Set yourself up for retirement

A cashflow-positive portfolio can be tailored to fund the lifestyle you want

- Pam Walkley

Property investment can be a great way to generate income for your retirement. Executed well, it can provide a full-time income for you, either from the rent or taking out a loan against your portfolio.

The best thing is you don't have to wait until you are 65 to enjoy the benefits of property investment. If you begin early, then you can scale back your workload as the income from your portfolio increases.

It might sound easy, but the devil is in the detail. It's important to develop a strategy and adapt it to suit changing conditions.

To get an idea of how much you'll need when you wind back your working life, add up the costs of all the things you'd like to do; maybe its upscaling your home, travelling the world, eating out a lot.

The ASFA retirement standard, which currently equates to $45,962 for singles and $64,771 for couples, is a rough guide to how much most people will need. It's based on the amount retirees need to maintain a good standard of living.

So how can investing in property help you achieve this?

The two main ways to make money from property are capital gains and rental income, which is the more usual way to go for most retirees.