My Client's Story - Ned Tidswell

One of the most fulfilling aspects of being a financial planner is the partnership over time you build with your clients.  Our clients all have such different stories with valuable insights and perspectives which I’m sure you will agree makes for an informative read.  In this edition, we look at a client’s preparations for setting up his life leading into retirement.  Ned Tidswell, who has been a client for almost seven years and is now in retirement has generously shared his story which demonstrates that you can never be sure exactly what lies ahead.   However you can be better prepared to cope  with life’s changes.  Ned’s journey includes some interesting details about his career on the land, his family life, the very sad passing of his wife Sue, his life now in retirement and the financial decisions he has made along the way.  We’d like to thank Ned for his contribution to this edition of our newsletter.

Tony

Tony Seymour

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I arrived in Australia from New Zealand in 1959, by ship – I was aged 18 and planned to stay for three to nine months.  After spending three months in Sydney and Tamworth I went to Harrow, Victoria, to work on a property owned by family connections. They looked after me like a son and I was sent jackerooing at Hay, for 18 months, then to Charters Towers (Qld) for almost 12 months.  On returning to Harrow I ran the property under the guidance of the owner until 1965 when the owner suddenly died and I took full control, which included his widow, 4 kids and a bulldog!

During those years of 1963 to 1965 two AMP life insurance policies were taken out to mature at the age of 65. This was at a time when Superannuation was non-existent. I did not contribute to it until 1974 when I left Victoria and then continued with the fund to its maturity in 2005.  I then started an AMP super fund for my wife, Sue.

But before I talk about my more recent years with Sue, let’s start back in my earlier years in Victoria when we first met.  I decided it was cheaper to marry Sue instead of chasing her all over Victoria so we married in 1968 and had two daughters.  We had a wonderful circle of friends there but knowing one day the property owner’s elder son would want to return to run the property (which happened in 1974), we moved on to South Australia, then to Cudal, NSW, and then to Canowindra where we stayed for  27 years.  It was here that the property owners had their own super scheme which I joined in 1981 even though superannuation was not yet compulsory. 

As I approached retirement in 2007, we made preparations for setting up our life after retirement.  After selling and buying some property we settled in Orange for our new life.  In late 2007, just when all appeared to be in place with our new house and financial plan for retirement, Sue was struck with cancer and tragically passed away in July 2008.  Sue’s death was such a shock to family and friends as it all happened so quickly. 

To help fill the void left by Sue’s death I have become involved with Legacy, joined Probus and I am a volunteer guide at the hospital which is rewarding and provides me with company and of course there’s the monthly lunch with the boys – a retired group of farmers, which is always great fun.  I also spend a lot of time with my immediate family and my grandchildren, whom I enjoy, including trips within and outside Australia, but despite all this there are still lots of lonely times.  However, I am grateful for my good health and the planning that Sue and I undertook in preparing for our financial future in retirement.  This good financial planning has taken the financial worries off my shoulders.  Along with the grief and loss of losing Sue, the change that this presented to my financial situation meant that I no longer qualified for the aged pension as our joint assets were now all in my name.  Whilst this was frustrating at the time, it would have been more stressful without the planning we had in place.  It is because of this that I don’t have financial worries that might have otherwise prevented me from continuing to remain active and enjoying my life.