“We need to look at all the different aspects. It is not just about turning a business into a trust,” people team leader Jane Muir said.
The workshops would have experts from various disciplines including lawyers, accountants and bankers.
Muir even suggested getting a family counsellor involved as the topic was quite emotive and could cause conflict.
The 17 comments in a discussion on the NZ Farmers Facebook page showed they thought there was not enough advice and information available about succession and retirement.
The farmers were worried about those who were not taking steps to prepare for an early retirement.
“There's a lot out there that work pay check to pay check, ending up with no asset,” Rowena Randell said.
Patricia Watson said she and her partner were planning to get an asset base but it felt like a long way off.
“We need to be 50/50 within five years. My partner has a deadline of 50/50 by the time he is 40 years old.”
She said that was understandable because her partner thinks he would struggle past 50 years old to do the work the way he is feeling now at 35.
If they didn’t get there they would have to put their money into real estate.
Sandra Wallace suggested farmers should get income protection.
Lawyer Ian Ross Blackman spent a lot of time helping farmers plan their retirement and succession.
Farmers who sold their land would be in the best position because they could downsize their next home and invest the rest of their money, he said.
Those who were planning succession needed to ensure the farm could support both them and their successor.
“This is a challenge as they do not have $4 million in the bank like a farmer who has sold their home.”
Succession was often driven by farmers realising they could not physically or mentally cope with the demands of farming any more.
A successor might not be a descendant or family member.
“Farmers from the age of 50 onwards may have to look at employing a manager or becoming part of a joint venture,” Blackman said.
Farm workers were “destined to be dependent on government super” he said, unless they invested in farming assets like a herd.
Farm workers should at least be in Kiwisaver and get together a retirement fund.
Blackman, who wrote a guide on succession and retirement planning called Keep Farming in the Family suggested all farmers start planning early.
“Don’t leave it until it is too late.”
DairyNZ has not set any dates for series.
Beef and Lamb New Zealand is in the process of putting together a retirement workshop for farmers that builds on those it has already run.
Suggestions on succession and retirement planning:
- Think about what you would do when you retire and how you would live.
- Remember with farming you are often forced to retire earlier than 65.
- Do you have a secondary career to fall back on to provide an income?
- Farming is tough on the body so you may find you have higher medical costs. Have you considered medical insurance?
- Make sure your retirement scheme allows you to draw money out of it before you hit 65.
- Build some sort of asset, either investing in equity farms, stock market or property market.
- Discuss succession and retirement with your children from a young age
- Plan early and get advice from a range of experts. Hope does not equal success.
