Ben Harvey: Worried about retiring? The Nick Bruining Retirement Masterclass is for you

Last week I used this column to float the idea of resurrecting the Nick Bruining Retirement Masterclass. I asked anyone interested in hearing from WA’s best-known financial adviser to email me. So I really have myself to blame for the hundreds of messages that clogged my inbox in the ensuing few days. Apparently there are a lot of people who are very nervous about what’s going to happen to them during their golden years! I apologise for not responding to each but I would never have found time to write this column if I had. The tone of the emails confirmed my suspicions my readers are closer to the end of their lives than the start. If I had a dollar for every message that contained the phrase “the ladies I play bridge/bowls with think you make some good points”, I would be a rich man. I live for the day that someone says “the girls at the volleyball club think you’re great and would love to take you out for a drink”. Don’t think it will happen anytime soon. Thank you less to those readers who itemised every grammatical error I have ever made (apparently I am prone to splitting the infinitive and my use of past participles is questionable). Anyway, enough of the pleasantries. Here’s the good news — the retirement masterclass is back on and it’s happening on Sunday, September 12. Here’s the bad news — it hasn’t got any cheaper and will still cost you $200. I suspect I just lost a few readers to cardiac arrest. For those of you who have hearts that are still beating (and have been living under a rock), Nick is a licensed financial planner. He has been doing it for a long time. Seriously long. Captain James Stirling and John Forrest were among his first clients. He writes about the topic in Monday’s Your Money section in The West Australian, is often on Channel 7, regularly on radio and has written several books, including the bestselling Don’t Panic: Why you don’t need $1 million to retire well. I have worked with Nick for years but my financial strategy involves using the Visa card to pay the Mastercard, so the bloke is fallible. But he knows the tricks and traps that can make or break your retirement. We came up with the idea of a one-day masterclass event a few years ago. We wanted to create a one-stop information shop that explained the basics of investing, superannuation, tax, the mechanics of life after work, aged care and estate planning. Importantly, we explained why you do not need a million bucks in super to enjoy a retirement that involved little more than eating home-brand dog food and washing it down with a cleanskin from Aldi. The formula seemed to work and almost 5000 people “graduated” feeling a lot more relaxed about their golden years. Then Nick and I got busy. We still are but we are getting the band back together because the past couple of years have seen so many changes to the laws and regulations which govern retirement. We figured that if we are struggling to keep on top of things then you probably are too. Here’s the “clickbait” list of things Nick will explain to you if you come along in September: It sounds a bit Danoz Direct when you put it like that but, trust me, you will learn some nifty financial hacks. If you are one of the thousands of people who have attended a masterclass, there’s something in it for you (but no new jokes) because we will go through the more than 30 rule changes affecting seniors in the past two years. One warning: do not come if you want to learn how to get rich quick. That’s not what we do. We don’t have a crystal ball and don’t know what’s going to be the next big thing. Nobody does. We are just more honest about it. If anyone tells you they can predict the market, they are lying. If you are reading this, there’s a good chance you lived through the oil shock of the 1970s, the 1987 crash, interest rates of 18 per cent a few years after that, the 1991 recession, the Asian currency crisis of 1997, the tech wreck of 2000 (when the original dotcom bubble burst), the GFC of 2008 and the great COVID-19 recession of 2020. Did any of the “experts” warn you that any of those things were going to happen? The closest we will come to giving investment advice is telling you not to buy Bitcoin. You will get workbooks, a very nice morning tea and a quite lavish lunch. And here’s the kicker — you will get the chance to ask Nick some questions. You can even stay anonymous, which means you can ask stuff you are too embarrassed to admit you don’t know (like what’s the difference between concessional and non-concessional super contributions). Bookings will open next week, once we sort a venue. Meanwhile, if you want to register your interest, the contact details are below. If you were one of the many people who emailed me, you don’t have to do a thing because I have forwarded your details. Register your interest in the masterclass by emailing SWMevents@swm.com.au.