Avoid these mistakes in your active working years so you don’t retire ‘broke’

Databank’s Kumasi Branch Manager, Hafiz Aziz, has outlined some mistakes that people usually make in their active working years that cause them to go into retirement with not enough money to sustain them.
Interviewed by Naa Dzama and DJ Carcious on Y102.5FM Kumasi’s Myd-Morning Radio Show, he stated that the first mistake people usually make is that they do not differentiate properly between savings and investments.
“Today, you are working. At the end of the day, you’ll get paid so you don’t allow the money that you have been paid to sit idle in an account when you know very well that you’re probably not going to need it until the next two months or three. That money shouldn’t sit idle. It must work for you so appreciating the fact that there is a difference between savings and investments is key when it comes to our retirement comfort”, he said.
Secondly, he reported that a lot of people do not have retirement plans. “If you want to retire with a million Ghana Cedis and you’re 25years old now, when you come to Databank, there is what we call the investment calculator that will assist you to know how much you need to invest on a monthly basis for the next 35years that you’ll be actively working so that by age 60, you’ll have your 1million”.
Per this, he urged the youth to prioritize having or drawing an investment plan as early as possible, as it can make them enough money to keep them going by the time they clock their retirement age.
“Number three is that a lot of people don’t have an idea the expectation or expenses that come up during retirement. When you’re on retirement, there are a lot of expenses when it comes to medical care, maintaining your car, and a whole lot. Some people even take care of their children and still pay school fees while on retirement”, Hafiz added.
He emphasized that it is important to acknowledge all these factors so that they can be taken into consideration when deciding on the amount to invest monthly to achieve one’s retirement goal.
Lastly, he hinted that retirement funds must never be added to other investment funds like emergency accounts, multipurpose accounts and others.
By: Maureen Dedei Quaye