Retirement Planning assumes urgent importance

What is retirement planning?

With the break-up of the joint family system in India as well as the increase in longevity; retirement planning assumes urgent importance. Simply put, it refers to recognizing that one will like to maintain one\'s standard of living post retirement, and then working towards systematically putting away funds during one’s working years; in order to create a corpus which should ideally support you during your retirement years

How should one zero down on post retirement planning?

Planning for post–retirement is done during the pre-retirement phase. Several questions need to be answered:

1. When do you want to retire?


2. What kind of retirement lifestyle do you want


3. What is the impact of investment return, taxes and inflation

Example - A person has a corpus of Rs 1 Crore on retirement. Assumptions: inflation at 6% and tax bracket at NIL:

Based on the above variables one can work backwards and decide how much you need to invest per month in order to build a corpus of Rs 1.00 crore as in the example above. Then choose a judicious mix of fixed income and equity products to build your corpus.

Does Certified Financial Planners (CFPs) separately deal with retirement planning? If yes, what is the benefit?

CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNERCM deal with comprehensive financial planning, therefore Retirement Planning may or may not be a part of the need analysis of each client. A CFP usually prepares a Retirement Fund as part of the entire planning based on the demographic profile of the client.

The benefit of a comprehensive plan is one works with a CFP during the entire tenure of your accumulation phase and retirement. During the review process, corrective action is taken to ensure all goals are met or changed according to changes in customer profile, interest rate movements, and other macro economic changes. Therefore your retirement phase will be more comfortable if you work with a professional who can make efficient changes to your plan to ensure your pension needs.

Now a day’s lots of people join some part time job after 60s? Do you see this trend growing and what is the benefit out of this?

Yes, 60 is the new 40, with many seniors opting for gyms rather than walks in the park, improved medical facilities which ensure that the grey population is not only young at heart but has a younger heart. They will continue their productive lives post –retirement and will continue to add value to society at large.

The benefit of this is that the dependent section of society will decrease in numbers from 2025 onwards and the work-force will be larger, having a positive effect on GDP and growth of overall economy.

How many retirement plans have you suggested till now?

50 (Fifty).

Have you suggested anyone reverse mortgage scheme? What is your view on the concept?

I have till date not suggested reverse mortgage but this is a popular trend in the west and will surely gain popularity in India going forward.

How well has the concept of reverse mortgage work in India? Can you kindly brief us on the concept?

I do not know the statistics on this therefore will not comment.

In Reverse Mortgage the home owner does not lose ownership of the property but can take advantage of escalating real estate prices and ensure periodic cash flows. On the death of the borrower the heirs can either sell the property and repay the mortgage or pay the lender and take back possession of the house.

How many clients do you manage under your umbrella?

150 (One hundred and Fifty)

How do you differentiate yourself from other advisors?

I maintain close relationships with my clients and hand hold them when the investment return is below expectations. My communication and presentation skills, expertise in financial markets and knowledge of operational issues differentiates me from other Advisors. I focus on the entire experience of working with me and try to make that as pleasant and memorable as possible.

Your advice to investors...

"It's not important to time the markets but what is crucial is time spent in the markets"

"There is no magic in the financial world but awareness of your goals and matching those with a financial product is the key to investing."

"Buyers Beware - it's your hard earned money so it is your responsibility to seek reviews regularly and ask relevant questions!"