As surely as the sun rises and sets, it is certain that in Ghana, at the age of 60, the working life of the average person almost certainly comes to an end, and he or she will no longer be in active service.
For those in formal employment, clocking 60 years means retiring from work, where one stops earning a regular monthly salary.
This means that once a person retires from work, be it formal or informal, the disposable income of the retiree could be affected and that could result in financial challenges.
To help prepare people towards retirement, which is compulsory for all formal sector workers in Ghana, the weekly motivational show, ‘Legacy and Legacy’, dedicated the September 6 edition of the programme to discuss issues of retirement, where listeners were advised on how to prepare for financial independence after they have retired.
It was part of the efforts by the Springboard, Your Virtual University, aimed at creating awareness among the general public on the need to plan towards retirement.
Rule of thumb
Taking the audience through five things that one must do ahead of retirement, the Chief Executive Officer of Axis Pensions Trust, Mr Afriyie Oware, said the first requirement was that, a retirement plan must capture the aspirations of the person involved.
Those aspirations, he said, must reflect the person's current circumstances as well as his or her expectations after retirement.
"Firstly, your pension income should replace a significant percentage of your total earnings. For those in the private sector, they earn bonuses, which often dwarf their pensionable earnings.
“So, when we talk earnings, people are likely to focus wrongly on their basic income as opposed to the consolidated. A retirement plan should take into consideration a percentage of your total earnings you seek to replace," he said.
Explaining further, Mr Oware said people needed to do away with the general perception that at retirement, their children would take care of them.
Instead, he said people should aspire to be financially independent by putting in place the relevant structures that would make that aspiration a reality.
"You should desire to be financially independent. You don't want to retire and become a burden on your children because you want to be in control of your life," he added.
Being modest
Mr Oware advised that people should learn to live modest lifestyles in order not to be taken by surprise when their retirement fails to sustain their usual lifestyle.
Going forward, Mr Oware said people should ensure that their savings would last a lifetime.
"If you don't plan and prepare adequately, your money is not likely to sustain you throughout your lifetime; you are likely to run out of money before you die," he said.
Beyond ensuring that one's savings are enough to cater for their survival, the Axis Pension Trust CEO advised that people should think of bequeathing something for their children through increased savings.
He called on all persons, both in and out formal employment to plan toward retirement in order to avoid being overtaken by events when they finally retire.
Mr Oware and the host, Revered Albert Ocran, then took listeners through a 10-point questionnaire, which people preparing for their retirement must pay attention to.