Retirement planning is the process of determining, planning, and saving for your financial goals after you retire. You need to estimate your expenses after you retire, plan your potential sources of income, and manage an investment program until you retire. It also means rebalancing and managing your assets as you get closer to your retirement.
Retirement is a big goal, and focusing on it from the earlier days of your career is worth appreciation. Unfortunately, many people still have almost no planning for their retirement. They are very short-sighted and hence plan for their short-term goals. What about you? Have you started planning for your retirement yet? Are you investing some money each month?
According to a recent survey, most people’s answers to the question – “what is the most important financial goal of your life?” were:
- Child education/marriage
- Retirement
- Buying a home
- Starting your own business
- Getting debt-free
Retirement was not the answer of the majority. But why?
Reason One: It Is A Selfish Goal
Most people know deep down that retirement is their greatest goal. But they do not accept it because they think it is SELFISH. Why is it so odd to accept it out loud when it is about you and your wellbeing? In some cases, upbringing could be the main reason behind it. Since childhood, we have learned to think about others first. Others mean our parents, siblings, spouse, children, relatives, and so on. It is taboo to say that – I want to think about my happiness first. People will judge you to be rude and self-centered.
Reason Two: People Are Not Able To Visualize Their Future
Nobody can predict how their lives will be after fifteen to thirty years. Think about ten years back, did you even have a little idea of how you will live today?
You can never predict how bad or good your future days will be. That is the reason why most people don’t bother about their retirement. They are just not able to visualize how serious it is to plan for their retirement. They don’t think how tough it will be if they do not have enough retirement backups. You earn enough money right now, and you might be living from paycheck to paycheck. But one day – the “your salary XXXX amount in credited” text will stop forever. Your retirement plan will be there for you for the rest of your life.
Reason Three: It Is Too Early To Plan
Imagine, it’s been a few years since you started earning. Right now, your priorities might be buying a house, saving up for your next big trip, and so on. Most times, you are trying to climb up the corporate ladder of success. With the daily hustle and bustle of life that you forget about the bigger pictures of your life. You don’t think about saving for your 60’s when you are in your 20’s. You might think it’s too early to even think about it.
But most youngsters never get out of the ‘still young’ phase for centuries. When they hit their 40’s or 50’s, they feel their mistake of not starting early. And then, it’s very late.
Conclusion
So, even though your retirement is far away, the early you start saving/ investing, the better it is. During the initial stage, you might not give it a high priority but start with something at least. Set your goal of increasing the allocation with the passing course of time.
