... that are likely to have a significant impact on their wellbeing.

Things that you should know about include, of course, access to your super, financial planning, financial counselling, entitlements to the age pension, seniors cards, sound investment practices, tax treatment of various sources of retirement income, health insurance, pharmaceutical benefits... the list goes on and on.

t would be almost an understatement to say that intending retirees face a maze of information from a maze of different sources. Part of the challenge is to determine how to obtain that information in a logical way.

The Australian Human Rights Commission has undertaken the extremely valuable exercise of bringing much of this information together in a single publication, Your Rights at Retirement . The book, available online and in hard copy, could be regarded as an excellent checklist for intending retirees to ensure they have not overlooked something.

Other subjects covered in the publication including making a will, understanding the various types of powers of attorney, identifying financial abuse, obtaining suitable accommodation as you age and finding information on the internet.

Throughout our lives, we all experience various financial and personal turning points such as beginning a first job, leaving the parental home, getting married, having children, losing a job, buying a first home, suffering a serious illness, getting divorced and eventually retiring. The various turning points experienced by an individual will much depend, of course, on personal circumstances.

There is no doubt that retirement ranks high among life's turning points. How prepared are you?

By Robin Bowerman
Smart Investing
Principal & Head of Retail, Vanguard Investments Australia9
1st August 2013