In the midst of life’s numerous emergencies — from diapers to childcare to school routines — retirement planning sounds like something that belongs on the bottom of the “to-do” list. 

Thinking about retirement when you’ve barely met your life goals can be daunting. 

But then time doesn’t wait for anyone. As the unticked box moves further and further down the list of priorities, it moves closer and closer to the top of the list of urgent matters. 

When it comes to ageing, the passage of time is like an oven that never goes off. If you don’t plan the exact time to take the bread out, you will find that the bread will sink after being taken out too soon. If you leave it in too long, the bread will get burnt.  

All in the mind

But if and when someone should retire has been a source of controversy. Many retirees refuse to accept the term because it paints a dull picture of their lifestyle. “I’m retired, I’m not disabled.” or “retirement is all in the mind” are common “motivational” phrases that we hear.

But let’s look at what retirement really is. Investopedia defines it as the “time of life when one chooses to permanently leave the workforce behind.”

Timing is everything

It is not uncommon to find people who retired, got their retirement benefits, and are back in the industry or former workplace, working under contract or as consultants for another 10 years. 

When you ask them, they’ll tell you that they are at the peak of their responsibilities. Their children might be joining high school and college. Or they have unpaid mortgages and other loan payments that will drag on for years into their retirement. They simply can’t afford to retire. 

But this is often a symptom of the absence of planning or its poor quality — if there was any planning at all. 

The thing is, planning retirement isn’t about just sitting down with a pen and paper, planning how much to put away, and projecting the numbers. It’s more than just budgeting and saving. That’s relatively simple enough, especially for employed people who are enrolled in government social security programmes and pension schemes.  

Never too early to start

Whether or not you’ll enjoy your retirement boils down to some surprising things that you do even as early as your teens; family planning, home construction and improvement, lifestyle and health management, spirituality, and even entertainment choices. 

It’s never too early to think about retirement. Just speak to a retiree and they’ll tell you why.