Catholic Super members Ken and Lorraine Manders have wasted no time since they retired two years ago.

England, Scotland, France – check.

New York (twice) – check.

Canada, Alaska – check.

They live on a golf course, where Ken plays golf twice a week. They enjoy time with their three grandchildren.

And the icing on the cake has been the purchase of a 1977 cherry red classic Chevrolet Corvette, known affectionately as ‘Red’ – a lifelong dream of Ken’s.

The pair credit advice from Catholic Super’s financial planning arm, MyLife MyAdvice, for enabling them to live out their retirement dreams.

Lorraine, a former school teacher and principal, joined Catholic Super in 1984. Ken joined a few years later, when he changed jobs and decided to consolidate his super funds. He compared various funds, and when he saw how Catholic Super stacked up, he “couldn’t jump over quick enough”.

They went to a few MyLife MyAdvice seminars and met Peter, an experienced financial planner. While Ken had always worked in financial management roles, he felt they could benefit from professional financial planning as the couple approached their retirement.

So in their late 50s they sat down with Peter and put a plan in place. They knew they wanted to travel and Ken could definitely see the Corvette as part of their retirement lifestyle.

The pair met with Peter each year to make sure their plan was on track; and as soon as they were able to take up a Transition To Retirement pension they did so. They salary sacrificed as much as they could.

Both Ken and Lorraine continue to be impressed by the integrity of the service from MyLife MyAdvice.

“It’s very personal. You meet the same person each time. Peter also came to our home quite a few times – that’s also pretty impressive,” Lorraine said.

“You can’t change your mind about your retirement situation. You need to be organised and know that you can live the lifestyle that you’d like to live, or at least be prepared for what you can afford.”

Ken said he learnt from his father.

“He always said ‘don’t leave it too late’. I can’t encourage the young kids of today more to put as much as they can afford into super,” he said.

Peter was also able to talk Ken and Lorraine through specific helpful tools available on the Catholic Super website, such as the Retirement Modeller – which Ken still uses today.

“We did everything on Peter’s advice,” Lorraine said. “We even took him out to lunch, that’s how much we think of him.”

So what’s next for the pair? More driving tours in the Corvette with the motoring club they’ve joined, a golfing trip to the Hunter Valley and a cruise around England.

To enquire about seeing a MyLife My Advice financial planner, go to www.mylifemyadvice.com.au or phone 1300 963 720.