Most of us contribute towards retirement but have no idea how much we will have saved up for when we do. Do we save as much as we can and hope for the best? 

Generally, our income will come from various sources such as private, company and state pensions, other various investments such as dividends and interest, and even property rental income etc.

We need to change the way we think about retirement and reverse engineer our retirement planning. In an ideal world, we would start with what kind of retirement lifestyle we want to live and work backwards to find out what we need to do to achieve it.

Which example do you want to follow?

• John and Mary lead a simple retirement. Their house and car are paid up. They sold the family home and bought a smaller home with less maintenance. They enjoy making dinner at home and looking after the grandchildren. Their hobbies include gardening, reading, walking and occasional weekends away locally. 
• Cliff and Janice are extravagant. Their family home and two cars are paid up. They host dinner parties, eat out frequently and go on overseas holidays about 3 times a year. They also cycle and play golf.
• David and Emma are retired but still have part time businesses. Their home and cars are paid up. David has several properties that he rents out for extra income. He keeps busy with maintenance and repairs. Emma sells Avon part time. They eat out occasionally and enjoy visiting family a few times a year.
•  Adam and Shirley retired to Portugal. They sold their family home and bought a small fixer upper in the Algarve. They have no debt. Adam spends his time with DIY projects and Shirley loves gardening and growing her own vegetables. They moved to Portugal for a cheaper lifestyle and for the weather. Their family come visit them for vacations.

Once you have decided the kind of lifestyle you want to lead in retirement, you need to work out your monthly expenses in retirement according to today’s values. The ‘retirement budget’ will give you an idea of what you will need to save.

Your financial adviser can give you a picture of where you currently stand with your retirement savings. They will help reverse engineer your retirement vision to put plans in place to achieve the retirement lifestyle you desire. [email protected]

Please note, the above is for education purposes only and does not constitute advice. You should always contact your Acuma Hong Kong adviser for a personal consultation.
* No liability can be accepted for any actions taken or refrained from being taken, as a result of reading the above.