The phrase "they can cart me out of here in a box" might draw a chuckle, but it truly reflects our desire for permanence in an inherently impermanent world.
While we design our living arrangements for comfort and familiarity, the reality is that change happens whether we're ready or not. It’s not an if; it’s a when – all neighbourhoods are living ecosystems that evolve constantly.
The tranquil retirement enclave that you've grown to love? Look into the age demographics. If most neighbours are older than you, you're likely sitting in the path of a coming sea of change. As life expectancy catches up with elderly neighbours, new faces will arrive… and they may have very different ideas about fence lines, backyard usage, and noise levels.
Stay alert to early warning signs that your "how's the serenity?" moment might become a distant memory. When that quiet shed next door changes ownership, be mentally prepared for it to transform from storage space to workshop, complete with power tools and weekend projects.
Sometimes the changes are more dramatic than noisy workshops. While power tools and weekend projects might test your patience, other shifts can fundamentally alter your street's character and safety. A gang residence moving in doesn't just disrupt your peace and quiet – it can see your equity disappearing as property values plummet and the neighbourhood reputation shifts and families look to relocate.
These aren't the kinds of changes you can negotiate or adapt to. They're the changes that force difficult decisions about cutting losses and moving on.
The Vulnerability of Open Spaces
That lovely park around the corner? It isn't just recreation space; it's potential real estate. Councils facing budget pressures, developers seeking opportunities, and central government pushing density targets all see open space as possibilities rather than permanent fixtures. Your morning dog walk route could become your new apartment complex view, complete with increased traffic and lost amenity.
Entire streets can flip when developers come knocking with above-market offers. If you're the holdout who wants to stay while neighbours' cash in, you'll find yourself surrounded by construction and density you never signed up for. One day you're enjoying the peace and quiet, the next day you're dealing with concrete trucks at dawn—and your retirement paradise has suddenly become a construction zone.
Health: The Ultimate Game Changer
But let's address the elephant in the room. If there’s a curveball that trumps all neighbourhood changes, it’s health.
Your spouse's unexpected diagnosis, your own mobility challenges, or cognitive changes can make your perfect retirement setup completely unworkable overnight. That two-story home with character becomes a barrier, or the remote lifestyle block becomes too isolated.
This is where financial agility becomes crucial. Retirement planning can't be a "set and forget" strategy because life doesn't operate that way.
Building Agile Retirement Strategies
Instead of planning for one perfect outcome, consider multiple pathways.
What if health issues require relocating closer to medical facilities? What if your neighbourhood transforms beyond recognition? What if interest rates, council rates, property values, or care costs shift dramatically?
The key is developing incremental response strategies rather than crisis reactions. This means having conversations about "what if" scenarios while you're both healthy and thinking clearly, understanding your financial capacity to adapt, and knowing which elements of your retirement vision are essential versus nice-to-have.
Consider creating layered plans with your adviser's guidance:
Your A-plan is staying put in your current setup, maintaining the tranquillity of your current arrangement.
Your B-plan might involve modifications to age in place.
Your C-plan could be relocating to a retirement community.
Your D-plan might involve moving closer to family. Each plan should have trigger points – specific circumstances that would activate consideration of the next option.
The couples who handle change best are those who maintain financial flexibility. This might mean keeping more cash reserves than conventional wisdom suggests, choosing investment strategies that prioritise liquidity over maximum returns, and avoiding over-leveraging yourself into illiquid assets.
Your adviser can help structure your portfolio to maintain this flexibility while still generating the income you need. They understand the delicate balance between growth, income, and accessibility that retirement requires. Get this balance right, and you've got options when life throws you a curveball.
Legacy Planning: The Long View
Retirement isn't just about your own comfort and security; it's about ensuring your life's work benefits the people and causes you care about. A well-structured legacy plan provides peace of mind that your wealth will transfer efficiently to your chosen beneficiaries, whether that's family members, charities, or a combination of both.
Your adviser helps orchestrate this legacy flow, working with estate planning attorneys and specialists to ensure your wishes are clearly documented and legally sound. This might involve trust structures, charitable giving strategies, or succession planning for family businesses.
Understanding exactly what you need for your own security versus what you're preserving for others can inform decisions about lifestyle changes, major expenditures, or even generous gifts during your lifetime. Know where you stand financially, and you can make informed decisions about when to be generous and when to be cautious.
The most important change is mental. Instead of viewing your retirement as a destination, think of it as an ongoing journey requiring incremental course corrections. Instead of planning for permanence, plan for adaptability. Instead of fearing change, develop comfort with uncertainty and the capacity to handle it gracefully.
The goal is building resilience and responsiveness into your retirement strategy. This means maintaining open communication with your partner and your adviser, keeping your financial situation flexible enough to accommodate shifts, and accepting the idea that your retirement might not look exactly like what you originally envisioned.
While we can't control the changes that happen around us, we can absolutely control how prepared we are to respond to them. With proper planning, professional guidance, and financial flexibility, retirement becomes what it should be: a time for enjoyment, family, and fulfilment—not financial worry.
Get these fundamentals right, and you've got the foundation for navigating whatever changes come your way while preserving those precious moments of peace that make the retirement years truly rewarding.
Nick Stewart (Ngāi Tahu, Ngāti Huirapa, Ngāti Māmoe, Ngāti Waitaha) is a Financial Adviser and CEO at Stewart Group, a Hawke's Bay and Wellington based CEFEX & BCorp certified financial planning and advisory firm. Stewart Group provides personal fiduciary services, Wealth Management, Risk Insurance & KiwiSaver scheme solutions. Article no. 418.
The information provided, or any opinions expressed in this article, are of a general nature only and should not be construed or relied on as a recommendation to invest in a financial product or class of financial products. You should seek financial advice specific to your circumstances from a Financial Adviser before making any financial decisions. A disclosure statement can be obtained free of charge by calling 0800 878 961 or visit our website, www.stewartgroup.co.nz
