START HERE: I’m 65, Still Have a Mortgage… Can I Afford to Retire?

What happens when you reach 65 and your finances don't look anything like the retirement plan you thought you'd have?

Today's Start Here question comes from a 65-year-old woman who is single, still working FIFO and still has a mortgage. After attempting retirement at 60, she discovered that the lifestyle she'd imagined left her feeling isolated — and she spent a significant amount of her superannuation in the process.

She returned to work, bought a home and started rebuilding.

Now she's worried about what would happen if her income disappeared before she's financially ready to retire.

In this episode, we look at how to create financial security when you're starting — or perhaps restarting — later in life, without feeling as though you need to spend the rest of your working years frantically catching up.

We cover how to:

Work out what “enough” actually looks like for your retirement

Balance paying down a mortgage with building accessible emergency savings

Create a financial runway so losing your job doesn't immediately become a housing crisis

Think about alternative or part-time work before you actually need it

Consider whether downsizing could improve both your finances and your quality of life

Assess lifestyle and retirement villages beyond simply looking at the purchase price