A survey by retirement planning agency The Moreton Group, of recently retired members in its database has revealed the big purchases many of its clients made to celebrate the end of their working life.

The survey found 40 per cent of people purchased either a holiday or a vehicle when they retired, and the remaining 60 per cent purchased a range of items with spas, jewellery, gifts, house renovations, motorbike and sports equipment all making the list.

Moreton Group managing director, Cameron Dickson, said that a lot of people came to them saying they don't know what they wanted to do when they retired. 

“So, we did a survey to find out. It seems they have no trouble filling their time with a wide variety of activities being reported,” Mr Dickson said.

“We see our clients do everything from setting up a hobby farm to writing a novel,” Mr Dickson said.

“When we help people identify what they might like to do in retirement, we can develop a plan to achieve that, and it quite often means retiring earlier.

“Some people invest their money, get very serious about a hobby or interest or take on very large projects. We simply have to think about what we enjoy and then find out what’s possible,” he said.

It seems the thing we are not as keen on in retirement is more work with just 15% saying they did some paid part-time work after they retired and another 14% considering it.

10 top retirement purchases

1. Vehicle
2. Holiday
3. Property
4. Caravan
5. Spa
6. Investments
7. Home improvements
8. Jewellery
9. Gifts 
10. Boat 

10 Top Things we do when we retire

1. Travel
2. Garden
3. Look after grandchildren
4. Participate in sport
5. Volunteer
6. Conduct DIY projects
7. Cook
8. Hike
9. Play musical instruments
10. Study

Did you know what you wanted to do as soon as you retired? Have you used your retirement to pursue your dreams?