Your super gift to future you

With retirement on the horizon, what better gift to your future self than a great life after work? There are several things you can do now to make it happen.

By Emma Barrett - 3 min read

A little about Emma

Emma is the Director, Member Services for Russell Investments. She is responsible for the development and delivery of the member proposition, focusing on encouraging members to engage with their super so that they achieve better retirement outcomes.

A gift to your future self is something you do today that makes life better in the future.

Most of us provide gifts to our future selves every day—when we check the weather forecast and dress appropriately before heading out or buy milk on our way home so we can have a nice cup of tea or coffee in the morning.

Similarly, there are things you can do now, even as you come closer and closer to retirement, to give your future self the best chance at a great life after work.

Take stock of what you have 

The kind of gift that you can give yourself begins with what you have available. You will probably have cash (or card) on hand to buy milk when you need it. For a bigger treat—maybe a meal at a fancy restaurant or a weekend away—you might need to check your bank balance.  

For something of even greater value—like the lifestyle you want in retirement—you will need to consider all your resources. Tools such as MyTracker within the GoalTracker® program can help you to understand what you will have available to spend, based on factors such as how much you’ve saved so far, how much you contribute to super, and when you plan to retire.  

Check the price 

The second aspect to knowing what you can get for yourself is researching the cost. You'll already have a fair idea of how much it will be for a bottle of milk, but you might shop around for bigger items—like a comfortable sofa or a new television.  

There’s even more involved in working out the potential cost of your preferred after-work lifestyle. Do you want to live in a big house or travel as a grey nomad? Would you rather spend time home with family or are nights out with friends a priority? Visualising whether you would like to live a basic, comfortable or aspirational lifestyle forms the basis of understanding how much money you’ll likely need. MyTracker can help you with setting a goal for your retirement income. It will also show you if you’re on track to getting there.  

Make it happen 

You may find that some of the things on your ‘future-self wish list’ are not easily affordable right away. In that case, you may need to make some adjustments to bridge the gap.  

When it comes to the gift of a desirable retirement lifestyle, this might involve making extra contributions to your super or changing the age at which you retire. MyTracker can show you the likely impacts of these changes.  



You could also review your investment options to help you get closer to your goal. GoalTracker Plus—an additional service available at no additional cost through the GoalTracker program—can take the guess work out of this process by building and managing a personalised investment strategy for you to improve the chances of achieving your goal. 



From little goodies to life-changing gifts, with a little preparation you can treat yourself to a better future—after all, you deserve it!  

1 GoalTracker is not available for members with a Defined Benefit account.

Issued by Total Risk Management Pty Ltd ABN 62 008 644 353, AFSL 238790 (TRM) as trustee of Russell Investments Master Trust ABN 89 384 753 567. Nationwide Super and Resource Super are Divisions of the Russell Investments Master Trust. The Product Disclosure Statement (‘PDS’), the Target Market Determinations and the Financial Services Guide can be obtained by phoning 1800 555 667 or by visiting russellinvestments.com.au or for Nationwide Super by phoning 1800 025 241 or visiting nationwidesuper.com.au. Any potential investor should consider the latest PDS in deciding whether to acquire, or to continue to hold, an investment in any Russell Investments product. Russell Investments Financial Solutions Pty Ltd ABN 84 010 799 041, AFSL 229850 (RIFS) is the provider of MyTracker and the financial product advice provided by GoalTracker Plus. General financial product advice is provided by RIFS or Link Advice Pty Ltd (Link Advice) ABN 36 105 811 836, AFSL 258145. Limited personal financial product advice is provided by Link Advice with the exception of GoalTracker Plus advice, which is provided by RIFS.

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