Your Retirement is farfetched – Odunze Reginald C

In an article captioned “You may never retired” that appeared in wall street journal it states” that sum sizable number of retirees  may continue to work after retirement due to so many reasons like their pension pot  was not enough, they were ripped off  of the retirement savings and majority because they love what they do.

And according to Walter Updegrave in an article captioned “Three Little mistakes that can sink your retirement, which appeared in Yahoo Finance it states that “It’s almost become a cliché. Virtually every survey asking pre-retirees what they plan to do in retirement shows that the overwhelming majority plan to work. Indeed, a recent Merrill Lynch survey found that nearly three out of four people over 50 said their ideal retirement would include working. Which is fine. Staying connected to the work world in some way can not only offer financial benefits, it can also keep retirees more active and socially engaged”

In Mexico, according to a report by CCTV America, erred on the 5^th of April 2015, it noted that a vast majority of retirees in Mexico do menial jobs in shops so as to survive, the report went on to say that they received a daily pay of 20 dollars, which is far in excess of their monthly 8 dollar pension.

There are about 3 factors that account for this development and they are as follow:

A Rising Medical Bills

Medical Bills while workers have medical bills, retirees tend to have higher medical bills, even though some of them are provided by government expenditure, but they tend to have higher medical bills. The reason] being that this is the time they have issues relating to health as a result of old age. But those that continue to work may have to save instead of spending because their employer may have covered them in their medical benefits

B Inflation

What it portends is that your pension pot may not carry you through during retirement. This is because during period of inflation, what N100, 000 can buy in previous years may not purchase up to N 75,000 during period of inflation. How then do you protect your pension pot during inflation? You may have nothing or less to do to protect your pension pot during inflationary period.  But the decision you take in either choosing programmed withdrawal or annuity will offer the necessary succor.   Because those who are more likely to be hit by inflation are those on annuity as they have a regular income without investment, as the investment that comes into their pension; go to the pool of fund and not the annuitant; although they may continue to receive pension throughout their life time, but the value over time may be eroded by inflation

But according to Michelle McGagh  of citywire.com she observed that “Pension savers are still in the dark about the impact the ‘inflation switch’ brought in by the government two years ago will have, despite the possibility that it could wipe 25% off their retirement income.” They went on to say that “Research by human resources business, Aon Hewitt shows Brits do not understand what effect the switch from the retail price index (RPI) to the consumer price index (CPI) has had” .
The article went on to say that “Two years ago, the government announced plans to move the indexation of pensions from RPI to CPI. It did this because CPI rises a lot slower than RPI, as the latter includes housing costs, so it means the state pension will rise more slowly, as will public sector pensions, costing the government less money.  When it comes to private pensions, the amount they pay out could also increase more slowly as many are tied to inflation, and would have adopted CPI instead of RPI.”

Although the article based their research on the situations in Britain, but the aftermath of globalization does  indicate economy does not exist in isolation stressing that  what affects one economy will definitely affects the other. And according to Nathalie Bonney  in article captioned “How rising inflation can destroy your pension” which appeared in money observer, the article noted that “Anyone who has bought a fixed annuity [which provides a regular income for life] could see the value of their pension erode significantly over time,' says Dr Ros Altmann, director general of Saga.

She adds: 'The longer they live, the poorer these pensioners become, as the real value of their fixed pensions is reduced by inflation.'

C FINANCIAL SCAM

According to  Sherisa Ngo in an article caption  “5 Things you need to do before borrowing from pension”,  which appeared in wall street journal  she noted that “Unfortunately, seniors are often the targets of financial scams. The FTC recently refunded more than $2.4 million to investors who were tricked out of millions of dollars in a precious metals scheme. The FTC says many of the victims were senior citizens”  continuing she noted that “The fraudsters convinced investors to purchase precious metals on credit without making it clear there were huge risks and costs involved. What many of the investors didn’t know was that there was a possibility they would have to pay additional fees or run the risk of losing their investments.”

In the book Rich Dad Poor dad, Robert Kiyosaki noted that there are so many ways, one can be rich, and he included the following, through inheritance, playing lottery, investing or by being a crook or an outlaw but there is a price, you risk going to jail. Kiyosaki  (1995:351) continuing he stated that ‘A great story must interest , excite and cause people to look into the future and dream a little, there should also be integrity behind the story, because our jails are filled with great story tellers without integrity”.

From this precursor above, it should be noted that through inheritance, one can actually become rich. Scammer and con artist have long recognized and noticed that; that they developed a format known as the universal format of next of kin. Believe that there is no free gift even in Freetown, once you have that in your mind; it becomes increasingly difficult to scam you. In the universal format of next of kin, people are sent scam mail asking them to present themselves of owners of the fund, but does it exist ?

But why do scammer and con artist target the retirees, the reason is not far fetch as old people according to psychologist have the tendency to fall prey because of their erroneous assumption that what did not achieve during youthful stage may be achieved during their  old age. They are also moved by fake love that does not exist that is why I advocate for you to have enduring and successful  happy retirement, put your old relationship in order, be in tune with your partner and you will not be a victim of con artist.

When Isaac Newton, the powerful scientist who enunciated the Newton’s Laws of motion lost his fortune in the South Sea Bubble Company of 1720 due to corruption. He said and I quote “I can calculate the motions of heavenly bodies but not the madness of men”. Today in my people there is madness, everyone is thinking of getting rich quick. (Kiyosaki 1990:70)

Yes  I see it as madness in target senior citizen for financial scam, and their vulnerability  also increases their urge for such vices.

It could be observed that most people who involved in fraud and scam often end in poverty . And as Prof Pat Utomi (2008) in “The Limit of lets share Economy, he stated that like people who won lottery, they often return to poverty.

Therefore the onus lies on the retiree to effectively manage his pension pot so as to be able to live a happy and fulfilled life.

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