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Category:
Insurance
News /
Life
Insurance /
October 2007
Retirement – The final frontier?
Meeting the end vs. Making ends meet
For
most people, except the Star Trek fans, it is not space, but
retirement that is the final frontier.
 Retirement is that finishing tape at the end of life’s marathon, a
sort of invisible line between the bondage of “having to” and the
freedom of “not having to”. But, instead of retirement becoming an
adventure of fascinating discoveries or explorations into personal
creative talents, for many it simply becomes the beginning of the
end.
It
is a time of financial uncertainty and fear. Have I made enough
provision? Will I outlast my money? Why didn’t I save enough? What
if I get sick? Can I afford the medical aid?
For
the great majority of South Africans there will not be enough gold
in the pot at the end of the retirement rainbow, and therefore they
must carry on working to the bitter end. This is often made out to
be a fate worse than death – but is it?
As
a young impressionable man in the financial services industry I can
remember attending a cocktail party to celebrate the retirement of
one of the top brass who had faithfully served the company for fifty
years (yes, fifty loyal years!). Six months later everybody was
again gathered together for his funeral!
The
pension was hardly dented and his widow could thereafter enjoy a
paltry 50% of it.
Of
course one should not formulate a theology on retirement from one
situation, but it is an example that has provided many repeats over
the years and one cannot avoid being influenced by such events. Of
course, some people overcome the problem by not saving anything!
Rather, what it seems to indicate is that one should not stop
working – either carry on if you enjoy it or, where possible, change
jobs. After all, in these modern days, the 65 year olds generally
don’t look it and most will admit to not feeling it either!
One
of the most valuable commodities in the work place is a thing called
experience to which one could sometimes add the extra ingredient of
wisdom. This has particular relevance to the South African
situation, where there is a paucity of skilled personnel in
strategic industries, and most sensible employers are only too
willing to offer consultancy contracts to valuable retirees.
Longevity is not necessarily based upon financial security or family
DNA but on having a worthwhile purpose.
So
what wise advice could we leave our young space cadets?
Firstly, start a retirement funding plan as soon as possible and
diligently stick to it. Secondly, to enhance your marketable value,
acquire all the education and skill that you can possibly muster and
finally just accept, whatever your circumstances, you never actually
had a say in the selection of your parents and family!
Source: ITInews – Insurance
Times and Investments Online
www.itinews.co.za
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