Retirement Reality
The wife of a friend from work invited me and a few other people to attend PhilAm Life's Financial Planning Tool seminar. As I'm a sucker for anything financial, I readily agreed to attend the event at the City Sports Club. Who would say NO to a free seminar with free dinner to boot, right? Probably, those with a date, haha. After all it was a friday night.
Kidding aside, I attended the event because I believe in supporting endeavors that promote financial literacy among Filipinos. I believe that there is hope for us filipinos to break away from the bondage of poverty. The road to getting there may be long and winding, but I dare say that we Filipinos will eventually find our place on the financial map. I'm hoping it will happen in our lifetime, but if it won't, then let's take comfort in the idea that our future children will be reaping what is being sown today. Thanks to the internet and social media, access to information is becoming readily available to those who wish to improve the quality of their lives.
Going back to the seminar, what struck me the most was the statistics provided by the event's speaker. Of the few stats he mentioned, the point that raised an alarm bell is the issue on retirement. According to him, a lot of people plan to retire at the age of 50 years old. But a whooping less than 2% or even ZERO percent is able to retire at that age. People usually end up retiring when they reach the mandatory retirement age. A lot may even still need to work way past the age of 65 years old.
I've heard of the stats before, but the reality of it only hit me that night. Will i be part of the statistics? It's a scary thought. I'm in my midthirties, and what have I done to prepare for it?
Not much, huhu:(
While I've taken baby steps to prepare for it, I can't help but think of fellow people my age. People in my age bracket are mostly married and have a kid or two. A lot of them have often placed retirement on the sideline as issues on putting bread on the family table, shelter, and education take precedence over the issue of retirement. I perfectly understand the situation, but I also know that retirement is an issue that should be tackled as early as possible. I understand that it's a difficult task to accomplish, especially among the types who hate crunching numbers, but this should not stop people from actually taking the steps. That is, people should start preparing for that eventuality.
That said, let me refer you to this article from brighterlife.com on how an employee can prepare for retirement.
If you have a substantial amount, say 50K or 100K, lying in your savings bank account, why not look into investment products that can help you grow that money instead of parking it in a bank? You can try out investment vehicles such as mutual funds or stock investing to grow your money. Though these do not guarantee earnings (as market fluctuates), their historical performance is way better than the interest rates you'll get from deposit products. Research more on them to help you decide which vehicle is right for you There's also the program from PAG-IBIG called MP2 (or the Modified PAGIBIG 2).
Kidding aside, I attended the event because I believe in supporting endeavors that promote financial literacy among Filipinos. I believe that there is hope for us filipinos to break away from the bondage of poverty. The road to getting there may be long and winding, but I dare say that we Filipinos will eventually find our place on the financial map. I'm hoping it will happen in our lifetime, but if it won't, then let's take comfort in the idea that our future children will be reaping what is being sown today. Thanks to the internet and social media, access to information is becoming readily available to those who wish to improve the quality of their lives.
Going back to the seminar, what struck me the most was the statistics provided by the event's speaker. Of the few stats he mentioned, the point that raised an alarm bell is the issue on retirement. According to him, a lot of people plan to retire at the age of 50 years old. But a whooping less than 2% or even ZERO percent is able to retire at that age. People usually end up retiring when they reach the mandatory retirement age. A lot may even still need to work way past the age of 65 years old.
I've heard of the stats before, but the reality of it only hit me that night. Will i be part of the statistics? It's a scary thought. I'm in my midthirties, and what have I done to prepare for it?
Not much, huhu:(
While I've taken baby steps to prepare for it, I can't help but think of fellow people my age. People in my age bracket are mostly married and have a kid or two. A lot of them have often placed retirement on the sideline as issues on putting bread on the family table, shelter, and education take precedence over the issue of retirement. I perfectly understand the situation, but I also know that retirement is an issue that should be tackled as early as possible. I understand that it's a difficult task to accomplish, especially among the types who hate crunching numbers, but this should not stop people from actually taking the steps. That is, people should start preparing for that eventuality.
That said, let me refer you to this article from brighterlife.com on how an employee can prepare for retirement.
If you have a substantial amount, say 50K or 100K, lying in your savings bank account, why not look into investment products that can help you grow that money instead of parking it in a bank? You can try out investment vehicles such as mutual funds or stock investing to grow your money. Though these do not guarantee earnings (as market fluctuates), their historical performance is way better than the interest rates you'll get from deposit products. Research more on them to help you decide which vehicle is right for you There's also the program from PAG-IBIG called MP2 (or the Modified PAGIBIG 2).
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