Smart lifestyle tips for retirees

Smart lifestyle tips for retirees

One of the ways to enjoy a comfortable retirement is by engaging in a chain of healthy behaviors that eventually form a lifestyle that enables you to thrive every single day.

As your partner invested in your tomorrow, it is our duty to keep providing you with tips that help you make the most of your retirement.

These 4 tips will help improve your lifestyle.

  1. Keep active

Find ways to stay active and keep fit each day. Consider activities that you enjoy which maintains strength, balance and flexibility while promoting cardiovascular health. Physical activity helps you stay at a healthy weight, prevent or control illness, sleep better, move better, reduce stress, avoid falls and feel and look better.

  1. Eat well

When you eat nutritious foods in the right amounts, you not only stay heathier, but you also ward off many illnesses like heart diseases, obesity, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes and more.

  1. Prevent falls

We become vulnerable to falls as we get older. Prevent falls and injury by keeping paths clear of electrical cords and clutter, removing slippery rugs or carpets, cleaning up spilled liquids and using nigh lights in the hallways and bathrooms. When moving about, choose footwears with good support and strong under-foot grip to avoid slipping.

  1. Go for regular check-ups

By age 50, women should begin mammography screening for breast cancer while from age 40, men should check for prostate cancer. Make sure you don’t skip health checkups and use these visits to discuss any other health concerns you may have with your doctor.

 For more tips to enjoy your retirement, visit www.armpension.com/blog

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Stages of retirement planning

Stages of retirement planning

Now that we’ve looked at what retirement planning is and the benefits of retirement planning, it is pertinent that we explore some guidelines for successfully planning your retirement at different stages of your life.

 

Young Adulthood (21-35 years old)

 

If you fall into this age bracket, you have sufficient time to let your investments mature which is an important and valuable factor in retirement planning. The reason for this is that you enjoy the benefits of compound interest which allow your retirement savings to earn interest and that interest to earn even more interest. This means that the more time your retirement savings stays before you retire, the more interest you will earn.

 

If for instance, you make additional voluntary contributions of N20,000 monthly in your retirement savings to match what your employer contributes, it will be worth three times more if you invest it at age 25 than if you wait to start investing at age 45 – that’s the beauty of compounding.

 

Early midlife (36-50 years old)

 

At this time in your life, even though you may have some number of financial responsibilities to bear, chances are you may have climbed a bit higher up the career ladder with some extra income as well, hence it is critical that you continue saving at this stage of retirement planning. The combination of earning more and the time you still have to invest and enjoy compound interest makes these years some of the best for aggressive savings.

 

Consider bumping up your additional voluntary contributions now as well to ensure that you have enough to fund the lifestyle you desire when you retire.

 

Later midlife (50-65 years old)

 

While time is running out to save for most people at this stage of retirement planning, the possibility of receiving higher wages due to career climb and having paid off some weighing debts can provide more disposable income to invest.

 

This is also the time to be frugal with expenses if you haven’t saved a lot for retirement or create periodic budgets to manage all that you’ve accumulated to ensure that you don’t outlive your money.

 

Whatever stage you are now in the retirement planning life cycle, you can speak to us about your retirement concerns via [email protected] or 0700 CALL ARM.

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This thing called retirement!

This thing called retirement!

Retirement is that time of life when a person chooses to permanently leave the workforce behind. In Nigeria, the average retirement age for those in the public sector varies between 55-60 years while some retirees who are fit and healthy often opt for a private employ when they retiree to either keep busy or meet up with expenses.

 

Retirement can last for decades these days due to increased life expectancy and typically consists of multiple phases.

 

Phases of retirement

 

According to Late sociologist Robert Atchley who was around in the 1970s, retirement can come in six phases.

 

  1. Pre-retirement: This is the planning phase where a person starts to think seriously about the life they want for themselves in retirement and whether they’re financially on track to achieve it.

 

  1. Retirement: This phase is the transition from full-time work to retirement.

 

  1. Contentment: This is a happy phase where the retiree enjoys the fruits of their lifetime hard work. People call it the honeymoon period and if the retiree saved enough money, this phase could last a lot longer.

 

  1. Disenchantment: Once the honeymoon phase is over, some retirees may experience some of the emotional downsides of retirement like loneliness, disillusionment, and a feeling of uselessness.

 

  1. Reorientation: When in this phase, people try to understand who they are at that moment and figure out their place in the world as a retiree.

 

  1. Routine: During this phase, retirement now becomes more familiar, and one tends to accept their situation and settle into a new set of routines. For some, this means discovering a new sense of purpose and taking advantage of the opportunity to enjoy life; for others who didn’t save enough and need to supplement their income, it can mean getting a part-time job.

 

Retirement in olden-day Nigeria

 

Not many people in Nigeria had grand or great grandparents who planned for retirement. It is typical to see children being the retirement plan for a certain number of aged parents who once they get to a certain age, depend solely on their children for their financial needs.

 

It can be argued that back then most of our parents didn’t do blue-collar jobs that allowed them to have a pension plan and that entrepreneurship was not as lucrative due to the absence of the technology that is available today to enable traders to save ahead. However, that argument may still be shaky considering that only a small percentage of Nigerians consider the benefits of saving for retirement.

Retirement in present-day Nigeria

 

Today, while some Nigerians are still stuck in the age-old mentality of expecting their children to be their retirement plan, more Nigerians are taking retirement more seriously.

 

Nigerians who are employed in public and private sectors have the mandatory contributory pension scheme which is a combination of deductions made from their salary matched with their employer’s contribution into their retirement savings account to ensure they have something tangible to fall back to in retirement. Aside from this, more Nigerians are opting for additional contributions to their retirement savings as they look forward to a retirement where they don’t have to be financially dependent on anybody.

 

In the most recent past, entrepreneurs have also been given the opportunity to start saving for retirement through the Micro Pension scheme which was not previously available.

 

In conclusion…

 

Nobody likes to be a nuisance to another especially at a time in your life when you should relax and enjoy the rewards of your years of hard work. Hence, the most important part when you think of retirement should be planning – both for the financial and emotional impacts of retiring to ensure that you get a comfortable retirement.

 

Experts advise that as you plan for retirement, you should think about what it looks like. Talk to your friends. Write about it. Create a storyboard and be imaginative. Your financial plans and your day-to-day retirement plan should go hand in hand.

 

Walk into Tomorrow to plan your retirement today.

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What is Retirement Planning?

What is Retirement Planning?

Retirement planning is simply the preparation for life after employment ends. This preparation impacts all aspects of your life and not just your finances.

The aspect that doesn’t require money include lifestyle choices like how to spend time in retirement, where to live, when to completely stop working and more. A well-rounded retirement plan should consider all these areas.

However, the approach or emphasis a person puts on retirement planning changes throughout different life stages.

Early career

During this time, the emphasis should be to set aside enough money for retirement. You have the luxury of time to accumulate what you need for retirement and the benefit of compounding interest to ensure that what you set aside accumulates returns over the long-term.

Mid-career

This time, while you’re still setting money aside in your retirement savings account, you should consider ways of increasing your retirement income by setting specific income or asset targets and taking prudent steps to achieve them. Let’s assume that over the course of your career, you ‘ve had pay raises or promotions, this means you have the opportunity to increase what you put into your pension pot.

Retirement

This is the time you hang your work boots and officially go from accumulating assets to what financial planners call the distribution phase. You’re no longer paying in, instead, your years of savings start to pay out. The good news for those who have managed to accumulate enough retirement income is that they can enjoy a comfortable retirement spent pursuing their hobbies and having fun. The reverse would be the case for those whose retirement income may not be enough.

Final thoughts…

Retirement planning should start long before you retire – in fact, the sooner, the better. You must figure out how much you need to retire comfortably and then work with that magic number in mind as you save ahead for retirement.

Our Retirement Lifestyle Planner enables you to Walk Into Tomorrow, today to plan out your dream retirement. On the easy-to-use portal, you get a holistic view of how your retirement lifestyle would be and how much you’d need at every point in your retirement. This helps you total up the magic number you need to save to get the retirement your desire.

Click here to Walk Into Tomorrow and plan your dream retirement now.

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3 ways to preserve your mental health

3 ways to preserve your mental health

As a busy professional, if you ever find yourself feeling mentally overwhelmed, these tips can help.

 

1. Identify what you’re feeling

Experts endorse writing as a way of tracking your emotional mood throughout the day. It is a practice that helps you understand which activities and times of the day trigger more anxiety. Once you can identify the trigger moments, you can better prepare yourself to respond.

 

2. Lean on others

Talking with people you trust can be the best outlet for maintaining your mental well-being. It allows them to express sympathy and empathy for what you’re going through. Rather than showing weakness, this shows strength and character while allowing the other person to equally open up about their feelings and struggles too.

 

3. Make time for yourself

Even if it’s just a short moment in time, doing something for yourself can help you relax and improve your mental health. If reading a book, journaling, or doing an exercise in the morning will make you feel happy for the rest of the day, do it – even if it’s for a few minutes. You don’t always have to put pressure on your mind by thinking only about work-related tasks.

 

Walk Into Tomorrow to plan your retirement today. Click here to begin.

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Five things to know before investing in the stock market

The stock market can help you make a lot of money, if you invest knowing the nitty-gritty of the market. Here’s what you need to know

Never jump blindly into stock markets

It often happens that while talking to your friends and colleagues, the discussion heads towards the stock market, and also how the stock market helps investors make big money. You might never have invested in the market, but after hearing about all those things, you also decide to buy some stocks. This move is highly discouraged, because you are jumping in blind. You should invest in the stock market after getting the basic knowledge about it and in accordance with your financial goals.

Before making your first investment, take the time to learn the basics about the stock market and the individual securities composing the market.

Your focus will be on individual securities which you are investing in and the relationship with the broader economy and the factors that drive your stock.

Take out time to learn some of the basic jargons used in the stock market sphere

Invest only what you can afford to lose

The biggest mistake newbie investors make is to invest money that they can’t actually afford to lose. Investing in the stock market can be volatile, and that means that you can potentially lose or gain.

Like any investment, there are inherent risks associated with the stock market. Some are the risks related to the, while some risks are stock-specific that you can avoid.

You need to decide your own risk tolerance considering your age, financial strength, retirement goal, etc., and accordingly make your investment move.

Avoid herd mentality

Unlike many investors, you should avoid the herd mentality that is influenced by the actions of your friends, neighbors or relatives without evaluating the current information and underlying stocks. Thus, if everybody around is investing in a particular stock, the tendency for potential investors is to do the same. But this strategy is bound to backfire in the long run if you have not chosen the stock by careful analysis, that meet your interests.

So, if you really don’t understand about the stock, never step in.

Before investing in a company, you should know about its business. It’s important to only invest in businesses that are easy for you to understand, especially while you’re just starting out. Never invest in a stock. Invest in a business instead.

Choose a Professional Stock Broker

Well, it is true that a lot of investors have made profits through the stock market. But it was only possible because they’ve good market knowledge, made some really smart choices by adopting carefully thought of strategies, and are also much disciplined in their approach.

One best way to safely navigate the stock market investment terrain is by partnering with a trusted professional stock broker. Your broker will advise you on what kind of stock to invest in and what to avoid. Using their financial analysis skills, a professional broker can help you project if your investment strategy will be profitable in future or not.

5 actions that will get you promoted at work

5 actions that will get you promoted at work

Feranmi has consistently met and exceeded her KPI at work and even though it felt good to outperform, she was unhappy because, for three years, she’s yet to get noticed for promotion.

 

She reached out to a career coach to find out what she could be doing wrong. He told her that she had spent years building her skills but not building relationships.

 

Here are the tips he gave to help her strengthen her relationships throughout her career and get on the path to promotion and continued success.

1. Share your gifts with others

 

To be considered for promotion, senior management needs to see that you’re able to work well with others since companies succeed through collective leadership. What’s that special thing about you or the way you go about your work? Share with your teammates to help them become better. Seeing you demonstrating this capability now makes it easier for management to think of you in a role with additional responsibility.

 

2. Shift your perspective from “me” to “we”

How do your team-mates or people you often collaborate with see you? Do you like to tackle tasks alone and take the glory? That is not a team spirit. Start involving your team in strategy planning, listen more, talk less, and focus on leveraging the skills of your team to achieve goals collectively. In short, become a team player.

 

3. Mentor others to develop your leadership skills

Even if you’re not managing a team yet, find opportunities to lead or teach others – it could be through volunteering. We learn best when we are teaching others.

 

4. Collaborate better with clashing personalities

Identify the specific personality characteristics that are challenging for you and develop strategies for working effectively with them. When you find ways to get along with coworkers of all types, you eliminate friction, become more productive, and make it easier for management to promote you.

 

5. Set healthy boundaries in your work relationships

To advance and take on more responsibility, you should learn how and what to say “No” to. Some tasks may not add value to you, your team, or organization or could be a complete waste of your valuable time. Be judicious and diplomatic and learn to delegate where necessary.

 

Here’s to getting the promotion you deserve and moving to a PFA that appreciates you! Click here to move to ARM Pensions.

 

Tips from HBR

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Unexpected riches…

Unexpected riches…

Dele sat in the sitting room where his father had taught him almost everything he knew about life. Only that this time, his father was not seated in his favourite chair opposite the TV, his pile of newspapers had gathered dust from lack of touch and his glasses case lay there dusty and unbothered.

 

His father was gone, three months now and he still couldn’t believe it. But the truth settled in as his eyes darted around the room.

 

 

He saw his siblings- all home for the burial, his mother-completely draped in black yet managing to look stunning. There were also uncles, three of them and the one aunt nobody really liked. Everyone sat there quietly, listening to ‘baba agba’- the family head.

 

 

Baba agba managed to avoid everyone’s gaze, intent on his task of dividing Chief Akinlabi’s property among the members of the family since the deceased had not left a Will.  After about fifteen minutes of decrying the lack of cooperation demonstrated by Dele’s mother in providing documents to her late husband’s properties, he proceeded to reel out names and their bequest.

 

 

The concerned people struggled not to smile. You cannot display your happiness at getting a three-story building in Ketu when your younger brother just died.

 

Dele was beginning to imagine he had been forgotten when baba agba called his name, allocating the rundown plastic factory at Sagamu to him. No one could control the laughter that filled the room.

 

Dele’s siblings could also not hide their anger at the shoddy distribution of assets. However, the look on their mother’s face seemed assured, she had a plan.

 

Two hours later, the meeting had dispersed leaving just Dele and his siblings, patiently awaiting their mother. She soon emerged from the room holding a folder. Admonishing them to disregard the selfish actions of baba-agba and his people, she encouraged them to maximize the little they had gotten. Lastly, she informed them of their father’s Mutual funds investment which had run into about 20 million Naira.

 

Dele being the first child was given the task of accessing the funds on everyone’s behalf. The plan was that Dele would access the money and mother and children would divide it among themselves.

 

As Dele considered this latest development, he wondered what would have happened to him, his siblings, and his mum had their dad not been an avid investor in mutual funds. An email notification jolts him back to reality. It was an email from his investment managers reminding him to keep growing his investment.

 

He would have ignored this email like he typically did, but recent events have revealed why he should revive his investment habit. Without thinking twice, Dele opens his Wealth Planner and opts for the direct debit option which would ensure that he never forgets to top up his investment again.

 

Even in death, his dad had reiterated the need for everyone to have a financial cushion especially when one has a family or dreams to achieve. With a grateful sigh, Dele picked up the phone to call his dad’s fund managers regarding his 20 million naira investment.

 

Click here to explore investment options

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10 reasons you should have an Estate Plan

Your loved ones are typically the No. 1 priority in your life, and that isn’t going to change. The best way to make sure they are taken care of after you pass is to establish an estate plan while you are still of sound mind. Here are the top 10 advantages of creating an estate plan:

It provides for your immediate family. 

An estate plan will provide enough money for your surviving spouse to continue to care for the family. If both you and your spouse pass, an estate plan will name appointed guardians to care for your children.

It will ensure your property goes to the right beneficiaries. 

Your estate plan will outline exactly where your assets are to go in the event of your death. This leaves no questions to be resolved by the courts or cause for family discord.

It minimizes expenses and taxes.

When you take care to create an estate plan, you should be able to keep the cost of transferring any property to your named beneficiaries. You can use your estate plan to set up a special trust for your children and grandchildren

It eases the burden on your family. 

It can be difficult to plan the funeral of a loved one when grieving. When working on your estate plan, you can outline your wishes for funeral arrangements and even set aside funds for them. This takes some of the burdens off your family during this difficult time.

To support a favourite cause. 

If you are passionate about a local cause or charitable organization, an estate plan can allow you to support them after your passing.

It can be used to plan for any incapacity. 

Life is unpredictable. If you should ever become mentally or physically incapacitated, an estate plan will outline your wishes regarding life and who will make medical decisions on your behalf.

It reduces taxes that take place on your estate. 

By crafting an estate plan, you should be able to minimize the amount of taxes collected on your estate, which results in your beneficiaries keeping more of the money you set aside for them.

It establishes trustees over your estate. 

You’ll need someone to serve as the executor of your estate to make sure everything is handled properly. Your estate plan will name this person, which will save money and simplify the administration process.

It provides for those who many need help. 

Do you have a child who has a disability? Or perhaps you have grandchildren who will be attending college in the future. Through your estate plan, you can set up a special trust to provide funds to support them.

Ensure a business continues with a succession plan.

If you own your own business, you’ll want to establish some kind of plan to keep it going after you pass. An estate plan will name your successor and outline what happens to your interest in the business.

As you can see, there is a lot that goes into estate planning, and none of these areas should be left up in the air. By working with professional estate planning attorneys, you can be sure you have thought of everything.

Without a will, your property may not go to who you want. Much of it can be tied up in probate for years, which means your family won’t get the assets they want and potentially need until it’s all settled. You can’t make assumptions that everything is going to go the way you want. Legal documentation is the only way to ensure your wishes are met.

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