Glenn Ferguson
08-18-05, - 05:17 AM
Your Retirement is Your Responsibility
By Glenn S. Ferguson
"One is responsible for one's own life. Passivity provides no protection." -Madeleine Kunin
All too often we fail to realize that there are only two outcomes in life; you either die before you retire or you die after you retire. This coupled with longer life expectancy means that you have better than a sixty percent chance of retiring. With the odds being so high, on retiring, then to me it seems that there should be a desire to be prepared for this eventuality.
What are you going to do about your retirement?
Yet, today less than twenty percent of Bahamians have done anything about their retirement planning. I am forced to ask the questions. What have you done about your retirement? Have you really though about it? Your efforts are critical to your success in retirement, so What are you going to do about your retirement?
You more than likely will have a long time in retirement and most of this time will be spent without an employer to provide a fixed income and very little help from the government. So what are you going to do about it?
It was never as hard for us as it was for our parents and while their own retirement may seem bearable, because in most instances they have us. Ours’ will certainly not be as comfortably, as the world has and will continue to change. So while some of them were able to get away with the minimum planning they did, if we take a similar approach, for us the result would be disastrous.
Stop Procrastinating
In fact, as dismal as our national saving rate is and our excessive spending habits; we are, after all, a generation addicted to immediate gratification, buy now and pay later-much later, in some cases. The greatest danger to our own retirement will be our overwhelming ability to procrastinate.
It’s up to you to determine what you want out of retirement and up to you to achieve it. Procrastination is retirement suicide on the instalment plan. Nothing comes close to the cost of delay and in my opinion it is the biggest obstacle to you having a worry free retirement. Stop promising yourself that you will deal with this issue "tomorrow," because whether you like it or not you’re running out of tomorrows.
Some Questions for You
Start today by answering these simple questions:
1. How much are you making (your wages, salary, income) today?
2. How many years until you retire?
3. How much do you expect to be making (wages, salary, income) when you retire?
4. How many years do you expect to live in retirement? (you’re not sure, so use 20.)
5. Multiply your answer in (3) times the result in (4).
Your answers will provide you with an unadjusted picture of how much money you need to put aside to produce your anticipated retirement income level. Do you know where this money will come from? Do you have a plan for accumulating this money?
Do the exercise, it cost you nothing, will only take about five minutes to complete but will certainly get you started thinking about your retirement.
It will get harder
It is time-past time-to take a hard look at your retirement. It will never be easier than today to start building your dreams of a secure retirement It will only get harder because there will be less time and money. And money is one of the biggest concerns most people have, so having a clear picture of your finances will go a long way toward putting your mind at ease.
It will take more than just saving and a pension plan to accumulate the money you will need in retirement. Once you realized this, then it becomes your responsibility, if you don’t know what to do with your money, to get the help that you need - And once you know that you need help, get it now! Start now. I can't overemphasize this fact.
To help you understand the critical nature of retirement planning, we offer you a number of tools and articles including “Six Mistakes You Don’t Want To Make About Retirement!” call for your copy.
You’re Responsible
It is time to get serious about your situation and realize that your retirement security is your own responsibility. Nobody else is going to do it for you. You are solely responsible! I believe that doing the proper retirement planning today will improve the quality of your life now and into the future. Remember you’re going to have a long time in retirement, without an employer and very little help from the government, so start now to plan how you would like those years to be and don’t let someone else decide how you live your golden years!
"Success is nothing more than a few simple disciplines, practiced every day; while failure is simply a few errors in judgment, repeated every day. It is the accumulative weight of our disciplines and our judgments that leads us to either fortune or failure." - Jim Rohn
By Glenn S. Ferguson
"One is responsible for one's own life. Passivity provides no protection." -Madeleine Kunin
All too often we fail to realize that there are only two outcomes in life; you either die before you retire or you die after you retire. This coupled with longer life expectancy means that you have better than a sixty percent chance of retiring. With the odds being so high, on retiring, then to me it seems that there should be a desire to be prepared for this eventuality.
What are you going to do about your retirement?
Yet, today less than twenty percent of Bahamians have done anything about their retirement planning. I am forced to ask the questions. What have you done about your retirement? Have you really though about it? Your efforts are critical to your success in retirement, so What are you going to do about your retirement?
You more than likely will have a long time in retirement and most of this time will be spent without an employer to provide a fixed income and very little help from the government. So what are you going to do about it?
It was never as hard for us as it was for our parents and while their own retirement may seem bearable, because in most instances they have us. Ours’ will certainly not be as comfortably, as the world has and will continue to change. So while some of them were able to get away with the minimum planning they did, if we take a similar approach, for us the result would be disastrous.
Stop Procrastinating
In fact, as dismal as our national saving rate is and our excessive spending habits; we are, after all, a generation addicted to immediate gratification, buy now and pay later-much later, in some cases. The greatest danger to our own retirement will be our overwhelming ability to procrastinate.
It’s up to you to determine what you want out of retirement and up to you to achieve it. Procrastination is retirement suicide on the instalment plan. Nothing comes close to the cost of delay and in my opinion it is the biggest obstacle to you having a worry free retirement. Stop promising yourself that you will deal with this issue "tomorrow," because whether you like it or not you’re running out of tomorrows.
Some Questions for You
Start today by answering these simple questions:
1. How much are you making (your wages, salary, income) today?
2. How many years until you retire?
3. How much do you expect to be making (wages, salary, income) when you retire?
4. How many years do you expect to live in retirement? (you’re not sure, so use 20.)
5. Multiply your answer in (3) times the result in (4).
Your answers will provide you with an unadjusted picture of how much money you need to put aside to produce your anticipated retirement income level. Do you know where this money will come from? Do you have a plan for accumulating this money?
Do the exercise, it cost you nothing, will only take about five minutes to complete but will certainly get you started thinking about your retirement.
It will get harder
It is time-past time-to take a hard look at your retirement. It will never be easier than today to start building your dreams of a secure retirement It will only get harder because there will be less time and money. And money is one of the biggest concerns most people have, so having a clear picture of your finances will go a long way toward putting your mind at ease.
It will take more than just saving and a pension plan to accumulate the money you will need in retirement. Once you realized this, then it becomes your responsibility, if you don’t know what to do with your money, to get the help that you need - And once you know that you need help, get it now! Start now. I can't overemphasize this fact.
To help you understand the critical nature of retirement planning, we offer you a number of tools and articles including “Six Mistakes You Don’t Want To Make About Retirement!” call for your copy.
You’re Responsible
It is time to get serious about your situation and realize that your retirement security is your own responsibility. Nobody else is going to do it for you. You are solely responsible! I believe that doing the proper retirement planning today will improve the quality of your life now and into the future. Remember you’re going to have a long time in retirement, without an employer and very little help from the government, so start now to plan how you would like those years to be and don’t let someone else decide how you live your golden years!
"Success is nothing more than a few simple disciplines, practiced every day; while failure is simply a few errors in judgment, repeated every day. It is the accumulative weight of our disciplines and our judgments that leads us to either fortune or failure." - Jim Rohn