By Moshood Ayeni
It goes without saying that not having a plan for the future is authentically planning to fail in the future. There is a very strong need to strategically plan for retirement. These strategies must be highly specific and tailored to individual goals and circumstances. In this piece, we will be discussing those strategic ways to plan for a secure retirement in the future.
KEY STRATEGIES TO APPLY
To achieve a secure financial future, here are the 4 major steps to take:
Envision your future lifestyle:
The starting point is to first envision the type of lifestyle you hope to live and then plan everything around that. This will give us a clear direction as to what and what should be done or not do to achieve our goal.
Review present financial situation:
Reviewing the present financial stand is crucial in the planning or strategic process. If your present financial situation is healthy, it is a good way to start. If on the other hand, your present financial situation is in the red zone, then a plan should be in place to improve the situation by getting into the green zone.
Determine retirement needs:
At retirement, everyone wants a lifestyle that is devoid of stress and financial difficulties. Therefore, it is very key you determine beforehand the kind of retirement needs that you will be having to live a stress-free and happy retirement life.
Review your retirement plan periodically:
We live in a constantly changing world. As much as possible, plans should be reviewed on a periodic basis to align with the changing circumstances around our plans. It is very necessary to review our retirement plan to bring them close to the reality that we are facing in a constantly changing financial environment.
SOME KEY FINANCIAL CONSIDERATIONS
The following are some key financial considerations we should put in place to help have a secure financial future at retirement:
Save for retirement:
The easiest and arguably the best way to do this is to open a Retirement Savings Account (RSA). With an RSA, you rest assured of available funds that will finance your retirement needs. While opening an RSA, it is also important to take advantage of the multi-fund structure which gives you the advantage of choosing between the type of pension funds to belong based on your risk appetite. You can ask your Pension Fund Administrator (PFA) for more guidance on this.
Consider other sources of income:
If you can, consider having other sources of income other than the main source you are currently utilizing. For most people who are salary earners, you can learn other skills that you can use to earn extra income. This will afford you the opportunity to save more for retirement and also help you invest in other assets that will earn you income.
Plan for unanticipated expenses/Buy Insurance products:
Unplanned expenses are bound to rear their ugly heads and when they do, you must find a way to settle them as some of them are not inevitable. Therefore, it is important to have a separate or special fund specifically meant for such unexpected expenses. Having this separate fund will not only help you be better prepared as they act as buffers, it also help not to disrupt your plan for the fund at hand which is also meant for other important things. One of the ways to achieve this is to have insurance cover for some unexpected and anticipated expenses that are bound to happen in the future.
