RETIREMENT- A MUST FOR ALL.

Retirement is one big door stone that is on the doorstep of every individual. Be you a child, adult or an old man. You must pass through it.

This is the time to start , and not just to start but to be as serious as ever on how to be among the lucky one's that will smile when old age comes.

Whether you want to discuss it or not is inconsequential because it is a must for all.


Have you ever sat down to think about life the way it is.There is time for you to be born, time for you to be a youth, time for you to be an adult and time for you to be nearing retirement until retirement finally comes.

When you were given birth to you do not know . your parent will bear the blame of anything that happens to you.But when you are an adult and getting old, you bear all the consequences of whatever befalls you.

You have the power to right a wrong and you still have the power to perceive or tell when something is going wrong in your life and with that power that is within you, you can right any wrong.

So i challenge that power to be used wisely in working out your retirement plan.Look around you and see people , i mean old men and women suffering with nobody to care and take care of them due to their inability to settle it when they can.
I know you don't want such to be your heritances in this life. So hurry fast and have a positive mind to be able to scale thrugh.

My retirement! Let it echo in and around your mind. Let the word retirement be what you see, what you feel, what you eat, what you read and what you alway dreamabout to get a better view of it.

Retirement is a must for all so make hay while the sun still shines.

Ultimate guide to retirement

When should I start saving for retirement?

The answer is simple: as soon as you can. Ideally, you'd start saving in your 20s, when you first leave

school and begin earning paychecks. That's because the sooner you begin saving, the more time your money has to grow. Each year's gains can generate their own gains the next year - a powerful wealth-building phenomenon known as compounding.

Here's an example of what a big difference starting young can make. Say you start at age 25, and put aside $3,000 a year in a tax-deferred retirement account for 10 years - and then you stop saving - completely. By the time you reach 65, your $30,000 investment will have grown to more than $472,000, (assuming an 8% annual return), even though you didn't contribute a dime beyond age 35.

Now let's say you put off saving until you turn 35, and then save $3,000 a year for 30 years. By the time you reach 65, you will have set aside $90,000 of your own money, but it will grow to only about $367,000, assuming the same 8% annual return. That's a huge difference.

Where should I save my retirement money?

Tax-favored retirement accounts such as individual retirement accounts (IRAs) and 401(k)s are the best places to save for your retirement. The different types of plans have different features, but most of them allow you to defer taxes on the money you save and the returns you earn within the account.

"Tax deferral" means that the amount you contribute escapes the usual income taxes until you start withdrawing the money years later. As a result, more of your money can earn investment returns over time - an enormous advantage over ordinary taxable accounts.

The plans have other advantages as well. For example, many employers will match part of their workers' contributions to employer-sponsored retirement plans such as 401(k)s.

How should I invest the money?

To build a nest egg large enough to see you through retirement, which may last 30 years or more, you'll need the growth that stocks provide.

The stock market returned 10.4% a year on average between 1926 and 2006, versus just 5.9% for bonds, according to research firm Ibbotson Associates. Given stocks' superior returns over the long haul, most financial advisers recommend that investors whose retirement is more than 20 years away hold at least 3/4 of their portfolios in stocks and stock funds.

Of course, a stock-heavy portfolio can give you some hair-raising moments (or years). For example, during the 1973-74 bear market, U.S. stocks lost 43% of their value - and it took the market three-and-a-half years to recoup those losses. The stock market also suffered a 47.6% decline during the bear market at the start of this decade. It's been suffering in 2008 as well.

If you don't have the stomach for steep downturns, you might increase your allocation to include more bonds or bond funds. Holding, say, 70% of your portfolio in stocks and 30% in bonds will let you capture most of the long-term growth of stocks while sheltering your investments to a certain extent during market downturns.

How should my strategy change as I get older?

As you approach retirement age, most experts agree you should gradually shift more into bonds to protect the money you've accumulated. But retirement can last a few decades, so it generally pays to maintain a healthy dose of stocks well into retirement: possibly between 40% and 50% while you're in your 70s, and up to 30% when you're in your 80s.

If you want to put your asset allocation on autopilot, consider "target-date retirement funds," which are available in many retirement plans. You simply choose a fund that's labeled with the year you intend to retire, and it will automatically adjust what it invests in (usually a mix of stocks, bonds and cash) to maximize your return and minimize your risk as you get older.

For an idea of what the right mix of stocks and bonds is for you, go to our asset allocation calculator

How much money will I need in retirement?

Ah, the key question. One rule of thumb is that you'll need 70% of your pre-retirement yearly salary to live comfortably. That might be enough if you've paid off your mortgage and are in excellent health when you kiss the office good-bye. But if you plan to build your dream house, trot around the globe, or get that Ph.D. in philosophy you've always wanted, you may need 100% of your annual income - or more.

It's important to make realistic estimates about what kind of expenses you will have in retirement. Be honest about how you want to live in retirement and how much it will cost. These estimates are important when it comes time to figure out how much you need to save in order to comfortably afford your retirement.

One way to begin estimating your retirement costs is to take a close look at your current expenses in various categories, and then estimate how they will change. For example, your mortgage might be paid off by then - and you won't have commuting costs. Then again, your health care costs are likely to rise. For more help making a precise estimate, use this calculator.