Planning for retirement doesn’t have to feel overwhelming. With a few smart steps, you can set yourself up for a more comfortable and stress-free future. In fact, here are five retirement planning moves you can make today — no finance degree required.

1. Take Advantage of Tax Benefits

One of the best parts of retirement planning is the potential for tax savings. Often that means making extra contributions to your pension, super, or retirement funds to boost your savings by lowering your taxable income. 

Through the magic of compound growth, even small contributions made at regular intervals  can garner huge results.

To make this step even easier, try using an easy to use tax calculator online to see how salary sacrificing or personal contributions could impact your take-home pay and long-term savings. It’s a quick way to see the benefits in real numbers before you commit.

1. Figure Out How Much You’ll Need

It’s hard to plan for retirement if you don’t know what your goal is. Consider your likely retirement lifestyle. Will you be traveling? Downsizing your home? Picking up a part-time job or turning a hobby into income?

All these factors play a role in how much money you’ll need to live comfortably. Luckily,  there are free online tools to help with this.

Retirement calculators can give you a ballpark number based on your current age, income, savings, and lifestyle goals. A bit of time spent playing with the numbers now can help you avoid surprises later.

1. Create a Retirement Budget

You don’t need to wait until retirement to make a retirement budget. In fact, it’s better to create one early. A retirement budget helps you visualize what your monthly expenses might look like when you’re no longer earning a full-time income.

Start with your current spending and adjust based on how your lifestyle might change. Will your mortgage be paid off? Will you spend more on traveling abroad and pursuing hobbies? Will you cut back on commuting costs

Budgeting now helps you spot any potential gaps between your future income and your expected spending.

1. Review Your Superannuation

Your super or pension is one of the biggest tools you have for building retirement savings. But many people leave theirs on autopilot.

Now’s a good time to check in and ask yourself questions like: Are you with a fund that has strong long-term returns and low fees? Are your investments matched to your risk comfort level and your timeline?

Also, make sure you’re not accidentally paying fees to more than one fund. If you’ve changed jobs a few times, it’s possible you have multiple super accounts. Consider consolidating them to keep things simple and save on fees.

1. Pay Down High-Interest Debt

Before you stop working, it’s wise to reduce or eliminate things like credit card debt or personal loans. These types of debts don’t do anything to help you grow wealth, and they can drain your retirement savings quickly.

Start with the highest-interest debt first. You can also look at debt consolidation if you’re juggling multiple balances. The less money you owe, the more control you’ll have over your income once you’re retired.

Simple Steps Toward a Secure Tomorrow

Retirement planning doesn’t need to be complicated or time-consuming. These five steps are simple but impactful moves you can take now to improve your financial future.

Even if you’re not ready to make big changes yet, just starting the process and getting familiar with your options can help you feel more in control.