Retirement is permanently withdrawing from being an
active member of the workforce and living off your savings and investments.
Some people retire due to a legal requirement to stop working at a certain age
or after a certain number of years of active service while others retire at a
time of their choosing to pursue hobbies or leisure activities. For others,
retirement may be involuntary, and they find themselves out of work due to
accidents, medical challenges, or other unplanned eventuality.
Retirement planning in Nigeria, therefore, is identifying
your retirement goals and planning towards achieving them
When should you start planning for retirement? The simple answer is Start planning for retirement as
soon as you start earning an income and can start putting something aside for
your future self.
Planning early towards retirement ensures that you are
able to enjoy your retirement years. Early planning also allows you to reap the
rewards of compounding interest on your savings and investments. You may even
find that you are able to meet your retirement goals early enough to retire at
a relatively young age and take time off to pursue other interests.
To successfully plan for your retirement, first outline
your needs for retirement. These needs may include accommodation, feeding,
travel, healthcare, etc. Next, determine how much money you will need to live
the quality of life you desire at retirement. This will require detailed
planning of your expenses on a daily to weekly to monthly to annual basis.
Then create a savings and investment plan that will
ensure you have the funds you will need for the kind of retirement you desire. Available
options for such savings and investments include:
● opening a Retirement Savings Account
(RSA) where you can set aside a percentage of your monthly income until you are
set to retire;
● invest in mutual
funds. These are safe money market instruments that are relatively very safe
and yield good returns over time
● investing in real
estate;
● start and grow a
profitable business
● purchase an annuity
plan from an insurance company
● invest in stocks and
shares of companies listed on the Nigerian stock exchange
● start a dollar
denominated savings account
● invest in gold and
precious stones
● Start a business
online using your social media platforms
● Look
into Affiliate marketing
There are professional retirement consultants who can
make the work of your retirement planning a lot easier. It is advisable to find
a good one who can provide the guidance, advise, and support you need to
develop and execute a workable plan for your retirement.
However, making a plan is not enough, you need to put in
the work required to make your plan a reality.
Article by Bibi Bunmi Apampa, an award-winning wealth
strategist and high-performance business coach and retirement consultant she
can be reached at http://RetirementQueenNigeria.com