Our life span has an equivalence to a single day, from sunrise to sunset. Our golden sunset years should mirror the tranquility and beauty of the setting sun. To ensure this happens you have to plan for it, from the early hours of dawn. I have never understood why so many bright professionals do not think or plan for this.

Given the pace of our lives and our fluid work/personal lifestyles – at least the vast majority of us live our lives one quarter at a time, like the business/financial world. Achieving tremendously important short-term material world needs, seems to consume us.

As we start our professional careers, after successfully meeting our educational goals – we are immersed in several short/mid-term goals of “settling down”. Most of the millennial generation now, is delaying the settling down by 5-10 years, as they establish themselves professionally. This should further help them in launching their early ‘saving for sunset’ habit. When they decide to settle down and start their own families, later, it will become much easier as they have adjusted to a reduced take-home check.

Your best option is to use the tax-deferred 401-K Retirement savings plan (surely, everyone knows of this) as the savings/investment method. You can Google and find a bunch of ‘Retirement Calculators’ on-line. I used the one in the URL, and entered typical input data:

  • You are 25 years old
  • You have a starting annual salary of $70,000.
  • Your annual salary increase is a conservative 3%
  • Your savings contribution is an aggressive 15% of your annual salary (including employer match).
  • Your diversified investments earn a conservative 6% annual returns.
  • Given that, the Social Security Wages age-limit regularly moves up…. You may expect to retire at age 69, to claim 100% of your Social Security dues.

savings-assumptions

If you continue contributing for your entire working life, at age 69, when you are ready to enter your golden years, your Social Security wages will be supplemented with a payout of $3,357,708 – YES, MORE THAN $3M – which you may invest and live the rest of your life very comfortably, enjoying the beautiful sunset years

savings-results

As professionals who have undergone sufficient educational training, we clearly cannot argue with the math above. So why is it that a large percentage of us, do not pay enough attention to this. The only simple answer is PROCASTRINATION. We intend to start this soon/next month/next year – delay, and the sands of time slips through our fingers. We are pre-occupied in day-to-day stuff and neglect the single most important thing that will dictate how we live our final years, when we do not have the ability to earn and will be struggling with a new set of problems. The last thing you want to worry about in your golden, sunset years is financial security.

Therefore, I urge all my friends…. If you have not paid attention to this – act right away. As the famous Indian poet/saint, Kabir (Kabir ke dohe – Kabir’s couplets) wrote in the Indian language, do whatever you have to, NOW:

Jo kal kare, so aaj       (Translated: What you plan to do tomorrow, do today)

Jo aaj kare, so ab        (Translated: What you plan to do today, do NOW)