JMMB Group financial forum empowers investors

THE AVERAGE Jamaican should be earmarking at least 30 per cent of his current income towards their retirement planning on a monthly basis. This was the advice shared by JMMB’s financial educator, Michelle Sinclair-Doyley, during the recently held financial forum organised by the company at The Jamaica Pegasus hotel, New Kingston.

Women, she said, needed to invest more money for retirement planning as they typically have a longer life expectancy than men.

In Jamaica, the elderly make up 11. 5 per cent of the population, according to the 2014 statistics published by the Statistical Institute of Jamaica, and this is projected to reach 25 per cent by 2050. Against this background, it is important for individuals to plan for this stage of their life.

“Retirement planning should begin as early as possible, as early as your first pay cheque,” SinclairDoyley said.

“During early career years, investors were encouraged to solidify good financialmanagement principles by creating a budget to ensure that they can determine where shortfalls exist and take steps towards closing this gap with additional sources of income such as investment opportunities, new ventures, or reducing expenses,”she added.

She also emphasised the importance of persons investing in themselves to increase their earning potential and thus increase their sources of income.

Sinclair-Doyley underscored the need to have an emergency fund and insurance to assist individuals with unforeseen expenses, while protecting their investments and assets from incidentals such as illnesses and death of a loved one.

Additionally, she noted that having an emergency fund and insurance in place would help to prevent individuals from being burdened with high, unmanageable debt due to unforeseen circumstances.

This debt, she cautioned, could cripple individuals by reducing the amount of disposable income they have to take advantage of further investments in later years and delay their retirement preparation.