6 Signs That Indicate You Are Ready For Retirement

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For most people, retirement planning can be a daunting task. This becomes even more scary when faced with statistics such as 6.1 million EPF members having less than RM10,000 in their EPF accounts. These levels are clearly not able to support anyone in retirement even for 1 year.

But with proper planning, retirement could be a rewarding experience that lets you enjoy the fruits of your labour. The question is, how do you know you’re ready for retirement?

Being retirement-ready can be different for each individual but if you are able to achieve the following 6 signs, then you might be financially ready for retirement.

What are the signs that show you are ready for retirement?

#1 Having enough money to sustain your lifestyle

Whether it’s to pay for your groceries or have the occasional holiday trip, all these costs need to be paid for and it’s going to come from your retirement funds.

The amount needed can vary from person to person but a general rule that experts often suggest is the 25x Rule. The rule is a way to give yourself an estimate of how much money you need for retirement.

Here’s a quick example of how it works:

• You spend RM4,000 per month.
• RM4,000 x 12 = RM48,000
• RM48,000 x 25 = RM1,200,000

For you to comfortably sustain your current lifestyle for 25 years, you would need at least RM1,200,000.

Of course, you don’t need to have all of that amount in just one form of funding. All your investments, assets, savings and any additional form of sustainable income should make up the total amount needed.

#2 Having an emergency fund for any unexpected expenses

An emergency fund is an absolute necessity as part of a retirement plan. Most people tend to have their retirement funds in investments and assets that are less liquid than cash, which can make it hard for you to get instant access to funding for unexpected expenses.

Having at least 3-to-6 months’ worth of expenses as an emergency fund is generally the best course of action to provide enough buffer for you during emergencies.

One factor that you might want to consider is to keep your emergency fund in a high-yield savings account. This way not only will your emergency funds be kept safe and easily accessible, but you can also safely earn interest to add to your savings.

#3 You are not burdened by bad debts

When you reach retirement age, having as few bad debts as possible shows that you’re financially ready for retirement. These bad debts can be in the form of unpaid credit card balances, high-interest car loans, and so forth.

With over 50,000 youths today in debt due to credit cards and bad loans, bad debts can become a serious issue that impacts your financial health if you don’t take care of it before retirement.

Ideally, you should clear all bad debts while you still have a working income, but another approach is to use a debt consolidation loan.

With this loan, you can pay off all your outstanding bad debts and streamline your payments in one place, with one monthly due date and ideally, a lower interest rate.

#4 You don’t need to worry about healthcare

Healthcare costs rise exponentially in retirement and medical inflation is a reality that many Malaysians will have to face. According to a study, Malaysia has been experiencing 8% to 9% in medical inflation between 2013 and 2018.

While you can rely on public healthcare in Malaysia, which offers both affordable and world-class medical care, having different kinds of coverage can be helpful in certain situations.

The best scenario here is to opt for an insurance plan as soon as you can afford to because the younger you are when you have insurance, the lower the premiums will be.

If not, try to go for insurance plans that can act as a financial safety net in the event of an unexpected illness (cancer, diabetes, etc.), so that neither your savings would be depleted, nor your family would be saddled with huge medical bills.

#5 You figured out how to use your EPF as part of your retirement income

EPF is an important aspect of retirement planning for Malaysians as it’s generally the main source of guaranteed income that will sustain us in retirement.

While EPF funds are available for withdrawal when you reach the age of 55, it might not necessarily be a good idea to withdraw all of it.

In fact, if you’re able to withhold from taking out your EPF funds for longer, the amount of guaranteed income that you can receive will be much higher than if you were to take it out immediately.

Having the ability to hold off from using your EPF funds is a great sign that you’ve managed to secure your finances well into your golden years without needing to rely upon it. Plus, EPF allows you to keep your funds until you’re 100 and continue to earn dividends from it.

#6 You have a stable and well-diversified investment portfolio

At a younger age, you can take on bigger risks in investing as you have more time to recover from any shortfalls. But as you grow older, safe and steady growth should be your priority.

If you have built a portfolio that’s focused on stable investment and wealth creation and lets you achieve your desired rates of return at an acceptable risk leave, then that’s a good sign you’re ready for retirement.

Of course, having a stable investment portfolio is good, but it would be better to diversify your portfolio. For Malaysians, we even have the option to utilise our EPF as a way to diversify investments using the i-Invest platform.

Using your EPF to diversify your investments

Putting money into investments can be a scary thought, especially if you don’t have the funds or are tight with your budget at the moment.

But as Malaysians, we can use our EPF to build a diverse portfolio without needing to put in additional cash. Here’s how you can start diversifying your EPF savings easily online with Eastspring Investments.

Prepare for your retirement today with Eastspring

If you’ve managed to achieve all 6 signs, then that means you’re more than prepared for retirement.

But if you still need a little help with diversifying your investments, Eastspring Investments can help ensure that you can be retirement-ready by diversifying your EPF savings.

The post 6 Signs That Indicate You Are Ready For Retirement appeared first on iMoney Malaysia.