Friday, August 13, 2010

Retirement Strategies 15 August 2010


Hello

this is our monthly "Lifestyle" newsletter, and in recognition that there are global trends impacting on our retirement, I am including some international commentary in this issue


Bernard Kelly

Australia's Retirement Strategiest




US STATES CAN’T AFFORD EMPLOYEE RETIREMENT

In a foretaste of things to come – wherever governments are underfunded for on-going public welfare - various US State Governments can’t afford for their employees to gain access to promised retirement pensions, so they have upped the retirement age.

Here’s a few of the states requiring or urging government employees to delay retiring:

• Arizona: Increased the 'retirement rule'—worker's age plus years of service before retirement—to 85 from 80.
• Colorado: Increased the 'retirement rule' to 88 from 85 as of 2011, and to 90 as of 2017.
• Illinois: Increased retirement age to 67 from 60.
• Michigan: Minimum retirement age of 60; before, workers needed 30 years of service at any age. • Minnesota: Increased penalty for early retirement for state patrol and correctional workers.
• Missouri: Increased retirement age to 67 with 10 years of service up from age 62 with 5 years of service; some very long-term workers may be able to retire earlier.
• Utah: Increased total service years before retirement for fire and public-safety employees to 25 from 20; for most other state workers to 35 from 30.

Source: Wall Street Journal 2 August 2010

The question to ask yourself is – “could this ever happen here in Australia?”

And the answer is “if this trend gains momentum, and goes nationwide in the USA, other national governments won’t be so concerned should they find it necessary to do something similar.”

So don’t rely on government welfare for your retirement.


I’ll PAY YOU $5,000 …

… for each successful referral that you generate.

Feel free to find out more about joining me as a Referral Agent. (We could have a lot of fun together. And you could make a lot of money - this year, next year, every year.) Your role is simply to generate leads – I’ll do the rest.

Let me know if you want to know more – for example, when will you get paid? where is the deepest pool of prospects? and the address of the Facebook page where we’ll share our success.

Phone me – Bernard Kelly – anytime. My mobile is 0414 778 518 email admin@retirelaughing.com

I’m Australia’s Retirement Strategist®

RETIREMENT AGE “UNNECESSARY” – UK POLL

Now that the UK government has announced proposals to scrap the default retirement age, a survey of the over 50s found that 67% of those polled felt that the default retirement age was unnecessary anyway.

The online poll of 13,000 people was conducted by Saga and the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts (NESTA).

The survey also found that 85% of people in the UK thought the default retirement age was used as an excuse by employers to get rid of staff.

Most commonly, people said they wanted to work past retirement age to earn money - 61% - followed by 59% who wanted to keep their mind active, while 50% said it was for enjoyment.

And 90% believed the decision on when to retire should depend on someone's ability and desire to work, not their age.

Source BBC World News 27 June 2010


PLAN AN ENCORE CAREER

Planning for an encore career means thinking about the day when your age won’t allow you to work for wages, when the aches and pains of an older body will prevent you from working a full-time job.

It may also mean saving you from the humiliation of homelessness, hunger, raggedness, and hopelessness.

As a retirement strategy technique, an encore career may make the difference between living a long and comfortable life or a long and miserable one.

Australia has over two million businesses, of which 25% have an annual turnover of less than $50,000. So they can’t have any employees – other than the owner.

It appears to me that these businesses must be little more than a “profitable hobby”. So go with the flow - take whatever hobby you have, and convert it into a “profitable hobby”.


THINK LONG TERM

Your first (major) career probably won’t be your only career.

The idea of the “second career” is slowly becoming more and more mainstream as people reach “retirement” and realize they don’t want to retire.

As people’s life spans continue to extend, the idea of a second career will become pretty normal.

I expect that many people will work hard at a lucrative “first career” and then move on to a personal passion for a “second career” once major life expenses (a home, educating the kids) are taken care of.


PROFITABLE HOBBY (1) YOUR VIDEOS ON YOU-TUBE

I have often suggested to private clients that the production of on-line videos can be a profitable hobby, but many have said “Well, what would be a good subject?”

I can now tell you that Croquet Lessons could indeed be a good subject.

There are thousands of healthy and active baby boomers approaching retirement, and will have excessive time on their hands. And they don’t all want to play lawn bowls or golf. So they will be looking for something slightly different – like croquet.

And if you get in now and put a few videos up on YouTube, you’ll have First Mover Advantage (this is technical marketing term that university students learn).

Videos are simple to create – for example, those 10 three minute videos on www.retirelaughing.com were filmed by my son and an inexpensive video camera. He lined me up in the display panel, and said “talk”. The batteries only lasted three minutes, so we ran off the series in ten takes.

In your case, when you face the camera, explain how croquet embodies elements of golf, snooker and chess, and why they should play. Then show them a few examples. (Film someone from your local croquet club doing this bit).

Then go to PayPal and get yourself an account to receive all those payments that you can anticipate - $14.99 seems to be a fair price for what you offer.

Next load the videos up to YouTube, naming them anything where no one will look – eg register them as RedBanana1, RedBanana2 etc.

When it’s time to launch your product, go – frequently - onto every “retirement” forum that you can find online, and just keep mentioning your training videos.

Invite readers to pay you your fees, and have the system email them automatically with the RedBanana address. This way you’ll be selling worldwide, 24 /7 with no involvement by yourself.

Soon you’ll be sitting under some tropical palm trees, with the ocean breeze in your hair, and a cocktail in your hand.

PROFITABLE HOBBY (2) SELL PRODUCTS ONLINE

You can study this “profitable hobby” at www.andrewanddaryl.com where Andrew & Daryl Grant detail their system.

You don’t have to join their “mentor program” although of course it would help if you needed some support to move forward – if you were doing it yourself and got stuck at some stage.

Their successful method is to find a knowledge need – such as advice on skin cancer – which millions of people are looking for on Google every day but for which there are very few advertisers on Google Adwords.

You then create an ebook to satisfy this massive demand which you will sell online for $30.

If you limit your advertising to 10 cents for each visit to your Adword campaign (you’ll still be on page one as there are so few competitors) for $150 per day you will have 1500 lookers.

If one per cent purchase, then you will have 15 sales and revenue $450.

Less the $150 and your profit for the day is $300 (ignoring the amortisation of your set-up costs).

But let’s say your “normal” profit is only $30 per day per product, so when you build up to 100 products, (which is what Andrew and Daryl Grant have done) your surplus per day is $3,000. Now that’s a handsome income, particularly as it operates without your involvement , 24 X 7.

It took them 4 ½ years to find this approach, but they say it should only take any protégé – using their knowledge - only six months.

Personally, having been exposed to many online business proposals, I actually believe this strategy will work for anyone who is methodical about the steps involved. And my wife agrees – so it must be better than most of the other systems we all get invited to join.


AMERICAN RETIREES LACK FINANCIAL SECURITY

According to a new AARP (American Association of Retired Persons) survey fewer than 13 percent of pre-retirees say they are very confident they will be able to retire comfortably.

This is a well-founded fear given that just 23 percent of pre-retirees have savings that could generate a sustainable income stream of at least $10,000 a year in retirement.

Is the situation any different here in Australia?


BEWARE THE FINE PRINT

In France, the government has just raised the age when its citizens are eligible for the pension to 62.

However to be entitled to the full pension, you must be in the system for 42 years.

But with poor prospects for employment, many young people go to university, and linger there until their late 20s.

So university students are taking to the streets with the campaign slogan “27 + 42 = 69 is repressive”.


LET’S MEET - MELBOURNE OR PERTH

I’ll be at the Melbourne Retirement & Lifestyle Expo at the Caulfield Racecourse 10-12 September.

And also at the Leisure & Lifestyle Expo in Perth (Claremont Showgrounds) 29-31 October.

I look forward to meeting you if you can make either event.


PAY FOR A CONSULTATION

Some kind people want to pay me for this service.

Feel free to go to my membership site www.retirementstrategies.net.au and pay $110 for a full membership


About Bernard Kelly:

Bernard Kelly BEcon MBA CRPC Australia’s Retirement Strategist®, is a highly sought-after advisor, retirement authority, thought-leader, author and radio commentator because he makes the complicated and mundane topics of investing and retirement fun! Bernard has over 20 years experience providing families with financial thought. He is the author of Live Your Dreams in Retirement, Property Investing for Couples, 25+ Investment Strategies for Retirement, Goolwa by Breakfast and Raising Decent Kids into Substantial Wealth and publishes a fortnightly newsletter that reaches thousands of subscribers worldwide.

19 Prospect Street, Box Hill 3128 Australia. Tel 61-3-9899 8577 mobile 0414 778 518

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