I’m pretty sure I’m not alone in dreaming of the day when I can put my feet up and wave the working life goodbye.

You know how retired people joke about not knowing what day of the week it is? That’s the bloody dream.

The question that needs answering is just how much money is enough to welcome retirement without worry, and to find out Business Tech spoke with Shreekanth Sing, a technical legal adviser.

According to Sing, retirement savings need to have the clout to look after you for 30 years or so, and that means some serious foresight is required:

The rule of thumb is to target a minimum replacement income of 75% of your last working salary. Of course, this differs from person to person, said Sing. If you, for example, want to travel in retirement or leave an inheritance it would be smart to target a higher replacement ratio.

To fund this level of income, you need to save at least 15% of your salary over your working life.

“If you start working later in life, start saving for retirement later or don’t preserve your retirement savings when switching jobs, this ratio creeps up. And since life expectancy is increasing, and medical science is improving rapidly, you could find your retirement savings having to support you for longer than originally planned,” Sing said.

Live long and prosper, unless you haven’t bothered to prepare. You might want to reach out to the experts and start getting your affairs in order – just sayin’.

I know it’s tough to bite the bullet now, but future you will thank present you:

When structuring your salary, it’s tempting to contribute as little as possible to your retirement fund; but the long-term impact of this decision is devastating…So rather choose to contribute as much as you can. With the various tax incentives on offer, the impact on your take-home pay may not be as bad as you imagine…

Ensuring retirement success starts with being a bigger picture thinker. It’s how the various elements of your plan come together that ultimately ensures your retirement plan is robust and able to withstand the ups and downs of the markets, Sing said.

It all sounds rather daunting, doesn’t it?

You can go it alone, of course, or you can trust someone like Consequence Private Wealth to handle your affairs.

They live by the mantra that “the consequences of decisions made today will unfold over a lifetime based on the sound principles applied at their inception”, so plant a seed now and you might just get to live that retired life in style.

I just want to forget what day of the week it is without someone checking me into a home.

[source:businesstech]