Not a few corporate executives and top business managers receive handsome amount of money as benefits as they retire from services of their employers, but not all really make meaningful use of their retirement benefits. Among other issues, lack of proper planning had deprived many of their hard-earned lifetime savings as they venture into ill-advised ventures.
This on one hand, some career men and women never give it a thought to plan for what to do when they leave current employment until it is too late.
The comfort of current job, the perks and the demands of office never allow many to do serious thinking about how to adjust to a new life and package a rewarding and satisfying life to live. Often, these retirees end up wasting their retirement benefits. I have also come to realise that it is common among the retirees to suffer untoward experiences few years after they leave paid employment. Some of the unpleasant occurrences may be caused by nature while several are aftermath of disappointments occasioned by failed expectations.
Rachael and her husband didn’t do anything prior to last year (in respect of preparing for their retirement years). According to her, she and her husband mentioned the topic tritely only a few times, saying they would set up a retirement fund when they could afford it. But they never got around it until they saw what Rachael’s parents went through. Rachael’s 77-year-old father became seriously ill not long after her 74-year-old mother suffered stroke. After consultation, they decided to use all of her father’s savings to pay for his medical expenses. But soon after, the health of the old man took a turn for the worse; thereby leaving her mother without enough money to continue living on her own. So she had to move in with her brother. Rachael wished she had started thinking about her retirement and the years to follow much earlier. Her words, “until a couple of years ago, retirement seemed to be in the distant future, not something I needed to be concerned with”.
Likewise, Dave is worried. He is already conscious of his retirement from his current job and the life he will have to live thereafter. He had spent several years ‘meritoriously’ on active service. According to him, he has just few years left to serve and retire. With three young children, he doesn’t have any savings or investment anywhere. His challenge is ‘where to start from’ after all the years he had ‘wasted’. With his mind set on what step to take, Dave poured out his heart in a message he sent.
Dave is not alone in this situation. Many of us discovered certain things a bit late which, if we were opportune to come to term with them earlier, our lives would have taken different and better direction with much more rewarding opportunities. We would have turned out better than we are today, emerged exemplary leaders, great models, extremely successful career men and women, flourishing entrepreneurs and industrialists. But as a result of our background or influence and circumstances beyond our capacity, or the environment we found ourselves to grow up, the places we go, the people we interact with and the type of friends we keep, we somehow fluffed great opportunities one time or the other. The hard fact is that the new revelation or discovery may be at a time when it seems it is all over. But the good news is that it is never too late.
The quality of your retirement years will be determined by how you tackle it today with decisive strategic planning. Plans for years to be spent in retirement should start years ahead and not when it is just few years left. Addressing Dave’s retirement challenge, he needs to zero his mind to what to do after leaving present employment and ensure proper plan is put in place. His training, experience, exposure and technical know-how will play significant role in determining what to focus and serve as good guide in shaping the business.
A retired woman who worked for a communications company started planning her retirement early by purchasing a knitting machine to start production of branded headbands. During her childhood, this woman had learnt to knit traditional sport-sweaters from her grandmother and actually started out knitting sweaters for interested users. Because she had started thinking about her business before her retirement, she had time to do a proper business plan, modify the business plan thereby finding a new competitive line of product, and was able to make needed, flexible adjustments where necessary. She didn’t leave her retirement too late to plan. The question is, how far have you gone with your own plan for the future?
. Emmanuel is a business planning and cooperative consultant. He works with a team of international consultants to conceptualise and plan agribusiness and housing projects. As a certified trainer authorised to use the International Labour Organisation’s enterprise development modules, he trains entrepreneurs and organises workshops and seminars for potential and practising entrepreneurs as well as business managers and cooperatives. He also speaks and facilitates at leadership and management workshops on invitation. His book, Business Planning Made Easy: Step by Step Guide On How To Turn Your Idea To Profitable Business’ is the latest of the books authored by him. Tel: +234(0)9068602954 (call and sms), +234(0)8023257707 (whatsApp only).
—
Follow The Eagle Online Channel on WhatsApp
