Retirement planning rarely unravels for the dramatic reasons people imagine. It’s usually the quieter factors, often behavioural and unintentional, that have the biggest impact over time.
In our conversations, a few themes tend to show up again and again. They’re not “failures”, but common patterns that can gently derail even well-intended plans if they’re left unaddressed.
Here are three of the areas we see most often and some thoughts on how to approach them with confidence.
- Treating Retirement as a Single Moment, Not a Multi-Stage Journey
Most people imagine retirement as a finish line.
One day you’re working, the next day you’re “retired”.
In reality, retirement unfolds through three phases:
Go-Go Years (55–72)
High spending, high energy, high travel.
This phase often costs more than people expect.
Slow-Go Years (72–82)
Less travel, more routine, moderate spending.
Healthcare becomes more relevant.
No-Go Years (82+)
Lower discretionary spending, higher medical and support costs.
People who plan only for the early phase often struggle later. Conversely, people who underestimate early spending can create unnecessary restriction.
A good plan reshapes itself as retirement evolves.
- Ignoring Sequencing Risk – the Silent Wealth Destroyer
Sequencing risk is when poor market returns early in retirement, combined with withdrawals, permanently reduce your portfolio’s longevity.
This is not a theoretical risk; it’s a structural one.
And it’s invisible until it’s too late.
Most people focus on average returns.
But the order of returns matters more than the average.
A portfolio that could comfortably last 30 years can fail if the first three years are negative and withdrawals remain high.
A robust retirement plan manages this through:
- diversified asset allocation
- defensive reserves
- dynamic withdrawal rates
- flexibility built into spending patterns
- Waiting Too Long
In Australia, the data shows that peak spending happens around age 43, right when mortgages, kids, schooling, and lifestyle costs tend to be at their highest. For many households, this means there’s very little left over to put towards long-term savings, even with strong intentions.
By the time life settles, careers stabilise, and income starts to rise, people often reach a stage where their capacity to save meaningfully is only just beginning.
The challenge is that the window to optimise super, contributions and tax strategies can then be narrower than expected. Which is why starting earlier helps, but staying proactive and adaptable matters even more.
Retirement Stability Comes From Fewer Surprises, Not More Sacrifice
The strongest retirement outcomes don’t come from frugality; they come from foresight.
Avoiding these three mistakes creates clarity, confidence and resilience – the qualities that matter far more than chasing the perfect nest egg.