A PRIMER ON RETIREMENT PLANNING

Every person dreams of enjoying their lives once they reach their golden years. Most people desire living in a house with a beach front view or a mountain view, or manage a farmland. Some desire traveling around the world. Others want to spend their precious time with their families and friends, as well as to continue doing their hobbies and helping charities. May it be grand or simple, we have our own ideas of retirement for this is one of the most significant life events in an individual’s life.

But planning for retirement is an extensive process, both from a personal and financial viewpoint. Retirement planning encompasses income goals, actions, and decisions necessary to attaining such goals, which is done by finding out different income sources, estimating costs, executing a savings program, and managing assets.

In an individual’s working life, the early stages of retirement include allocating sufficient money for it, and also putting up an emergency cushion. During the middle of his career, the person sets specific income or asset targets, as well as steps to reach those targets. And in the last few years leading to his retirement, his focus shifts to lifestyle aspects. In other words, to have a comfortable retirement, one has to employ sensible planning and years of persistence – yes, it is not achieved overnight. And even after attaining retirement goals, you still need to oversee it and this is a continuous responsibility.

While majority thinks it is easy to plan our retirement, very few take this matter seriously, and they start working on their retirement in late 20s. The rest either depends on Social Security or pensions. Realistically speaking, the retirement planning process is sophisticated, difficult, and time-consuming. Good thing this may be done easier than we think if we do our due diligence, implement a workable savings and investment plan, and have a long-term commitment.

If you have not yet started planning for retirement, do not be disheartened. You still have time to catch up. The process seems like a huge task one has to accomplish. But doing it early and following the steps can make retirement planning less complex. As we go along in this tutorial, we will thoroughly discuss the processes needed to plan, apply, and savor a relaxing retirement we all aspire of.

Are you ready to map out an enjoyable and comfortable retirement?