Retirement Planning

Retirement: the stage of life after working

Retirement is the beginning of a new stage of life. Work is only part of what you do as a person. When you retire from working, whether fully or partially, you will have more time for the other interests in your life.

• Planning your retirement is a very personal process, not simply following a one-size-fits-all plan. Your retirement plan should be based on your vision of the life you hope to lead and must also take your financial picture into account.
• The best time to start planning your retirement is while you’re still working. It’s never too early to start your research. The important thing is to get started, so you’re not left making all the important choices in your last few weeks on the job.

Some questions to ask yourself:

• Do I want to retire?
• How do I want to spend my time in retirement?
• How will I handle not having to go to work?
• How much will I miss the social contacts and friends at work?
• Will my friends also be retired?
• How much income will I need in retirement?
• Are my pensions and investments going to be sufficient for my needs ?
• What will be my expenses ?
• Is my will up to date ?
• Am I psychologically ready to retire?
• Should I consider semi-retirement or a second career?
• What impact will my retirement have on my family?
• What if I don’t retire and instead keep on working like I am now?
• Will I have to get a part-time job to make ends meet?

How many years can I expect to receive a pension?

• The average retirement age of a member is 58.
• According to statistics, a woman who is 58 today will live on average to 84 years old, and will collect a pension for at least 26 years.
• A man who is 58 today will live on average to 79 years old, and will collect a pension for at least 21 years.

General facts about retirement

• The baby boom generation (born 1946 to 1964) entered the workforce in large numbers and has begun to retire. In 2011, the oldest boomers will reach age 65.
• This retirement wave should peak in the early 2020s. A lot of talent and experience will leave the workforce. A key challenge for employers will be finding qualified workers to replace it.
• Pressure to replace workers will arise early for employers in public administration, education and health care; these tend to have a lower average age of retirement and an older workforce.

At TFMG we are on hand to assist in answering all these questions. We can advise on the structure and value of your pensions and investments. What level of income you will receive from your pension. We can analyse with you your expenses and present detailed Life Time Cash Flow models depicting whether you are going to run out of money or not. We can even reflect the sudden and unforeseen expense of long term care.

Our Financial Planners have years of experience of advising on hundreds of real life retirement situations which enable them to relate you to your money and your retirement aspirations.