Don't Know What You Want Post-Retirement? 6 Steps You Should Still Take

The path to retirement is exciting, yet rocky. On one hand, individuals are looking forward to retirement as they can pursue their aspirations and dreams that they were holding back due to their jobs and hope to fulfill them once they retire. On the other hand, as retirement comes close, individuals start getting anxious about how to sustain life after retirement.

As science and medicine are advancing, the life expectancy of an individual is on the rise. Earlier, the retirement age was set by taking life expectancy as the basis. Therefore, 60 was decided as the retirement age. Life expectancy for an Indian at that time was merely 67-70 years. So, the funds accumulated at retirement were enough for a person to live a life of 7-10 years. One could survive and live off the saved capital. However, over the years, because of advancements in technology and medicine, life expectancy has increased and reached 80 years. In another few years, the life expectancy may reach 90 years. So how will you be able to sustain all these years after retirement? Don't know what you want post-retirement? Read till the end to find 6 steps you should still take.

Things you should keep in mind to ensure a long-lasting retirement

1. Setting Retirement Goals

Pre-planning retirement and setting well-defined goals are important. This will allow you to generate an idea of how much money you will be required to save to fulfill those goals after retirement. Making sure that you are financially stable throughout retirement starts with setting financial and lifestyle goals for yourself, as well as what age you would like to take retirement.

2. Set Retirement goals with spouse

Retirement is an equal phase for spouses as well. So, when you plan for retirement, keeping your partner in mind is important. Especially if you are divorced, you or your ex may be entitled to some of their retirement plan savings or vice versa.

Keeping these tips in mind, let's look at 6 steps you should still take if you don't know what you want post-retirement.

1. Invest in Pension Plan

Pension is defined as the money that is paid regularly by a government or company to somebody who has stopped working (retired) because of old age or who cannot work because he/she is ill. For you post retirement planning, investment in pension plans like the National Pension System or NPS can help you save a little more for the future. At PensionBox, you can learn more about how a pension can help you guarantee steady income after retirement.

2. Employee Provident Fund

The Employees' Provident Fund (EPF) is a mandatory retirement savings scheme for salaried employees in India. It is mandated by the Employees' Provident Fund Organization (EPFO), and both employers and employees contribute a portion of the employee's salary towards the EPF.

So, if you are a salaried individual, a part of your salary will go to your EPF. EPFs are one of the greatest investments that could ensure your financial stability after you retire. Contribution to EPF, as well as the proceeds, are tax-free. So, if you use EPF the right way, you can end up with a sufficient corpus after retirement. Let's understand this through numbers.

Suppose Arun starts contributing to EPF at the age of 30. Considering your basic salary + DA to be ₹15,000, and applying current interest rate of 8.65%, your corpus at the age of 55 would be ₹24,65,259

3. Health Insurance/Medical insurance

Getting health insurance at even 30 years of age could reap great benefits in your retirement. Section 80D of the Income Tax Act 1961 provides for deduction for medical insurance, provided he/ she opts for the Old Tax Regime. A benefit is included via this scheme, offering a preventive full body health check-up to ₹5000 inclusive.

4. Public Provident Fund

Investment in Public Provident Fund or PPF provides great returns. Under Section 80C of the Income-tax Act, investment in Public Provident Fund is eligible for a tax exemption up to ₹1.5 lahks. Under Section 10 of the Income Tax Act, interest and maturity are relaxed from tax. The lock-in period of the PPF account is 15 years. Because of a long lock-in period, PPF becomes a great investment for sustaining a stable life after retirement.

5. Life Insurance

Buying life insurance at an early age can help provide great benefits after retirement. Investment in life insurance is eligible for a tax exemption of ₹1.5 lakh through Section 80C of the Income Tax Act. It is to be noted that this exemption provision is available to employees who have opted for the Old Tax regime. However, Section 10(10D) is available under both the Old Tax Regime and the New Tax Regime.

6. Don't forget to consider inflation and the increasing cost of living

Inflation can be described as the rate of increase in prices over a given period. The prices of a lot of commodities ranging from food to medicines, luxury goods, etc have increased a lot over the years. Further, the cost of living will increase in the coming years until you retire. This is due to inflation.

Retirement is a golden period of an individual's life. It is the time when people could pursue all those things they wished to do but couldn't because of their jobs. PensionBox aims to provide helpful information about how one can make life after retirement better so that individuals can make informed decisions