How do I prepare for my retirement – You have to prepare for your retirement at 40, 50 or 60 years of age early enough. Your preparation has to be both emotional and economical considering your present skill or profession, economic and health standing. Listed under are retirement checklist that can help you.
Firstly, what is retirement? Retirement means you leaving your paid job due to age or having fulfilled the required working years. In Nigeria for instance, workers retire at 60 years of age or at putting in 35 years of active service to the organisation, whichever comes up first.
How Do I Prepare for My Retirement?
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In other circumstances, you can retire before any of the two quoted years above for personal reasons. You may retire voluntarily because you want to be on your own ( self independence). You may also be forced to retire before hitting any of the relevant years noted above because of organisational structural changes. Whichever is the case, you will stop getting the regular monthly salaries.
How Do I Prepare for My Retirement?
In this article, I want to talk to you retiring at the statutory age of retirement either by age or by year of service or that you still have time but you want to leave before the statutory time giving.
Therefore, if you want to retire in the next five to ten years, this retirement checklist is for you.
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(1) Personal Audit/Assessment
In fact, you have to check your age now. How physically strong are you? At this time you should be able to know how strong you will be when you retire in the next ten years or less than ten years. You need to do this because you have to know your capacity to do extra work when you retire. Where you find our that you will not be very strong health-wise when you retire, your retirement plan will also reflect that. If you have done this then we can go ahead to the next point.
(2) What Does Retirement Mean to You?
If you are healthy and will be healthy at retirement, would you want to be involved in extra economic activities or would you want to become a sit-at-home mum or dad.? You have to resolve this issue now before we continue. What does your retirement mean to you? By now you should be focusing on ideas. Well don’t worry, I will help you with ideas in this discussion. So let’s go on.
(3) When Am ‘I Retiring?
Remember that we have agreed above that you can start planning for your retirement when you have some years left at work, say 3 – 10 years. The earlier you start the better. You will see as we continue that if you make your decision when you have only three years to retirement you may not be able to round off all you need to take care of before retirement. If you have decided when to retire, it mans you now know how many years you have to do the following before the due date:
- Make enough savings,
- Make contributions to your employers retirement scheme,
- Liquidate all of your debts.
- Make arrangement for left over children school fees,
- Make provision for your housing
- Make arrangement for medical facilities.
- Let relatives/dependants know that your retirement is at hand.
- Cut down on your expenses.
- Begin to cultivate a new lifestyle.
- There are more as you read on.
Now check if you have time enough for all of these. You can adjust your timing.
How Do I Prepare for My Retirement?
(4) What is Your Net Worth Now or what do you think it will be when you retire?
Net worth for accountants means total assets less total liabilities. Do you have assets in the form of land, building, plants and machinery, intellectual property like copy rights from where you can receive royalties?
How much do you think your retirement benefits is going to be? Did you take any loan from the office that must be deducted from this your benefit? How long will it take before your entitlements are paid? How much is the estimated monthly pension allowance?
If you can work out all these then we can go ahead in other factors. If you can’t do this let me know, I will help you to plan your retirement.
(5) What business ideas are in you now?
There are a lot of business ideas previously published in this website, read them. They will help you think fast on what you can do. But then it all depends on what professional qualifications or skill you possess now. However, you can also begin to prepare yourself professionally or equip yourself with a skill now. If you have up to 5 years to go, I think it’s enough to make up in some skills.
On the other hand, if you just want to invest your money after retirement, you should also begin now to nurse the idea. You can even make some skeletal research, surveys, and studies into such businesses ahead of time.
(6) How many Hours can you afford for your business when you retire?
You have to answer this question now with regard with the state of your health and net asset. This will also determine the type of business you can go into. Can you trust people? In other words, can you employ other people to work for you? Perhaps, you will only want your money to work for you. In this case you will need advice on how to make such investment. Do not think about investing in Ponzi schemes like MMM. My next write-up will be on “What You Can’t Do With Your Retirement Benefit”. Try to read it.
How Do I Prepare for My Retirement?
(7) How Much is Your Net-work?
Start necessary net-working now. You have time to familiarise yourself with certain institutions that you will have to deal with when you retire. Built enough social media networks. Begin to interact with those who have made it. Begin to read about successful business men and how they made it. Increase your contacts. Get every ones phone number email addresses etc., you can’t tell who you will need somewhere tomorrow. Make more friends – let it look foolish that very one is your friend.
(8) Get Ready for the Unexpected:
You are healthy today; you can’t tell how healthy you will be next five years. Can you make provision for this. Make provisions for worst conditions, like accident, fire outbreaks, flood disaster, etc. Just be ready for everything.
How Do I Prepare for My Retirement?
(9) Keep to your Plan
If you have made decisions based on this our interaction, please keep to it. If you wouldn’t mind, if you supply me with two or three business idea with tentative capital budget, I will make business plans ahead of time for you.
Finally my friend, on How Do I Prepare for My Retirement? I implore you to share this with your friends. I will be happy to hear from you. Make your comments and send in your questions. Click one of the social media buttons on this page to like us and to follow us. Check business ideas here.
Deacon Anekperechi Nworgu, a seasoned economist who transitioned into a chartered accountant, auditor, tax practitioner, and business consultant, brings with him a wealth of industry expertise spanning over 37 years.
