Most people, when they think about retirement, think about one thing….Super!
How much is in there? Is it growing fast enough? Will it be enough to live on? While super does matter, if that’s the only thing you’re watching, you’re probably missing a few things that will catch up with you later.
The people who retire well didn’t just save more. They made better decisions along the way about tax, structure, and timing, and they had someone helping them see around corners.
Here’s the thing: retirement planning isn’t something that lives inside your super fund alone. It’s much broader, more personal, and honestly, a bit more human than that.
Let’s unpack it properly.
Where Retirement Plans Come Unstuck
People rarely blow their retirement in one move. It tends to be a few quiet mistakes that compound over the years and only become visible when fixing them is genuinely hard.
- Banking entirely on super: Super is locked away until you hit preservation age. If life throws something at you before then, or the rules shift (they do), having nothing outside super is a problem. Property, shares, cash, or business assets give you options that super alone doesn’t.
- Ignoring tax during the years you’re still earning: The tax decisions made in your 40s and 50s shape what you keep in retirement. Salary sacrificing, spouse contributions, asset ownership, timing of sales. These strategies only work if someone is running the numbers before retirement, not scrambling to act at the end. This is where tax planning does the heavy lifting.
- Drawing down super without thinking it through: How you take money out of super affects your tax bill, your age pension eligibility, and how long the money stretches. Pension payments versus lump sums, sequencing withdrawals alongside other income. Getting this wrong costs real money over a 20 or 30-year retirement.
- Not planning the business exit: A large number of Australian business owners are counting on selling the business to fund retirement. That can work well, but only with the right structure in place. Without it, the CGT on the sale alone can take a serious chunk. With proper succession and exit planning, small business CGT concessions can significantly reduce that tax. The difference between planned and unplanned here is not small.
- Never updating the asset structure: What worked at 35 needs a look at 55. The structure you hold assets in, personally, through a trust, or via a company, has tax and access implications as you move toward retirement. Most people set it and forget it. That’s often a mistake.
What an Accountant Brings to Retirement Planning
Most people think of their accountant at tax time. The ones who retire well tend to think of their year-round.
- Sorting out income so tax doesn’t quietly drain it: Super pension payments, rent, dividends, part-time work. Each one is taxed differently. The job is arranging them so the combined tax is as low as legally possible and your age pension, if applicable, isn’t accidentally clawed back.
- Getting super contributions right while you’re still working: There are concessional caps, non-concessional caps, catch-up rules for years you didn’t max out, spouse strategies, and downsizer contributions if you’re selling a family home. Most people aren’t using all of these. An accountant across SMSF and super planning maps out what’s available and makes sure you’re not leaving money behind.
- Reviewing how assets are held: Whether you own investments personally or through a structure changes what you pay in tax when you sell, how income is distributed, and what you can pass on. Reviewing your business structure isn’t a one-time conversation. It should happen every few years as your situation changes.
- Keeping up with the rules: Contribution caps, pension thresholds, CGT legislation, super regulations. These shift regularly. Staying across tax compliance means you don’t get caught out by a rule change that wipes out a strategy you’d been relying on.
The One Mistake That Costs the Most
Not getting started early enough.
Walk in at 58 wanting to retire at 62 and an accountant can help you make the best of what’s there. Walk in at 45 and there’s fifteen years to reduce taxable income, build super properly, restructure where needed, and set up a drawdown plan that holds up.
The conversations that matter most in retirement planning aren’t the ones you have six months before you finish work. They’re the ones you have a decade out, when there’s still time to act on what you hear.
The Bottom Line
Retirement isn’t a number.
It’s a plan.
Super is part of that plan. So is tax, structure, your business exit, and a clear picture of how money flows once you stop working. None of that falls into place without someone helping you build it.
About Zimsen Partners
Zimsen Partners works with individuals and families across Melbourne on personal tax and long-term financial planning, pulling together tax, super, structuring, and business advisory without you needing to go to five different people. Over 25 years, the team has helped clients build and protect the kind of retirement that doesn’t fall apart under scrutiny.
If retirement feels closer than your current plan accounts for, book a free consultation with Zimsen Partners and find out what needs to change.
Frequently Asked Questions
When should I start retirement planning with an accountant?
Ten to fifteen years before you want to stop working, if you can. That’s when there’s still enough time for contribution strategies and restructuring to make a meaningful difference. The closer you are to retirement, the fewer levers there are to pull.
I have a financial planner. Do I still need an accountant?
They do different things. A financial planner manages investments and product decisions. An accountant handles tax, contribution structuring, compliance, and how your assets interact with each other. Both matter and they should ideally be working together.
Can an accountant reduce the tax I pay on super withdrawals?
Yes. How you draw down super, timing, payment type, and how it sits alongside other income all affect what you pay. There are ways to structure this that are more tax-effective than others and it’s worth knowing them before you start withdrawing.
I'm planning to sell my business to fund retirement. What do I need to know?
Start planning early. Small business CGT concessions can significantly reduce the tax on a sale, but only if the structure and timing are right. An unplanned exit can mean giving away a significant portion of the sale price in tax that didn’t need to go.
Is an SMSF worth it for retirement purposes?
Sometimes. It gives you more investment control and can offer estate planning advantages, but it comes with compliance costs and responsibilities. Whether it makes sense depends on your balance and how involved you want to be. Worth a proper conversation with an SMSF specialist before deciding.
I'm in my 50s and haven't done any real planning. Is it too late?
No. Catch-up super contributions, asset restructuring, and exit planning are all still on the table. But time matters, so the sooner the conversation happens, the more there is to work with.
