Retirement planning need not be a hassle. Your Intellichoice financial planner will help you:

• learn how to maximise your super benefit

• take advantage of taxation benefits specifically established for retirees

• determine the products and investments that best suit your needs and allows you to have a comfortable retirement

• maximise your Centrelink entitlements

• sort through the maze of superannuation and superannuation funds and offer you useful insights and tips on annuities, savings options, wealth creation strategies, allocated pensions and any other information you will need to know to plan for your retirement

Effective retirement planning also helps you take advantage of taxation benefits specifically established for retirees, such as:

• tax rebates

• higher tax free thresholds

• zero taxation on earnings while funds are held in certain retirement income products.

Making the right choice about retirement planning is crucial. Some of the rules can be complex and you should consider getting professional financial advice from a financial planner to ensure that the strategies implemented are right for you.

Please also bear in mind that there are some factors you will need to take into consideration based on how much money you will need to see you through your retirement, including:

• Your retirement age

• Your life expectancy

• The lifestyle you want to lead in retirement

• Inflation

• Government pensions

• Generating an income in retirement

Retirement Age

While 65 years is often considered the 'official' age of retirement, there is a significant variation in the ages at which people are finishing their careers. Many people choose to retire partially or gradually and reduce work hours over a period of time.

It is important to note that you cannot access your superannuation savings until you are at least 55 years old and have retired.

The upshot is that you will need to give some deliberation to the age at which you expect your career to end when you are calculating the retirement savings you will need.

Your life expectancy

There is no real way to determine how long you will live, and therefore how long your retirement savings will need to last. At birth, the average Australian woman has a life expectancy of about 82 years, while Australian men have an average life expectancy of about 76 years.

Some retirement specialists suggest planning for a retirement lasting at least 20 years. Others suggest working out how many years you expect to be in retirement and then adding a safety factor of half again. However, this can be adjusted based on your personal or family medical history.

The lifestyle you want to lead in retirement

Retirement income specialists provide some useful rules of thumb to help calculate how much money you will need to maintain your existing lifestyle once your working years are over.

One approach is to aim for about 70 percent of the income you will be receiving immediately before retiring. This takes into consideration the fact that some expenses will reduce or disappear (for example, your mortgage, life insurance, family costs) while others will probably increase (for example medical expenses).

But if you are still some way off ending your career, it is probably not that easy to determine what your income will be immediately before you retire. Another approach is to put away at least 10 percent of your gross income over the majority of your working life. This, according to some specialists, will be sufficient for you to retire 'in comfort'. Please note that if you do not start saving until later in your life, 10 percent may not be enough.

Clearly your idea of what retiring 'in comfort' means will be unique to each person. You may plan on undertaking overseas travel or pursuing new hobbies and interests, or you may plan on winding right down to a quiet life. Be as specific about your lifestyle estimations as you possibly can. Consider what your annual expenses are now, take out any costs that you know will no longer be a factor, and then add in any planned extra expenses.

Will inflation blow my plans out the window?

Inflation is one of the great uncertainties affecting your ability to calculate accurately how much money you will need in retirement. Between now and the time you retire, and across 20 or more years of retirement, the relative cost of living could change considerably. But inflation is really only an issue if you do not allow for its effect when choosing your retirement investments.

Fortunately, it is possible to make some informed assumptions about inflation based on history. For example, over time, we know that the average real return on international shares (that is, the difference between the actual or nominal return on the shares, and inflation) has been around 6 or 7 percent per annum. So as long as you are using real returns as the basis for choosing your long-term retirement investments, you can minimise the risk of inflation eroding your savings.

Government pensions

The Federal Government provides pensions, but limited in scope. These may be available to Australians who have reached the age of entitlement and meet all other eligibility requirements, including the means test and the income test.

It is important that you evaluate whether you will be eligible for a pension from the Federal Government, and whether this pension is likely to support the lifestyle you are seeking for your retirement.

Generating an income in retirement

The Australian government wants to try and make sure your super money lasts throughout retirement, so they will offer you various tax benefits if you convert your super into a retirement income stream. There are various types of income streams available, but some of the rules can be quite complex and you should discuss your options with a financial planner.

To find out more about retirement planning, ensure you  have enough for retirement and how you can earn a stable and reliable income during your transition to retirement, make an appointment with an Intellichoice financial planner today by calling 1300 55 10 45.