Two Perth couples with similar super balances sit across from an adviser for the first time. One leaves understanding their likely retirement income, the decisions ahead and the fees they'll pay. The other leaves with a product recommendation but no clear picture of how their money will support everyday life.

The difference isn't necessarily how much they've saved. It's whether the conversation connects their savings to their spending, family responsibilities and choices about work.

You might be weighing up another year in your job, wondering whether you can afford more travel, or trying to make sense of several super accounts. You don't need to master every technical rule before seeking advice. You do need questions that reveal whether an adviser can explain the trade-offs clearly.

ASIC-commissioned retirement research found that only 18% of Australians aged 50–66 had a clear retirement plan. Having super isn't the same as knowing how you'll spend it.

These are eight retirement planning questions to ask a financial adviser before your plan takes shape. Each includes the answer to listen for, a red flag and a WA-specific follow-up, so you can take a usable script into your first meeting.

1. How are you paid, and what fees will I pay over time?

Start with the total cost, not the adviser's headline fee. You need to understand advice fees, implementation charges, platform administration, investment management costs and any insurance commissions or other product-linked benefits.

Cost deserves a direct conversation. In Vanguard's 2024 How Australia Retires research, 51% of Australians cited cost as a barrier to seeking financial advice for retirement decisions, according to Money Management's coverage.

A professional financial advisor discussing retirement planning with an older couple during a consultation session.

Listen for an itemised dollar figure

A good answer separates the cost of preparing advice from the cost of implementing it and maintaining an ongoing relationship. It also explains which charges come from your bank account and which are deducted from investments or super.

Ask for these details in writing:

Initial advice: What analysis, modelling and written recommendations are included?
Ongoing service: Which reviews, meetings and updates will you receive?
Product costs: What will the fund, platform and investment managers charge?
Exit arrangements: What happens to services and charges if you stop ongoing advice?

The red flag: An adviser discusses only percentages or says the fee comes out of super, as though that means you aren't paying it. Our guide to financial advice fees in Australia explains the distinctions to consider.

WA follow-up: If you're retiring from FIFO work, ask whether advice costs and service scope will change once your employment income stops.

For example, a couple may need detailed retirement modelling now but less implementation work than someone restructuring several accounts. Compare the work included, not just the final quote, and request the Statement of Advice and relevant fee disclosure documents before committing.

2. Will you act in my best interests, and how is that documented?

An assurance that an adviser puts clients first isn't enough. Ask how they'll demonstrate that a recommendation suits your objectives, financial position and willingness to accept risk.

Australian personal advice operates under the best interests duty in the Corporations Act. Your practical test is whether the adviser can explain their reasoning, alternatives and conflicts in language you understand.

A professional financial advisor discusses retirement planning charts with a female client in an office setting.

Ask why the alternatives were rejected

A good answer describes the information the adviser needs before recommending anything. It explains how the written advice will document your goals, the proposed strategy, costs, disadvantages and reasons for not choosing reasonable alternatives.

Say you're considering taking money out of super to clear a mortgage. The adviser should compare debt repayment with retaining money in super, explain the cash-flow consequences and consider how each option affects your retirement flexibility.

Practical rule: You should be able to explain the recommendation back in your own words before agreeing to implement it.

The red flag: A product appears before the adviser has asked about your spending, debts, partner, existing arrangements or retirement date. Another warning is dismissing questions with technical language rather than explaining the decision.

WA follow-up: If your plan involves selling a Perth investment property or moving to the South West, ask how the recommendation changes if the sale is delayed.

Check the individual adviser on ASIC's Financial Advisers Register, and request a de-identified sample of the documentation you can expect. At Wealth Collective, we tailor advice to your circumstances, goals and priorities, then guide you through the plan and answer your questions before implementation.

3. What qualifications and experience do you have with retirement planning?

Retirement advice requires more than choosing investments. Your adviser needs to connect superannuation, tax, pension eligibility, withdrawals and family circumstances without treating each as a separate problem.

Ask about qualifications, including whether the adviser holds the Certified Financial Planner designation, and verify any claimed designation with its issuing professional body. Qualifications matter, but so does the ability to apply technical knowledge to someone in your position.

Test experience with a relevant scenario

Rather than asking only how long they've worked in advice, describe your situation and ask how they would approach it.

Phased retirement: How would they assess reduced working hours, super contributions and income needs together?
Bereavement: How would they coordinate income planning, beneficiary decisions and legal advice?
Business ownership: How would they separate uncertain sale proceeds from dependable retirement assets?
A less-engaged partner: How would they ensure both partners understand the plan?

A good answer identifies the decisions and information needed without pretending to solve everything immediately. The adviser should provide de-identified examples, explain where specialist help is needed and describe how they stay current with superannuation and tax changes.

For example, a recently widowed pre-retiree needs more than an investment allocation. They may need help establishing accessible cash, understanding existing pensions and coordinating estate administration with a solicitor.

The red flag: An adviser relies on titles, awards or years in business but can't explain the process clearly. Be cautious about anyone who presents experience as a reason you shouldn't ask questions.

WA follow-up: Ask whether the adviser understands your employment arrangements, particularly if you have irregular resources-sector bonuses, share benefits or a family business.

Our Perth and Dunsborough-based team brings more than 50 years of combined experience across personal insurance, superannuation, investments and retirement planning. That experience should translate into clearer explanations, not more jargon.

4. How will you help me manage superannuation before and during retirement?

Bring statements for every super account, including details of investments, fees, insurance and beneficiary nominations. The adviser should review what you already have before suggesting consolidation or a replacement fund.

A cheaper account isn't automatically better if moving means losing valuable insurance or features. Equally, keeping several accounts without a clear reason can leave you paying for arrangements you no longer need.

Ask for a coordinated contribution and pension strategy

For 2025–26, the general concessional contributions cap is $30,000, including employer contributions, salary sacrifice and deductible personal contributions across your funds, according to the ATO's contributions guidance. Ask how much you've already used and whether you're eligible to use carried-forward amounts.

The 2025–26 annual non-concessional cap is $120,000, subject to total super balance eligibility, with bring-forward arrangements potentially available, as explained in the ATO's non-concessional contributions guidance.

A good answer also covers:

Access: Whether you meet the conditions for accessing super, rather than relying on age alone.
Retirement transition: Whether a transition-to-retirement strategy suits your work and tax position.
Pension limits: How the transfer balance cap and retirement-phase tax treatment affect you.
Protection: What happens to existing insurance and beneficiary nominations.

For example, someone reducing working hours might compare drawing on savings with a transition-to-retirement arrangement. The answer depends on cash flow and tax, not whether the strategy is available.

The red flag: Consolidation or maximum contributions are recommended before checking insurance, contribution history and money needed outside super.

WA follow-up: If you expect an inheritance, business sale or downsizing proceeds, ask how timing affects your contribution options. Our Retirement Roadmap, supported where appropriate by Guided Growth and Protection Plus, coordinates these decisions rather than treating super in isolation.

5. How will my retirement income be structured, and how long will it last?

A projected super balance doesn't tell you what you can spend. Ask the adviser to turn your assets into a year-by-year income plan, showing where money comes from and what happens when circumstances change.

Start with your own spending records. Separate essential expenses from travel, gifts, renovations and other spending you could adjust, then use ASFA's Retirement Standard as a reference rather than a substitute for your budget.

An elderly couple sits on a rock, watching the sunset, illustrating long-term retirement savings and financial planning.

Listen for scenarios, not a promise

ASIC's retirement planner lets users estimate income and test changed assumptions, as explained in Moneysmart's retirement planner update. Your adviser should explain their modelling just as clearly.

A good answer combines account-based pensions, any Age Pension entitlement, investments, property income and other resources. It shows the effects of inflation, a longer life, health costs, aged care and a different retirement date.

A useful projection shows what you can change when circumstances deteriorate. It doesn't just show that the preferred scenario works.

For example, a couple planning substantial early travel should see whether that spending leaves enough flexibility later. A business owner should model sale proceeds conservatively and distinguish retirement-income planning from the value drivers that lift sale price.

The red flag: A fixed withdrawal rule is presented as universally safe, or the projection excludes tax, fees and later-life costs.

WA follow-up: Ask how the budget changes if you keep a Perth home while travelling, or need to travel from regional WA for treatment. Our explanation of how long retirement savings may last helps frame those conversations without reducing retirement to a single target balance.

6. How do you manage investment risk, including sequencing risk?

Say you retire just before markets fall. If you're withdrawing money while investment values are depressed, you may need to sell more assets to fund the same expenses, leaving fewer assets available for a recovery.

That's sequencing risk. It's why a portfolio suitable while you're earning and contributing may need a different withdrawal strategy once you retire.

A relaxed senior man sitting with his dog by a lake alongside a financial growth concept.

Ask what happens during a bad market

A good answer connects your investment mix to essential spending, reliable income sources and capacity to reduce discretionary withdrawals. It explains the trade-off between holding accessible defensive assets and maintaining growth investments to help meet future costs.

Ask the adviser to demonstrate:

Withdrawal funding: Which assets would pay your income during a downturn?
Cash reserves: How is the reserve calculated, and when is it replenished?
Rebalancing: What triggers a portfolio adjustment?
Spending changes: What would need to change if returns were poor early in retirement?

For example, a retiree with an accessible spending reserve may avoid immediately selling growth investments after a fall. But holding too much cash can also weaken long-term purchasing power, so the reserve needs a purpose and a replenishment policy.

The red flag: The adviser promises protection from all losses or relies on a risk questionnaire without discussing your actual spending. A bucket strategy is only useful if someone can explain how money moves between the buckets.

WA follow-up: If your employment, company shares and property already depend heavily on the resources sector, ask whether your investments add to that exposure.

Our guide to sequence of returns risk explains why the order of returns matters. Ask for both historical downturn illustrations and forward-looking stress tests, with their limitations clearly stated.

7. What insurance and estate protections will you review for my family?

Retiring changes what you need to protect. Replacing employment income may become less important, while maintaining a surviving partner's lifestyle, funding care and ensuring someone can act on your behalf become more pressing.

Don't cancel insurance because you're approaching retirement. Review life, total and permanent disability, income protection and trauma cover against your remaining debts, dependants, employment and available assets.

Separate financial advice from legal work

A good answer explains which policies remain useful, what they cost and whether cover inside super duplicates other protection. It also identifies estate matters that need a solicitor rather than suggesting financial advice replaces legal advice.

Bring the following documents:

Insurance schedules: Include policies held personally, through work and inside super.
Your existing Will: Note any changes in relationships, dependants or intended beneficiaries.
Decision-making documents: Include enduring powers of attorney and enduring guardianship arrangements.
Super nominations: Check whether nominations are binding, non-binding or subject to expiry.

For example, someone who has separated may have updated their Will but overlooked a super beneficiary nomination. The adviser and solicitor should check that the arrangements work together rather than assuming one document controls everything.

The red flag: An adviser recommends cancelling existing cover before replacement arrangements are confirmed, or assumes super automatically follows your Will.

WA follow-up: Ask a WA estate lawyer to review the documents relevant to financial decisions, personal decisions and guardianship. If you own overseas assets or have family abroad, distinguish Australian requirements from international discussions of legacy planning for high-net-worth families.

We include personal insurance within our advice scope and can identify financial issues to discuss with your estate lawyer. The aim is practical coordination, not adding policies or documents without a clear reason.

8. How will we measure progress, and what ongoing support will I receive?

An investment return isn't a complete measure of retirement success. You also need to know whether you can keep funding your lifestyle, whether your risks remain appropriate and whether the advice is worth its ongoing cost.

Challenger's 2024 Retirement Happiness Index found that 77% of surveyed Australians aged 60 and over said better education about retirement options would improve happiness, according to Money Management's report. An ongoing relationship should help you understand decisions, not only deliver reports.

Define the service before agreeing to it

A good answer specifies review frequency, reporting, contact between meetings and the circumstances that trigger fresh modelling. Ask who you'll deal with day to day and what happens if your usual adviser is unavailable.

Progress measures should include:

Income sustainability: Are planned withdrawals still appropriate?
Lifestyle outcomes: Can you fund the activities and commitments that matter?
Risk and liquidity: Can you meet expenses without unsuitable asset sales?
Implementation: Have agreed contributions, nominations and other actions been completed?

Say a health event brings retirement forward. Your adviser should explain how to revisit income, accessible cash and family support rather than waiting for the next scheduled portfolio review.

Service test: Ask what the adviser will actually do between meetings. The answer should match the ongoing fee.

The red flag: Ongoing service is described vaguely, reports focus only on market performance, or you can't tell which changes attract additional fees.

WA follow-up: If you divide your time between Perth, Dunsborough and travel, agree on practical meeting and communication arrangements.

We're committed to transparent communication and ongoing support. If you're not 100% satisfied, we'll make it right or refund your money, with no questions asked; confirm the service scope and terms before proceeding.

What each question checks, the document to request and the red flag to watch for

Item	Main Concern	Document to Request	Red Flag to Watch
How are you paid, and what fees will I pay over time?	Total advice, platform, administration and investment costs	Written fee disclosure and Statement of Advice	Unclear fees or undisclosed commissions
Will you act in my best interests, and how is that documented?	Client-focused recommendations and documented reasoning	Sample Statement of Advice	Cannot explain recommendations or verify registration
What qualifications and experience do you have with retirement planning?	Relevant credentials and experience with retirees	Evidence of qualifications and professional development	Vague experience or credentials that cannot be verified
How will you help me manage superannuation before and during retirement?	Super contributions, access, investments, fees and insurance	Statements for all super accounts	No review of fees, caps, insurance or beneficiary nominations
How will my retirement income be structured, and how long will it last?	Sustainable income, longevity, inflation and Age Pension	Retirement income projection and spending plan	Projections omit changing costs or rely on unexplained assumptions
How do you manage investment risk, including sequencing risk?	Portfolio risk, withdrawal timing and market downturns	Investment strategy and downturn scenario analysis	No clear rebalancing plan or response to market falls
What insurance and estate protections will you review for my family?	Insurance needs, estate documents and beneficiary nominations	Insurance policies, Will and nomination records	Duplicated or unsuitable cover, or outdated estate documents
How will we measure progress, and what ongoing support will I receive?	Review schedule, progress reporting and ongoing services	Service agreement and sample progress report	Vague service scope or unclear ongoing fees

Turn These Answers Into a Confident First Meeting

Bring your super statements, insurance policies and existing Will, then work through the questions in order and record the answers. Add details of debts, investments, regular spending and any expected changes to work or housing.

You don't need every document perfectly organised before starting. You do need to be open about the decisions worrying you, whether that's leaving work, supporting adult children or wondering how your partner would manage the finances alone.

Look for clarity, not certainty

Strong answers are specific, documented and easy to explain back. An adviser should distinguish what they know, what they've assumed and what needs further investigation.

No responsible adviser can guarantee market returns or predict your future health. They can show how they'll test uncertainty, explain your choices and identify when the plan needs to change.

Vague answers are a reason to keep looking. So is pressure to move funds before you understand the recommendation, its disadvantages and the full cost.

Before agreeing: Confirm the scope, fees, exclusions and deliverables in writing.
Before implementing: Understand why the recommended strategy suits you and what alternatives were considered.
Before accepting ongoing service: Know what you'll receive and how progress will be measured.

At Wealth Collective, the conversation starts with a free 10-minute introductory call. A complimentary strategy session clarifies your goals, current position, desired position and what has held you back.

We then research and model your options and prepare a detailed financial plan balancing your financial structure with the lifestyle you want. During the presentation, we explain the recommendations and answer your questions before anything is implemented.

Once you're comfortable with the outcomes, we take care of the paperwork, products where required and end-to-end implementation. You shouldn't have to choose between understanding your plan and getting help putting it into practice.

This is general information, not personal financial advice. Your super access, contribution opportunities, insurance needs and retirement-income choices depend on your circumstances, so discuss them with a qualified financial adviser before acting.

The right first meeting won't necessarily answer every technical question immediately. It should leave you knowing what happens next, what it will cost and how the adviser will help you make decisions with confidence.

Wealth Collective offers retirement planning that connects your super, investments, spending and family priorities. Visit Wealth Collective to book your free 10-minute introductory call and start turning these questions into a retirement plan you understand.