The second story in this series is focused on a client of mine who tried to plan a financial future – however, unfortunately for them, life happened a little sooner than they anticipated. As such, there was very little I could help them with as there was no more time available.
I met with a customer in September 2019 who had to retire at age 60 and who called on me for advice on investing his pension and provident fund to draw a monthly pension from for him and his wife. The client was planning to work until age 65 before retiring, but due to health reasons, he had to retire early at age 60. After obtaining all the relevant information and doing holistic planning for the customer, we found that the client only had X amount to retire on, which had to provide for him and his wife for the rest of their lives. After considering all options and having to withdraw a lumpsum to settle debt and cater for an emergency fund, the remaining funds were invested for the client and his monthly income received from this investment was R5,294 per month.
The figure of R5,294 haunts me every single day, because how can 2 pensioners, who do not even own their own house and who had to move in with their children, survive for the rest of their lives on just R5,294 per month? Unfortunately, I could not and cannot do anything for this client, seeing’s as that it was too little too late with him having to retire before his desired date.
However, when I see clients early on in their careers, I know I can assist them to plan for their retirement and not be in the same position as this client when they come to retire.
So, as you can see from the 2 stories we shared over this series, the value of having your affairs in order in the event of Risk and Retirement including Estate Planning, is PRICELESS! My plea to each and every one who read this article is to contact your Financial Advisor as soon as possible to discuss your goals and dreams and ensure that holistic financial planning is done to ensure that you are covered for when life happens!
Should you not have a financial advisor, please contact one of IWCP’s professional advisors to assist you with this.
Author:
Quintin Page – Unit Leader of IWCP North West and proud IWCP financial advisor
