Pursuing Active Retirement

South Africans who make it to 40 are expected to live longer than their parents and one partner in 75% of couples will live beyond 90. Worryingly, most will not have sufficient funds to retire comfortably, which is the reason why many people will have to work even after official retirement.

Those ‘Golden Years’ of sitting in the rocking chair from the day you stop working have become preceded by what we call ‘active retirement’. Retirees, consequently, are compelled to generate further income and capital well into their 70s in order to provide sufficiently for when they do cease working.

Below is some interesting information on how life expectancy has increased over a good part of the last 50 years.

Source: www.wikipedia.org

According to the World Bank:

• Life expectancy worldwide has risen on average by 4 months each year since 1970.
• Infant mortality rates fell from 80 per 1000 live births in 1980, to 54 per 1000 in 1998.
• Women tend to outlive men by 5 to 8 years in the countries with the highest life expectancies, but by only 0 to 3 years in countries where life expectancy is low.
• Between 1980 and 1998, the world's average life expectancy at birth rose from 61 to 67 years.

So, what does all of this mean to you (and me)?

1. You are going to live longer and want to be financially independent later in life. You need to ensure that you will have sufficient capital for a happy retirement. This could require you to start saving more.
2. If you are going to have to save more, it is probably a better idea to save cleverly. To realize one’s financial goals an investment plan should be executed. We use a scientific modeling approach to calculate how much a client must save monthly to ensure an easy retirement, following the recognized six step financial planning approach.

If you do not save intelligently, you are in all likelihood going to throw ever increasing sums of money at short-term ‘fixes’ and attempt to chase the market [whether up or down], which could ultimately lead you back to the grindstone.

Silke Financial Services has the skill, expertise and wisdom to advise clients to provide for retirement, no matter how old you are, according to your particular financial situation.

If you have any queries regarding the above commentary please contact us on 021 683 3380 or info@silke.co.za.