Read part I
Does it ever occur to you that there comes a time in your life when you are no longer fit enough to be productive and valuable in the workforce? I’m talking about the part of your life where you get out of the work game, and join the others (elders) as a cheering spectator.
Some people, especially the young, don’t bother thinking about retirement at all. They hardly look beyond their fine age, and energetic bodies in the present to realize that people are not like wine, ‘they don’t become sweeter as they grow‘.
On the contrary, people become weak, more vulnerable, less attractive, less smart, less creative, less courageous, less curious, less productive, less effective, less-everything as they grow older. Old age does not come to make peace, it comes to wage a testing war against what used to be your youth.
It should better find you hidden behind a good stream of steady passive income, protected from the dangers of a weakened body, and the incapacity to work both hard, and smart.
For this reason, failing to plan for your retirement, and to act on your plan swiftly and effectively is to prepare to fail.
To put it clearer for you, ‘failing to act and plan for your retirement is an act of sabotaging your future long before you get into it.
2 Major Types of Retirement
- Temporary retirement; even a 25 year old can take this retirement. Here you retire not becuase you can’t work anymore but because you just want some time off then come back later.
- Permanent retirement; here a person is nolonger fit to keep up with the conditions of the workplace due to aging.
Therefore, temporary retirement is subject to choice, while permanent retirement is subject to aging.
Is Retirement Good?
There are two ways to look at retirement;
#1 We retire because we become less productive and valuable as we grow older.
#2 We retire because the workforce is not an amusement park, it’s a struggle conditioned with never-ending duties and responsibilities. Not fun at all.
#1 The best years of a man or woman are combined in their youthful period.
With youth comes an abundance of natural strength, willpower, determination, passion, love, curiosity, creativity, intelligence, growth, adaptability, resistance, biological immunity, stamina, tenacity, sagacity, charm, talent, discovery, easy social connection, broad unlimited mind, dreams, and desire, etc.
The very things that make us fit for any typical job — without which we are useless at work.
Therefore, retirement is good because by default every person reaches a peak of performance they can’t go beyond (at least not yet). The inability to go beyond this performance peak is brought about and is determined by getting old (keeping all other irrelevant factors constant).
#2 The workforce is a battleground.
Billions of people around the world wake up early in the morning against their will to go to work. More like going to combat every morning. There they spend a minimum of 8 hours, hustling hard to meet other people’s expectations.
Working becomes problematic because most of the time, people don’t get a chance to do what they love, to do it with whom they like, and when they like it.
Labor is a system of conditions, procedures, and results. It’s not fun at all.
Therefore, retirement is good because nobody wants to spend their entire life on the battleground of labor fighting for survival money? It’s a miserable way to live.
The people who live trying hard to get survival money end up regretting how they lived their entire life.
Various studies concur with the above statement. When asked, most old people wish to live their youthful life differently if they could have it back. They would enjoy more, have fun more, dance more, sing more, play more, etc.
But how can you enjoy this if you have to work every day from morning to night? Hence, retiring early becomes much better.
Work steals time from us, and this stolen time, we never get back. It is lost to us forever. For this reason, we all need and deserve to retire early.
What is a Retirement Plan?
Any plan sets forth a course of detailed guidelines which must be followed to attain a predefined desirable goal. A retirement plan is no different.
It sets forth a well-designed path that will lead you all the way to your retirement age and enable you to live a dignified and suitable lifestyle all years after your retirement age.
The retirement age for most countries is 65 years. Remember 65 years is meant for employees. As for you, you are free to choose any number and make it your retirement age. It can be as soon as 35 or 45 or 55.
Irrespective of what your retirement age is set to, remember always that you are the opposite of wine which becomes sweeter as it ages.
Your youthful days decline with every birthday you celebrate. Thus, planning for your retirement is inevitable unless you are an inept camel.
7 Qualities of a Good Retirement Plan
| 1. A good retirement plan starts early. |
| 2. A good retirement plan must adapt/adjust to changing economic, political, and social times. |
| 3. A good retirement plan must have contingency measures in case something goes wrong. |
| 4. A good retirement plan must focus on all factors of retirement, not just income. |
| 5. A good retirement plan must enable a person to enjoy youthful pleasures even when old. |
| 6. A good retirement plan must not sabotage the present to save the future. |
| 7. A good retirement plan must be implemented immediately and consistently. |
Point to Ponder: a retirement plan is not only about securing desirable passive income after exiting the workforce but also about securing a healthy enjoyable lifestyle. Uninterrupted happiness.
7 Things a Good Retirement Plan Should Focus on;
| 1. Consistent Passive Income |
| 2. Investment prioritized over savings |
| 3. Work Substituting Activities |
| 4. Reaction to Changing times |
| 5. Health Coverage |
| 6. Basic Needs Coverage |
| 7. Amusement/Entertainment Coverage |
… stay tuned for part III.
Editorial/ Yewe Yewe
email: yeweyewecommunity@yeweyewe.com
JOIN YEWE YEWE ONLINE COMMUNITY
82
80
82
94
76
95
85