Retirement Planning – Gold Coast

Retirement Planning – Gold Coast 🏖️📈

Retirement should feel secure, predictable and enjoyable — not stressful or uncertain.
At Gold Coast Financial Advisers (GCFA), we help you prepare for retirement with
clear, practical advice designed around your goals, your cash-flow, your tax position and your appetite for risk.

Whether you are 10 years out, almost ready to stop work, or already transitioning to part-time hours, our role is to give you
clarity, structure and confidence about what life after work looks like financially.

📅 Book Your Retirement Strategy Call

Who We Help 👥

Our retirement planning clients usually fall into one of these groups:

  • Couples 5–10 years from retirement wanting structure, strategy and certainty.
  • Singles who want a definitive retirement date and a clear income path.
  • Part-timers considering Transition-to-Retirement (TTR) strategies.
  • People balancing Centrelink eligibility with flexibility, tax efficiency and drawdown stability.
  • Retirees already stopped work who want sustainable, inflation-aware income streams.
  • Individuals approaching Age Pension age who want to understand entitlements and options.

Whether your goals are travel, family support, lifestyle upgrades or a simple and secure retirement, our advice is built entirely around you.

Our Retirement Planning Process 🔄

Our structured process makes retirement clearer, calmer and more predictable.

  1. Discovery — understanding your goals, timeframes, concerns, lifestyle expectations,
    Centrelink considerations, investment experience and risk comfort.
  2. Strategy — modelling contributions, withdrawals, sequencing risk, account-based pensions,
    buffers, tax outcomes, and your likely retirement age.
  3. Implementation — consolidating super where appropriate, setting up pensions, coordinating
    paperwork and aligning structures with your solicitor where needed.
  4. Review — monitoring investment performance, rules changes, cashflow needs and market conditions,
    with a cadence that suits your situation.

Understanding Retirement Income 🧮

Retirement income must balance three competing needs:

  • Predictability — so you know your spending is safe.
  • Flexibility — so you can adjust for life events and market conditions.
  • Longevity — so your income lasts as long as you need it to.

Key elements we help design:

  • Account-based pensions with staged drawdowns.
  • Cashflow buckets for stability during market downturns.
  • Contribution strategies (including catch-up, downsizer and concessional contributions).
  • Investment allocations aligned to time horizon, risk profile and spending plan.
  • Centrelink eligibility timelines — including implications at ages 60, 67 and beyond.
  • Transition-to-Retirement strategies for people easing into part-time work.
  • Tax-aware structures that work before and after retirement.

Most importantly, we show you how your plan behaves under different market conditions — not just a “best case”.

Managing Sequencing Risk 📉

Sequencing risk is the danger of receiving poor returns early in retirement when you’re starting withdrawals.
This can permanently reduce the longevity of your savings.

We manage sequencing risk using:

  • Cash buffers — typically 1–3 years of spending.
  • Defensive buckets — for medium-term stability.
  • Growth portfolios — to support long-term performance.

This provides a smoother income experience and avoids selling growth assets during downturns.

Case Study – Mary & John, Nerang 📍

Mary (62) and John (64) held $750k in super and $100k cash after downsizing.
We mapped needs vs wants, then set up account-based pensions with staged drawdowns.
A three-bucket model (2 years’ cash, 3 years defensive, remainder growth) reduced sequencing risk.
Downsizer and carry-forward concessional contributions rebuilt balances.
Age Pension eligibility was scheduled at 67.

Result: predictable spending, stable income, and “safety rails” around the plan.

Case Study – Susan, Burleigh Heads 📍

Susan (58) is self-employed with lumpy income.
A Transition-to-Retirement strategy supported part-time work.
We diversified her super, automated contributions and built an outside-super buffer.

Outcome: she gained confidence to reduce work hours while still growing savings.

For background only, see:

MoneySmart Retirement Planner
.

Quick sense-check: Explore our GCFA Financial Calculators.
Results are conceptual only — not personal advice.

Related GCFA Tools & Services 🔗

A Note on Compliance 📄

GCFA Pty Ltd trading as Gold Coast Financial Advisers.
GCFA Pty Ltd is a Corporate Authorised Representative (No 1317284) of Wealth Today Pty Ltd AFSL 340289.

Information on this page is general in nature and does not take into account your personal objectives, financial situation or needs.
Please refer to our Financial Services Guide (FSG) and Adviser Profile(s) for full details.

Take the First Step ✨

A well-planned retirement doesn’t happen by accident — it happens by design.
Whether you’re five years out or already transitioning, we’ll build a strategy that gives you clarity and confidence.

Explore Our Services

Superannuation Advice 💼 Retirement Planning 📅 Investment Advice 📈 Personal Insurance Assistance 🛡️ Claims Support ⚖️

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