The four documents every retirement plan needs
Most people think a retirement plan is a number. How much do I need, how long will it last, when can I stop working. Those are the right questions — but there is a second half to the plan that gets put off for years, and it is the half that causes the most damage when it is missing.
It comes down to four documents. None of them is expensive or complicated. All four have to be in place while you still have the capacity to sign them, which is the part nobody mentions until it is too late.
1. Your will
A will is a legal document setting out what you want to happen to your assets when you die. Everyone over 18 should have one. It can also name who looks after children under 18, set up a trust, leave gifts to charity and record your funeral wishes.
If you die without one — dying intestate — the government decides who gets your assets. That takes longer, costs more, and may not be what you wanted.
Two things worth knowing. First, cost need not stop you: pensioners and people over 60 can often have a will prepared by their state or territory Public Trustee at no cost, and eligibility rules vary by state. Second, a will is not a set-and-forget document. Update it when you marry, separate, have grandchildren, lose someone named in it, or go through a major financial change. If you use an online will kit, have a solicitor or the Public Trustee check it — a will that is not done properly may be invalid.
2. An enduring power of attorney
A power of attorney gives someone legal authority to manage your financial and legal affairs. There are two kinds, and the difference matters enormously.
A general power of attorney covers a set period — useful when you are overseas or unavailable. It ends the moment you lose the ability to make decisions yourself.
An enduring power of attorney keeps working if you lose that ability. That is the whole point of it, and it is the one a retirement plan needs. Each state and territory has its own rules for setting one up.
3. An enduring guardian
An enduring guardian — sometimes called a medical power of attorney — makes medical and lifestyle decisions for you if you can no longer make them. That covers medical and dental treatment, health care, where you live, and what support services you receive.
They cannot make financial decisions. That is why this document sits alongside the enduring power of attorney rather than replacing it. Many people also record their values and care preferences in an advance healthcare directive, so the person making decisions knows what you would have wanted.
4. A binding nomination on your super
Here is the one that surprises people most. Your will does not automatically cover your superannuation. Super does not form part of your estate by default.
Without a valid binding nomination, the trustee of your super fund decides who receives your super, within the rules of superannuation law. They may well reach a different answer to the one in your will.
You nominate a beneficiary directly with your fund. It can be your spouse or partner, your children of any age, someone in an interdependency relationship with you, anyone financially dependent on you, or your legal personal representative — that last option is how you direct super into your estate so your will controls it.
Watch the expiry. A lapsing binding nomination generally needs to be renewed every three years or it falls away. Some funds offer non-lapsing versions. Put a reminder in your calendar for a month before it expires, and check it whenever your annual statement arrives.
What each one actually does
Will — assets in your estate — after you die.
Enduring power of attorney — financial and legal decisions — while you are alive, including after you lose capacity.
Enduring guardian — medical, health and lifestyle decisions — while you are alive, once you lose capacity.
Binding super nomination — your super balance and any insurance inside it — after you die, sitting outside your will.
The deadline nobody tells you about
Once you lose decision-making capacity, you cannot put any of these arrangements in place. Someone then has to apply to a tribunal for the authority to act for you. That has to be approved, and it takes time — time in which no one may be able to access your accounts, pay your bills, manage your affairs, or make decisions about your health and where you live.
That is the real argument for doing this now rather than next year. Not the paperwork. The gap.
A practical starting point
- Check whether your will still reflects your life as it is today, not as it was a decade ago.
- Log in to your super fund and look at your nomination. Check the type, the people named, and the expiry date.
- Find out whether your power of attorney is general or enduring. If you are not sure, it is worth finding out.
- Make a single list of your important documents and where they are kept, and tell your executor where to find it.
The four documents work together. A perfect will and no super nomination still leaves a hole. An enduring power of attorney and no enduring guardian leaves your family able to pay the bills but not to make the decisions that matter more.
General information only — not personal financial advice. It doesn't consider your objectives, situation or needs. Consider whether it's right for you and seek advice before acting.
Jason Bell and Compass Retirement and Aged Care are Authorised Representatives of Millennium3 Financial Services Pty Ltd (AFSL 244252).
Source: ASIC Moneysmart, Wills and powers of attorney, last updated 24 August 2026. https://moneysmart.gov.au/plan-for-your-retirement/wills-and-powers-of-attorney · ASIC Moneysmart, Who gets your super if you die, last updated 18 June 2026. https://moneysmart.gov.au/how-super-works/who-gets-your-super-if-you-die
