Planning for retirement

Retirement is a phase of life where you simply want to relax and spend the days in peace. In order to lead a tension- free retired life it is good to start planning your finances early. It is such a period where you may not have any regular income and at the same time you would not like to depend on your children to meet your expenses. So if you want to lead a healthy post retirement life it is important that you start saving early.

A financial consultant says, “The best time to start saving for retirement is now. You may be having lots of obligations, but try to keep aside some amount how much small it may be. Make a rough estimate of the amount of money you would require to maintain your current lifestyle in your post-retirement years. Remember while you may not have the burden of your children’s education or house rent (provided you have built a house for yourself) you will have increased expenses regarding medicines or say housemaids. Once you pay off a certain loan try to set aside that particular amount as savings. Similar is the case when you earn some incentives. Actually, if you earn something extra try to save it before you begin to spend it. This will help you gather a considerable amount of money before you even realize it.”

Although planning for retirement is crucial yet a greater part of the working population in India seems to ignore it. A sales executive says, “What most people fail to understand is that retirement is a priority. It is not that you should deprive yourself of things you like to make an uncertain future comfortable. But taking small steps like reducing the electricity bill by switching off power in unwanted places, or washing the car yourself will certainly help you save to some extent. You can also arrange for an automatic money transfer from your salary account to an investment account on a regular basis. This is after all a period when you will want to enjoy all the comforts without having a regular income at your disposal.”

Sooner or later everyone has to retire from their working lives. However, a systematic planning of finances at an early stage will guarantee a comfortable life without any worries after retirement.

- Ranjita Chattopadhyay (views expressed in the article are that of the author)