Perception: You may think you have plenty of time for your retirement.
Reality: You need to plan for your retirement well in advance. The best time to start planning for your retirement is when you receive your first pay-cheque and the second best time is now.
Are you planning for your retirement in the 30s?
Are you planning for early retirement?
Are you close to your retirement age like 50s?
Are you helping someone to plan their retirement life?
It doesn’t matter whether you are in any one of these above categories, it may require continual self-reflection, according to the experts.
Life after retirement should be meaningful and peaceful without any financial stress.
Regularly asking this question will help you to plan your retirement the way you want.
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1. How do you want to live your life after retirement?
Compare your retirement life with the great Mt. Everest.
It is easy to say that you can climb on Mt. Everest. But in reality, it needs more practice and experts’ guidance. Your retired life is like that.
Think about your retired life in “bird’s eye view”(long-term).
Not just think about life after retirement also think about other factors like a lifetime after retirement, inflation, market volatility, goals after retirement, medical expenses, other emergency expenses, bills, where do you want to spend your retirement life, etc.
For example, if you are planning for a tour to another continent or country for a long time, you need proper financial planning with the help of the experts.
With no monthly income, you have to face monthly expenses. So it is better to prepare for a long journey after your retirement.
2. Is your financial plan covering your emergency expenses?
Ask your financial expert that whether your financial plan can cover emergency expenses after your retirement.
In addition to providing for regular monthly expenses, your retirement plan also should be in a position to take care of any emergency expenses.
3. Are your financial plans suitable for your retirement dreams?
Every individual has different financial goals and different income. So, it is important to double check whether your financial plan can help you to achieve your financial goals or not. Get the experts opinion to live a happy and peaceful retirement life.
You retirement plan needs to be customised to meet your specific retired life as you dreamed. There is no one size fits all – retirement plan. So give as much details as possible to your financial planner, he will come out with a suitable financial plan for your retirement dreams.
4. How flexible are your financial plans?
Are your financial plans flexible for you in an unexpected situation?
You may think, “What kind of situation?”
An unexpected situation like
- Increasing the number of family members,
- Moving away
- Unexpected death
- Having Health Issues etc
5. Is your family aware of your retirement plan?
For example, if you have any health issues, you need your family members’ help, or your retirement plans might have included your family members. So, it is important to let your family members know about your retirement plans.
Conclusion:
There is no particular age to start for your retirement plan. The soon you start is better because retirement is the last stage and important stage of our life. So, consider all the questions and plan your retirement well with the experts’ help.
(The author is Ramalingam K, an MBA (Finance) and Certified Financial Planner. He is the Director and Chief Financial Planner of Holistic Investment Planners (www.holisticinvestment.in) a firm that offers Financial Planning and Wealth Management.)
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