.<\/p>\n Think about how much you can afford to spend<\/p>\n This is the tricky one \u2013 the thing that really does drive fear: \u201cHow much can I actually take out of my super without running out of money?\u201d There isn\u2019t a magic figure that works for everyone. How much you can afford to spend very much depends on how much super you have, how long you might need it to last, the investment returns you\u2019re earning, and whether you can access the Age Pension or have other sources of income.<\/p>\n You also don\u2019t have to work all this out on the back of an envelope any more, nor do you necessarily need complex financial advice. Retirement calculators are a great place to start, in your own time.<\/p>\n Try some different scenarios, too. What happens if you retire at 62 instead of 65? Or if you spend $60,000 a year instead of $70,000. Or maybe try out what happens if you live to 95 or 97 instead of 90. Seeing what happens to the numbers in extreme cases can help you develop some more confidence, by giving you an idea of what you should be afraid of.<\/p>\n Plan how you\u2019ll react when you really are afraid<\/p>\n At some point, maybe once a decade in your 20- to 35-year retirement, something will frighten you. The sharemarket might fall or inflation might jump. Your super balance might drop to unexpected levels, or an expense might land right when you didn\u2019t need it. Maybe it won\u2019t be financial, but will force you to change your plans. Whatever happens, the worst time to work out how you\u2019ll respond is when it\u2019s happening.<\/p>\n Instead, stand back, take a long, hard look at how you want your money invested, and what a bad year might look like. If the sharemarket fell 20 or 30 per cent, would you still have somewhere sensible to draw your income from? Would you have to cut back on discretionary spending for some time? Or would your investments be structured in a way that allows you to do absolutely nothing, get on with life, and wait for markets to recover.<\/p>\n And think beyond markets, too. What parts of retirement income would keep turning up for you no matter what? The Age Pension, if you\u2019re eligible, provides income for life. And there are, increasingly, a range of new retirement products that can do the same with part of your super. That kind of certainty can, in effect, be a bit like having an autopilot setting on your plane.<\/p>\n Lastly, none of this will remove every uncertainty from your retirement. We shouldn\u2019t expect it to. You\u2019re trying to plan for 25, 30 or 35 years of your life \u2013 and if you look back on the last 35 years, you\u2019ll recognise how difficult that really is.<\/p>\n You just need to understand the basic controls, know where you\u2019re heading, have a flight plan and know what you\u2019ll do if the conditions change. After 33 years of building super planes in Australia, I think it\u2019s time we got serious about teaching how to fly them.<\/p>\n Bec Wilson is author of the bestseller How to Have an Epic Retirement and the newly released Prime Time: 27 Lessons for the New Midlife<\/a>. She writes a weekly newsletter at epicretirement.net<\/a> and hosts the Prime Time<\/a> podcast.<\/p>\n Advice given in this article is general in nature and is not intended to influence readers\u2019 decisions about investing or financial products. They should always seek their own professional advice that takes into account their own personal circumstances before making any financial decisions.<\/p>\n Expert tips on how to save, invest and make the most of your money delivered to your inbox every Sunday. Sign up for our Real Money newsletter<\/a>.<\/p>\n Save<\/p>\n You have reached your maximum number of saved items.<\/p>\n Remove items from your saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n![\"Every](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/851cd46836587eef1747987da93729a847e1be40.jpeg\")
Every single one of us has our own superannuation airplane. But nobody has taught us how to fly.iStock <\/p>\n![\"Platforms](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/21647bdc7a67ffc8e80f7d4fbaee3b97d8bb9d1d.jpeg\")
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<\/a>Learn how your retirement pay cheque works<\/p>\n![\"Your](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/033bb09dad54cc72f5d5a96dd9ed52b57e26bd33.jpeg\")
Your super is an investment, and continues to earn returns over many years if you use it well.Getty Images<\/p>\n
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