ABC of your retirement planning

How should I plan for my retirement or for the “golden years\" of my life ” This is a persistent question lurking inside every salaried individual’s mind in today’s world. A good salary only offers a comfortable lifestyle for the immediate future. With rising inflation, individuals are not able to save sufficiently for their future, while tending to their routine commitments.

Retirement planning is a tedious task for salaried professionals in India. Ideally, retirement planning should start from the day an individual starts getting his first pay cheque. There is no good time to invest in future savings, every day counts. This should be the motto for every individual seeking to spend his retirement years in comfort and with adequate financial security. While planning to save for retirement, it is important that the right type of product is chosen and the right method is implemented. Foreseeing future requirements, individuals should ensure that they have enough corpus to cater to the needs of their family.

What's best way to save for retirement Retirement planning depends on two things. Based on the family’s or individual’s requirement, funds need to be allocated for the future and the income earned has to distributed in such a way that the individual gets maximum benefits and monetary returns, when he is entering his golden years.

While planning out for retirement, you always need to ensure that a certain investment pattern is followed. List out the resources from where funds can be directed into your retirement savings. Here’s what you have to do to have a solid plan:

In the age of nuclear families, retirement planning has assumed greater importance. Here is the 11-step guide to secure your retired life

Start from your monthly income and dedicate atleast 10% of your salary for your future. Make sure that your EPF contributions are up-to-date and are done on a consistent basis.

Invest in financial products that help you reap high returns and are beneficial for the future.

As your income grows, continue increasing the number of investments. Allocate the available funds in different channels including loans that help you save tax along the way.

As a written rule, do not withdraw your PF balance or any other corpus that you have accumulated over the years. Keep this strictly for unforeseen emergencies or only for your future.

When you retire, withdraw what is required and ensure that your corpus covers you for the entire retirement period.

Investing in fixed assets will help you to have a secure platform for your future other than monetary benefits that you have planned.

Before you start saving, understand what you and your family would be requiring, analyse their needs and then plan accordingly.

Employee's Provident Fund (EPF) is considered to be the most popular way of saving for retirement and salaried individuals can get good returns. EPF also offers benefits like tax deductions, tax-free interests and withdrawals. For a salaried professional, it is always wise to stay invested in an EPF account.

Investing in a pension scheme is also a good plan. Pick a scheme that suits you and offers maximum returns as pension.

Open fixed deposits or recurring deposits that help you save a major chunk of your earnings, also giving high returns on maturity.

Invest in equities, mutual funds, bonds and other related products as alternative options.

Which products will help you save Once you have allocated the required funds for retirement, the question will be as to what you will invest that in Agreed, that this might change along the years, but when you start off initially invest in high return products.

Ensure that you and your loved ones stay protected with health insurance, which are quite helpful during the retirement years. Term insurance policies can also be taken as the other option.