Good health and the future

If you’ve just retired, hopefully you’re too busy having a great time to consider any tips on staying active.

However, some people find the adjustment hard to make. Particularly if work had played a major part in their life and defined much of their personality.

If you’re wondering what to do with your new found time, these tips may help:

• Join a walking or fitness group. You only have to look around the local swimming pool or park to see older Australians keeping fit, so get amongst it
• Join a cultural or sporting organisation
• Donate some time to charity
• Find a way to be involved with younger people, perhaps mentor or coach
• Stay in touch with friends and don’t allow yourself to be isolated
• Get involved with the grandkids.

In short, make sure you do something for yourself everyday.

For many people there may come a time when their health care becomes an issue. There’s assistance available, including a number of benefits for which you may qualify.

Your GP will also be able to let you know about free and discounted medical services that may be available to you, which could include:

• Free immunisations for the flu and pneumococcal disease
• Free screenings for bowel cancer
• Free breast screenings and Pap smears
• Free prostate cancer tests
• An annual health assessment
• Home medication review.

Private health insurance - If you have private health insurance make sure it’s competitive and you only take the cover you need. You can compare funds at www.privatehealth.gov.au.

If things get too hard

If you, or a loved one, begin to have difficulty with everyday issues around the home (it could be cleaning, preparing meals, bathing) then there are levels of subsidised aged care, which may be available.

Depending on your circumstances this could lead to the following subsidised assistance:

• Nursing or respite assistance in your home
• Low level care (a hostel)
• High level care (nursing home

For an assessment speak with your GP or contact Aged Care Australia on 1800 500 853.

According to the government nearly half of all Australians die without a Will. As you are considering the future, now is a good time to sit down and work through a number of areas to ensure you’re prepared.

Estate planning - if you die without a Will, you’re said to have died intestate, and your estate will be distributed according to the laws, that vary from State to State. So if you don’t have a Will you should consider seeking professional advice to prepare one.

If you don’t have a Will - You can buy Will kits of varying quality, ask a private trustee or a solicitor to prepare your Will, or you can contact the public trustee in your state or territory who will do so without charge.

If you do have a Will - ask yourself whether it needs to be updated. Triggers that could lead you to up-date your will include:

• Within your family or beneficiaries, have there been any births, deaths, new domestic partnership or separations/divorces?
• Have your children left home and ceased to be dependent?
• Have you established/wound up any family companies/trusts?
• Have there been any significant changes to your assets e.g. new assets, asset disposals?
• Do you have any obligations or responsibilities (moral or otherwise), or have you made any commitments to specific relatives, friends, or associates?
• Have you been named as a beneficiary in another’s Will?
• Is your named executor alive and of sound mind?

Charities – You may decide to make donations or perhaps a bequest though your Will. An alternative is establishing a charitable trust. Money is invested by the trust (in most cases donations are tax deductible) and the investment earnings are distributed to the charitable organisations the trust supports.

Powers of Attorney - this can be a very useful tool to help organise your affairs. Put simply, a Power of Attorney is a legal document by which you appoint another person to make decisions on your behalf. There are various types of Powers of Attorney and you should seek advice from a qualified professional to establish what’s right for you but the following is a guide:

• A general power of attorney – you appoint a person to make decisions for you, for a specific period of time. (You may be overseas for an extended period, and want someone to act on your behalf here in Australia
• An enduring power of attorney - you appoint a person to make financial and legal decisions for you only if you lose the capacity to make them yourself
• A medical power of attorney – your appointee can only make medical decisions on your behalf (if you are unable)
• An enduring power of guardianship – your appointee can choose where you live and make decisions about your medical care (if you lose capacity to do so yourself).

Your funeral

Many people decide to pay for their own funeral costs in advance. This way you can make a certain decision about how the service may run and also relieve your loved ones of the financial burden at a time when they’ll be grieving.

ANZ can assist in this area with ANZ 50+ Life Cover¹

Money isn’t everything but maximising your retirement income may help you stay healthy and active longer. We can also help you plan for the future.

• ANZ 50+ Benefits: Depending on your situation and the products you choose, your benefits could include fee waivers or bonus interest.
• ANZ 50+ Life Cover¹ is a straightforward life insurance policy that helps you get on with your retirement without the need to worry about your family having to pay the cost of your funeral and other expenses, if the worst should occur.
• An A-Z Review® with an ANZ Retirement Banking Specialist: We are the only bank with fully trained and accredited Retirement Banking Specialists who have an intimate understanding of retirement and your needs. With a complimentary A-Z Review®, we can help ensure we are doing all we can to maximize any benefits available to you and that your banking is structured to meet your retirement needs. Request an A-Z Review®.
• ANZ Financial Planners: When you stop working for a living and start using your super to fund your lifestyle, you need to ensure that you can meet your living expenses and still have enough to enjoy the good things in life. As part of your pre-retirement planning an ANZ Financial Planner can discuss debt management and retirement income strategies with you, as well as what Centrelink entitlements you may be able to obtain in retirement. Your first appointment is complimentary and without obligation. Make an appointment with an ANZ Financial Planner.