How to Plan for Retirement When You're Already in Your 40's?

We are always told to start saving for retirement right from the time when we are young. However, what are you to do if you weren’t able to save much and have entered your 40s now? Is it still possible to plan for your twilight years now? The answer is “yes”!

The following are some tips on how you can plan for your retirement even if you started late:

1. Pick a Number

The first thing you need to do is determine your retirement amount. Many experts believe that you need around 10 times your ending income to survive through the retirement years.  However, since you are beginning to save money quite late, you may not be able to achieve that target by the time you retire. So, what you can do is crunch some numbers and get a “conservative” figure that works for you.

2. Start Saving

Now, not only you need to start saving as soon as possible, you must increase the saving amount every month. The rule of thumb is that you should put 10% of your income in the retirement fund, but in this case, it might not be enough. This is because you have to achieve your target in less time as opposed to those who start saving for retirement early. Thus, you should go for 20% savings instead.

You should also try to increase the percentage over time as you see fit. Just be sure you have enough room for the payment of EMIs and credit card bills as you don’t want to hurt your CIBIL score. After all, it’s not easy to get a loan with bad credit score.

Easing into retirement by reducing liabilities

Make your retirement the happiest phase of your life with systematic planning and a few decisive moves today.

Every person who works hard all their lives does so with the expectation of retiring in style. They wish to ease into the last years of their lives in comfort and peace, secure in the knowledge that they’ve done everything they could for the good of their loved ones.

But wishing for a peaceful retirement and actually getting it are two different things. It takes a lot of planning and hard work to be able to retire with grace and dignity. And the time to put in the work is now, while you are still employed and have a regular income. You can follow this simple guide for retiring with complete fiscal security.

Think of retirement as a journey, not a destination.

Many people think of retirement as a phase where one’s active life ceases and one of rest and relaxation begins. But you can fashion your retirement the way you want – you can be as active or as laid back as you wish! It can be a phase of true contentment, as you rediscover and explore the things that matter the most to you. You did not have the time to indulge your hobbies the way you would have liked for several years – retirement gives you the opportunity to travel, make new acquaintances, take up a sport or hobby, be by yourself… the world is your oyster, and it’s time to make it yours!

How to plan early for a relaxed life post working years?

Benjamin Franklin once said "Failing to plan is planning to fail" and it sounds so obvious for one of the most important part of our lives - RETIREMENT. Proper retirement planning considering your current standard of living, your assets and liabilities and the impact of inflation on them, will help you enjoy a relaxed life post your working years.

Use a retirement calculator to estimate the amount you would need to invest now to lead a comfortable life post-retirement. Once this amount is known you can buy a retirement policy from an established insurance provider. Today more than a dozen insurance companies offer retirement &  pension plans with several benefits / flexibility ranging from single premium pension plans to regular annual premiums, lump sum payment to annuity payouts or a combination of both and many others.