Location the key to happiness for retirees Scott and Monica
07 December 2021
3
min read
Scott McDowall and Monica Garner were some of the first QSuper members to sign up for our award-winning1, industry-first Lifetime Pension, which Scott says took away most of the anxiety of having to manage their funds in retirement.
The couple met while they were both working in the Queensland Government’s Environment Department and have been QSuper members for 37 and 45 years respectively.
“We didn't think a lot about what we would do when we retired, but a lot of planning went into where we would do it,” Scott said.
“We considered Esperance and Stanthorpe – but the weather soon ruled that out. By the time I retired, we had purchased land in Hervey Bay.
It's lovely here. We live very simply. We just wake up and have the freedom to do whatever we want.
“We have good friends and acquaintances that drop in regularly. We can walk along the Esplanade for hours, and the weather is so good I swam laps daily until June 22 - I do have a wetsuit, though, so there is some cheating involved.
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“I also bought a keyboard, and I'm learning to play. I’m a terrible pianist, but I enjoy it and I keep pounding away,” Scott said.
When it comes to retirement, you have to be honest with yourself about where you are financially, what you want, and come up with a plan. Don't just hope it will all work out.
“The fact the Lifetime Pension is a fixed payment took away a lot of the anxiety for us. We know that we have enough coming in regularly to cover our day-to-day expenses, but we still have access to additional funds to take care of the big things we might want or need.”
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1. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance.
The views of these members are not necessarily those of the QSuper Board (ABN 32 125 059 006), and reflect their own personal circumstances, so their choices and outcomes will be different to yours. Consider your circumstances before deciding what is right for you. Product issued by the QSuper Board. Please consider the PDS and TMD at qsuper.qld.gov.au/pds to see if it is right for you.