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Pension is an important issue, as a time will come
when you will longer be able to work, at that time, you fall back on your pension.
The origin of pension’s dates back to ancient time,
the Holy Bible in the book of Numbers 8 vs. 25, stated “but at the age
of fifty, they must retire from the regular service and work no longer” and
according to King James version, it states” And from the age of fifty years
they shall ceased waiting upon the service thereof and shall serve no more
What is pension?
According to Wikipedia “A pension is a fixed sum to be paid
regularly to a person, typically following retirement
from service. There are many different types of pensions, including defined
benefit plans, defined contribution plans, as well as several others. Pensions
should not be confused with severance pay;
the former is paid in regular installments, while the latter is paid in one
lump sum.”
Continuing Wikipedia noted that” The terms
retirement plan and superannuation tend to refer to a pension granted upon
retirement of the individual. Retirement plans may be set up by employers,
insurance companies, the government or other institutions such as employer
associations or trade unions. Called retirement plans in the United States,
they are commonly known as pension schemes in the United Kingdom
and Ireland
and superannuation plans in Australia
and New
Zealand. Retirement pensions are typically in the form of
a guaranteed life
annuity, thus insuring against the risk of
longevity.
A pension created by an employer for the benefit of
an employee is commonly referred to as an occupational or employer pension. Labor unions,
the government, or other organizations may also fund pensions. Occupational
pensions are a form of deferred
compensation, usually advantageous to employee and
employer for tax
reasons. Many pensions also contain an additional insurance
aspect, since they often will pay benefits to survivors or disabled
beneficiaries. Other vehicles (certain lottery
payouts, for example, or an annuity)
may provide a similar stream of payments.
The common use of the term pension is to
describe the payments a person receives upon retirement, usually under
pre-determined legal or contractual terms. A recipient of a retirement pension
is known as a pensioner
or retiree.
But the period of retirement, its delicate and
money consuming so an intending retiree need to do the following 5 years before
he or she retires and they are as follows:
1 Good relationship with your family, the period of
retirement is always a period of seclusion, therefore an intending retiree
should be up and doing in having a good relationship with his or her family
2 Build a house where you are retiring no matter
how small it is: in an article on pension destinations, analysts are of the
view that it is always good to have a house before retirement. The agony of
retirees using their retirement money to build a house cannot be quantified.
3 Make sure you have start offsetting your debt,
Debt has been a part of some people life, especially in organized countries
where they transact with credit cards, it’s imperative that the intending retirees offset any debt that
will affect his life or her during retirement.
4 Start kick starting a business or a vocation that
will keep you busy during retirement; 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”
5 Start adjusting your life toward old age and
start shedding harmful habits: Harmful habits are injurious to life, they
include, a life of smoking, drinking and other related life pattern that
affects ones health and life, it should be noted that one of the serious bills
affecting senior citizen is increasing medical bills, as old age has with it
issues pertaining to health and medical wellness.
6 Update your relevant information: information is
key and it needs to be updated at every point in time, this will ease the retiree’s
application when accessing his benefit.
7 Get a will; experience has shown that it takes up
to six months to get a letter of Administration, added to the high cost of
court and the legal charges of the lawyer facilitating it. But if there is
will, it becomes increasingly easy to access the fund, where the contributor
has joined his ancestors
8 Plan to increase your contribution, the main aim
of additional voluntary contribution is to increase the pension pot as in the
United States and Europe and Retirement Savings Account balances in Nigeria,
reduces the tax burden and make retirement a safe haven for retirees.
9
Start having positive attitude towards life, even if you don’t feel it, Some people have
that mindset that they will not live to see their pension and like the Biblical
Job what they fear most always comes to them.
In
my experience in talking to people about pension, some will always say will I live to
have the pension? I always tell them, to maintain a positive attitude
towards life.
Henry Ford said “Think you can, think you can’t, either
way you will be right”
10 Develop a special relationship with your God:
Nothing is more important than an existing good relationship with your maker,
there is inner sense of joy and happiness when you are in tune with God.
Like Cornelius Agrippa said "True happiness consists not knowledge of good things but in good life , not understanding but in living understandingly neither is it great learning but goodwill that joins men to God.
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