Retirement is inevitable. Whether a person works for the government, a corporate body, or is self-employed, there comes a time when one would no longer be able to work.
In the process of retirement, government and corporate bodies plan a fixed age at which each worker must retire, thus making them plan for the program. Examples of government or corporate employers include teaching professions, secretarial work, clerical work, managerial work, and accounting work.
Self-Employed
A self-employed person must decide on a particular time when he or she will retire. But no matter how long anyone works, one will have to exit active work because at some time, the ability to carry out strenuous physical labour will no longer be available, and one will have to quit.
Examples of self-employed work are tailoring, mechanics, carpentry, masonry, etc. An adage says, “If you claim not to be old, or you claim not to be aged, when your face becomes wrinkled, what does that mean?
Retirement is a voluntary withdrawal from active business or occupation. This means that there will be a time when one will have to withdraw from active service when the time of service expires, either by age or years of service.
This helped the younger men assume more responsibilities, and the older men stood as advisers and counsellors to them. It is essential to consider how we should plan for retirement. Excellent or inadequate planning for retirement can result in inadequate planning for a successful retirement.
People do not give priority to planning for retirement. Their attitude seems to be that they can wait a little longer and think they have time. Yet people lose their jobs unexpectedly or have accidents or illnesses that hinder them. Today, we want to discuss how important it is to prepare for retirement and what people can do to prepare.
Importance of adequate planning
Whatever planning is done toward retirement, it must be accurate and adequate. What is meant by adequate planning is that whatever contingency develops during retirement can be taken care of comfortably and conveniently. For instance, one needs to have funds to pay various bills that may become necessary.
One should have suitable, comfortable accommodation, and adequate feeding should be affordable. One reason accurate and adequate planning is essential is to avoid being stranded or at the mercy of people when retirement comes. One may no longer have the resources to cater to one’s needs because facilities that used to be available may no longer be accessible.
When a person has reached retirement age, they may not be strong enough to handle certain tasks. To buttress the importance of planning, Nelaton, a great French surgeon, said, “I had four minutes in which to operate on which life depended, I would take one minute to consider how best to do it”.
This emphasises the importance of planning. To take one minute out of four minutes to plan may seem to be a waste of precious time. Proper planning brings success; it ensures focus and direction.
Importance of taking retirement seriously
People must be careful of procrastination or withdraw from people who are capable of influencing them to procrastinate if they take retirement planning seriously.
Neglect of action and frequent postponement of necessary actions that should be taken indicate that one is not proactive about their welfare. Many people do not take retirement seriously. Their attitude seems to assume that they still have enough time before they retire.
Even when they think of planning for it, they keep postponing the plan. People must be wise and take retirement seriously. They should start saving and set aside a portion of their income for future use. They should have investments in preparation for their retirement. More importantly, Christ’s disciples should have the consciousness that the time will come when they will no longer have regular income as active workers but will have to fall back on retirement benefits or savings to cater to their needs in old age.
When believers understand the importance of planning for retirement, they will see the need to join a viable retirement scheme. A retirement scheme could also be likened to a pension plan. A retirement scheme is a financial strategy of saving, investing, and ultimately distributing money or income meant to sustain oneself during retirement.
A pension plan is “an employee benefit that commits the employer to make regular contributions to a pool of money set aside to fund eligible employees after they retire.”Government and corporate organisations set up various retirement schemes for their workers’ benefit. There are certain registered corporate insurance schemes set up where individuals can also join.
A good step toward having a good retirement is to join a scheme that is available and viable. These schemes provide adequate planning for retirement. One thing Christ’s disciples must put into consideration is to ensure that any insurance corporation they join is government-approved and productive. People should be careful of the fraudulent financial scams rampant in the world today.
Whoever cannot join a scheme should make adequate arrangements to invest or save for the future so that when salary ceases, or one is unable to have a a regular income, one will have something to rely on.
Conclusion
Adequate planning for retirement is very important and necessary. Retirement schemes are investment plans that let you save money until you retire, to reap the fruits that you had sown. Most retirement schemes also provide lifelong insurance coverage. When believers make adequate plans, it reduces uncertainty, anxiety, and stress.
Retirement is a fact of life. It is a journey that must be adequately prepared for. This will enable one to live a life peaceably without suffering and unending stress. Christ’s disciples should not let another day go by without taking steps to prepare for retirement.
Retirement should be a time of increased opportunity to do God’s work. Work is part of God’s design, and so, it should not be seen as a curse. At retirement, we should seek new ways of working for the kingdom; engage in relational activities, voluntary commitment, and the ministry of prayer.
If you have not made provisions before for retirement, start today. Take care of your relationship with the Lord, take care of your health, and make provisions for the future. You can learn a similar post on this page.
Editors
adminate
