Let me put your mind to rest right now - I'm not a financial advisor.

I retired in 2001. I've got nothing to sell to you.

What you get on this site is . . .

• based on my own experience and research
• what I observe that is happening to colleagues and friends that retired
• the experience of visitors to this site

On this site you get free information about Retirement Planning.

Are you already in sight of retirement and apprehensive that your planning and provision might prove to be inadequate for your retirement? You're not alone. Most people approaching retirement are in the same position.

My story

Let me briefly tell you my story. When I turned 50 late in 1993, it was the most miserable birthday I ever celebrated. I refused to have a party and spent weeks brooding.

We were living well. I earned an above average income, my wife had a successful boutique, we had a huge and luxurious house with a luxury car and a luxury 4x4. All fully paid. Annually we had a skiing holiday in Europe plus a touring holiday in summer.

But I knew our provision for retirement was hopelessly inadequate. We were big time consumers!

By mid 1994 we resolved to stop being consumers. Tongue in cheek I stated “We are not going to buy a new car this millennium!” We stuck to our plan and channeled every penny we could spare to our retirement structure. We moved to a smaller lock-up-and-go house, closed down the boutique, and generally scaled down.

My wife and I could retire in 2001. Our dream was to be perpetual travelers and we live our dream!

What is Retirement Planning?

Retirement Planning is much more than Financial Planning for Retirement. It includes planning for personal security, mobility, health care, lifestyle, and a social support network.

Please scroll down to the Table of Contents for specific topics around Retirement Planning.

Why should you plan for your retirement?

Because it is unlikely that anybody else is going to do the planning for you! It is widely estimated that formal Social Security would only provide 35% of the income you'll need. The rest, 65%, would have to be generated through your own effort. And that calls for timely planning.

What are my options?

On this site we try to look at all options with your help and input and the help and input of other visitors.

Please scroll down to the Table of Contents for specific topics.

How soon should I start with a retirement plan?

As I said before, you should start with your first paycheck, but very few of us actually do it.

The sooner you start, the better. You might already contribute to some statutory plan, but you should take immediate control of your long term plan and revise it annually.

Would I have to change my lifestyle?

I have observed that several of my former colleagues maintained their lifestyle – some have even a more flamboyant lifestyle now that they retired.

My wife and I chose to scale down long before we retired. Although we travel a lot and live well, we maintain a minimalistic lifestyle.

It all depends how much you accumulated in your retirement account. The rough rule of thumb for the average couple is that you multiply your annual income before retirement with sixteen to get the amount you should have in your retirement account.

How am I going to keep myself busy when I retire?

Frankly, if you enjoy your work and you are allowed to stay on, postpone retirement as long as possible!

If you have a hobby that you are passionate about, retirement is ideal for pursuing your hobby.

Frequent travel is what we do, but you can't travel all the time. A word of caution, if you haven't traveled extensively before you retired, travel in some countries of the world can be very unpleasant for the novice.

Even if you want to buy a camper to explore your own country after retirement, think twice. Rather rent the camper first and see if it works for you. We watched a retired neighbor excitedly equipping a new camper and on their first trip they hated it so much that they immediately sold the camper when they got back!

Please scroll down to the Table of Contents to link to a discussion on retirement jobs.