HOW DO I PLAN FOR RETIREMENT?
I am 37 years old and living in the UAE for the last 8 years. What advise you will give to an expat on retirement planning?
APreparing yourself for retirement is crucial and should be handled prudently. The retirement plan is a process that cannot wait until the last minute. It doesn’t matter how old you are or how much you have in savings; if you want to follow the path of a successful retirement, start now.
Planning for retirement is all about how comfortable you wish to spend your retirement. Retirement planning largely consists of establishing sources of income, reckoning overheads, enforcing a savings program and organising assets to gain profit in the long run. The preferred retirement plans comprise multi investments portfolio, including savings accounts, short and long-term investment schemes and property.
People usually don’t like to think so far, or don’t prefer to discuss about old age, or they don’t have any specific plan in place. But a good retirement plan allows you to look forward to the future instead of worrying about it later. Initiating the saving plan for retirement isn’t intimidating if you start early.
The good news is that there are plenty of savings options available in the market. Create an exhaustive list of questions while planning for retirement. Decide what age/year you plan to retire and determine how much you need to save in order to live a comfortable lifestyle. Start with keeping aside a reasonable amount for yourself, look into long-term investment options in the local and international market where yield appreciates your investment. It is a bit difficult to know exactly how much money one might need at that age but considering the longevity of human life expectancy up to 75 to 80 years we can plan with an estimated figure to the roadmap of what might be needed every month or year after retirement. And accordingly, the finances can be segregated to create the fund pool to achieve that financial goal. Never rely on one source of income. Just saving every month will not be enough for a comfortable retirement. As an expat, you have three choices regarding investing: home country; country of residence; or the offshore market.
Apt planning and a disciplined saving and investing habit will keep you on the right track. There are multiple retirement plans and you need to choose the one that suits your requirement. Consult a financial expert regarding allocating savings. But no matter what the retirement plan looks like, stick to it.