With the unstable Economic situation in the country, the Director of the Centre for Entrepreneurship and Small Enterprise Development (CESED) of the University of Cape Coast, Dr. Edward Nii Amar Amarteifio says individuals should invest in real assets as part of planning for their retirement.
He says this has become necessary as one cannot easily tell the standing of the economy in the country in the near future.
“We were told once, there won’t be any debt restructuring, then debt restructuring came, there wouldn’t be any haircut on individuals, now we have haircut coming in. So you don’t know even whether when you put your money at the bank tomorrow, something else will happen. Therefore, we don’t really advise that you maintain your investment or planning into financial assets now” he said.
To him, it is advisable, for individuals planning their retirement to invest in areas such as agriculture among others during their active service, as such areas are sustainable to help them enjoy their retirement.
He explained that “the things you have learned in the university, and as a university graduate, why can’t you translate it into agro agriculture? A lot of times we also go into agriculture and we may want to sell the product raw. Somebody prepares pepper and sells the pepper to the market for women. Can we look at Agro-processing? So I am planning for my retirement, and Charles is also planning for his retirement. So I say, okay, Charles, focus on processing, I will also focus on planting, we get somebody who is focusing on, let’s say, packaging; Then you realize that you have a whole set and basically you end up planning for the future.”
Dr. Edward Nii Amar Amarteifio who is also a financial advisor was speaking on the topic: Retirement Planning and its importance on the Atlantic Wave yesterday.
On his part, a Lecturer with CESED UCC, Dr. Charles Hackman Kwamena Essel says planning your retirement should not only be on a financial basis but also on a psychological and social basis.
Speaking on the different dimensions of planning retirement, he said individuals must be mindful of their lifestyles and invest in their social and psychological life to prepare themselves for retirement while in active service.
“This is the time where over the period, the social capital that you have built for yourself when you are able to help people with issues, when you attend funerals, when you do all the other things, this is the time that you reap from that investment. And so you are able to reach out to people, People are able to visit you and they talk with you, they encourage you within that period. Otherwise, you’ll be cut off, you’ll be left alone.” He advised.
He notes that one can have all the money at retirement, but if socially they are not well connected, isolation could kill them.
Dr.Charles Hackman Kwamena Essel added that planning retirement also helps one to avoid dependence on others.
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Source: Aba Aikins Appah/ATLFMNEWS
