Category: Life Bits

Young adults and retirement

We follow two cousins both in their 20s, Jude, a businessman, and Mary, as they embark on a visit to their 65-year-old Uncle Frank. Here is how the story goes:

 

Jude

 

Jude loves living the life. Whenever he hears the word, “Retirement,” he scoffs because it seems so far that it hardly feels real at all. That eventually became his excuse to justify not saving for retirement. He often jokes that he’ll still be agile and efficient well past his 70s, so he can still run his business and earn a living.

 

Mary

 

Mary is after the “baby-girl” life: slaying for the ‘Gram, owing debt just to buy shoes, bags, and human hair in vogue, and never caring about saving. She also believes that retirement is too far to consider now hence she makes no effort to supplement her compulsory pension contributions with additional funds. In fact, if she had her way, she wouldn’t even save a kobo for retirement.

 

This visit to Uncle Frank is about to change their lives…

 

Uncle Frank

 

Uncle Frank lives in a decent bungalow in a high-brow estate in Abuja. He is well off and makes foreign trips at least once a year to visit his children. He also has a thriving business managed by his younger son in Lagos and looks ‘fresh’ every time Jude and Mary see him. They both admire him a lot.

 

During their discussion, Uncle Frank asks his niece and nephew about work, business, and relationships. Then somehow the discussion veered towards later years and retirement.

 

He noticed their nonchalance towards the topic and chuckled. Then he began his lecture:

 

“You youngsters don’t realize that the years slip by and building a sizable nest egg becomes more difficult if you don’t start early. Remember that you’ll also probably acquire other expenses you may not have yet such as family, in-laws, mortgage, and others,” he said.

 

He took a swig of juice and continued, “You may not earn a lot of money now in your business and career, but one thing you have more of than richer, older folks is time. With time on your side, saving for retirement becomes a much more pleasant and exciting prospect. You have time to map out your retirement plan and whatever you save compounds with the years and gets reinvested to make you more money.”

 

“How do you lads think I managed to build the life I have now after my years in the Human Resource space?” he finished with a smile.

 

It was a visit to remember for Jude and Mary. They got schooled by Uncle Frank and suddenly, their motto of living for the moment sounded utterly lame.

 

Got your retirement locked down? Move to ARM Pensions and we’ll help you plan for a better tomorrow.

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6 tips to excel in your career

Many years ago, Maureen Akintoye applied a list of smart nuggets to help her excel in her career. Now, with over a decade of successfully running a top Marketing and Advertising firm in New Zealand, she shares a few career tips which worked for her and where they originated from.

 

1. I first heard Zig Ziglar say it when people challenged him on his “positive attitude” manifesto: “You can do anything with a positive attitude better than you can do it with a negative one.” – Lea McLeod, Career Coach.

 

2. Work hard and be nice to people. It’s a very simple motto I try to live by daily – Marie Burns, Recruiting Leader at Compete.

 

3. There’s never going to be a precisely right moment to speak, share an idea, or take a chance. Just take the moment – don’t let thoughts like “I don’t feel like I’m ready” get in the way. Look to see if you have the main things or the opportunity will pass you by. Don’t let perfect get in the way of really, really good. – Kathleen Tierney, Executive Vice President and COO of Chub Insurance.

 

4. Tenacity and persistence – nothing beats it. Even if your talent isn’t there yet, you can always develop it to what it will eventually be. But people who are persistent and tenacious and driven and have a really clear, defined goal of what they want, nothing compares to that. Not giving up is really huge. – Catt Sadler, Anchor at E!

 

5. Asking for help isn’t a sign of weakness but of strength. No one got to where they are today without help along the way. Don’t be afraid to ask, and then remember to return the favor. – Elliott Bell, Director of Marketing of The Muse.

 

6. Even if you aren’t feeling totally sure of yourself and your abilities, it’s important that you present yourself otherwise. That means, shifting your body language to portray confidence. So, while you may be so nervous before your big interview or meeting that you want to curl into a ball, resist the temptation to cower or make yourself smaller, and walk in with your head held high. – Michele Hoos, Writer.

 

Invite someone to move to ARM Pensions to enjoy a greater advantage now and at retirement.

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The Do’s of spending in retirement

Mojisola is on the brink of retirement and her excitement knows no bounds. She already drafted a plan of what she’d want to do with her years after hanging her work boot. She wants to get it right and enjoy her retirement without running out of money or good health.

 

Here are some interesting bits of her spending plan:

 

 

Track your spending daily – Mojisola knows that checking on her transactions and account balance will help her see how much is going out and discover where to cut back on excesses. This ensures that she won’t be dipping too much into the money she has saved.

 

Spend on learning – Continued education of any kind such as developing new professional skills or enhancing old ones is a positive way to spend retirement money, Mojisola discovered. This knowledge expansion helps you stay sharper and relevant as you get older.

 

Spend on relationship building – Paying for travel to visit her children, grandchildren, or old friends from school will be money well spent in retirement. Like her, you need to keep a vibrant social life to enjoy retirement.

 

Spend on activities that can improve your health – Such as health club/gym memberships, exercise equipment, and personal training, among others. Mojisola is aware that these activities will boost her mood, keep her in great physical and mental health and expose her to new relationships.

 

Spend on activities that bring you pleasure – Research shows that great experiences tend to bring far more happiness to retirees than accumulating lots of expensive stuff. So instead of buying an expensive bag, Mojisola would rather choose a trip with friends instead.

 

Learn all you need to enjoy a comfortable retirement at www.armpension.com

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3 Ways to Improve Mental Health in Retirement

Meet our friends  David and  Sade. Both of them have been retirees for one and six years, respectively

 

Sade, who has been retired for six years, wakes up at 6 am every day to go for a run and has been working hard at keeping healthy and happy. She has more time now for her children’s birthday parties and personal passions.

 

David, on the other hand, just retired but is filled with anxiety about the future. For the first time, he wakes up to face an empty to-do list, which bothers him. This is uncharted territory to him. “What if life becomes bland and the excitement isn’t there anymore,” he thinks.

 

If  Davids’s story sounds familiar, not to worry, here are a few tips to improve your mental well-being:

 

1. Focus on your physical health – Now that you have more time for your physical health, why not make the most of it? Your physical health is connected to your mental well-being. A few planned and consistent activities like exercising, eating healthier meals, and practicing balancing stretch help ensure that your physical health and, in effect, your mental well-being remain sound.

 

 

2. Don’t skip your doctor’s appointments – One thing that can affect mental well-being as you age is worrying about the state of your overall health. If you have any concerns about your physical health or you’ve noticed that something has changed in your body, talk to your doctor during your appointments rather than letting it sit on your mind. He/she will provide answers or assistance that will help eliminate any fears or manage any issues that exist.

 

 

3. Explore what gives you a purpose – Having a purpose is critical for mental well-being. It gives you a reason to get up in the morning and gives your days a touch of meaning. Just because you’re retired from regular work doesn’t mean you can’t have a new purpose in life.

 

 

Creative activities like painting, writing, drawing, singing, dancing, or building something can help spark a latent passion you didn’t have time to nurture while building your career. You can consider using the experience you have acquired over the years to mentor the younger generation or volunteer for a cause you hold dear; either way, when you find a purpose that lights your heart on fire, it will enhance your mental well-being.

 

 

Visit www.armpension.com for more tips.

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How Abu succeeded in building wealth

Abu is single, and 27 years old. As soon as he left University three years ago, he scored a job as a Banking Officer. The first thing he did was rent an apartment close to his workplace for an easy commute and then accumulate a significant amount of discretionary income from his employment.

 

Goals

 

While his mates – including his childhood friend, Hassan – were busy buying up every new tech gadget, Abu ignored the intense pressure to spend frivolously, and instead focused on his life’s objectives: buy a car, get married in the next few years, purchase a home, start a family, and possibly even plan for retirement.

Like he did so many times in the past, he asked Hassan to straighten out his financial life, but his friend was too far taken with the good life.

 

Baby Steps

 

Abu was now eager to begin planning for all his important life events but did not have a formal financial plan. He had a big advantage, though: his parents had taught him and his siblings to budget and save, right from when they were 6 years old. Spurred on by his father’s anthem: “Great wealth builders focus on both saving money and earning more”, Abu imposed strict financial discipline on himself.

He:

 

• Rented a house for the first few years after starting work. In the short term, renting offered far more flexibility than committing to a long-term mortgage, which he was entitled to, six months into his new job, subject to his position being confirmed. While renting, Abu would save on property maintenance, repairs, tax, insurance, and any force majeure disasters, which were all the Landlord’s obligations. Abu’s dream was to purchase real estate and build an elevated bungalow with a pool for his family. He felt he would be ready to handle the responsibility of a loan three years into working full time.

• Did a 10- minute commute to work. Because he lived near his workplace, he did a short, inexpensive ride-share to work with colleagues, and did not immediately have to worry about the costs of vehicle reliability, pricing, or financing.

• Never bought what he didn’t need. Did he ‘want’ that sleek, supersonic Mercedes Benz that Yusuf had just bought? Of course. But he just didn’t ‘need’ it immediately.

 

Action Plan

It was now time to plot his future with more certainty, and Abu turned to a professional financial advisor from a trusted Asset Management firm to help him with planning.

This made financial planning easy for Abu by first assessing his goals, current situation, and risk tolerance, drawing up a budget, and then constructing an investment portfolio. For Abu, the recommendations were to establish a preliminary annual savings account and a retirement fund.

 

The plan was for him to save up to 30% of his income, if possible so that he could aggressively put more of his wealth toward investments – short and long term – such as an emergency fund, mutual funds, Exchange-Traded Funds (ETF), and even a personal retirement account.

 

The financial advisor continues to support Abu in tracking, reviewing, and re-evaluating his progress toward his specific goals.

 

Lessons Learned

 

Yusuf, on the other hand, made the terrible mistake of thinking that financial planning for the future was restricted to those approaching retirement. His preference for spending over saving hindered his life trajectory.

 

While he now shares a small apartment with two friends and is saddled with debt, Abu lives in his own house, is married, has purchased a car, and has comfortably risen in the ranks at work.

Abu’s greater future orientation is a testament that starting life with good financial habits will inevitably bleed over into success in building wealth.

 

Get in touch with a Financial Advisor today via [email protected] 

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3 ways to preserve your mental health

As a busy professional, if you ever find yourself feeling mentally overwhelmed, these tips can help.

 

1. Identify what you’re feeling

Experts endorse writing as a way of tracking your emotional mood throughout the day. It is a practice that helps you understand which activities and times of the day trigger more anxiety. Once you can identify the trigger moments, you can better prepare yourself to respond.

 

2. Lean on others

Talking with people you trust can be the best outlet for maintaining your mental well-being. It allows them to express sympathy and empathy for what you’re going through. Rather than showing weakness, this shows strength and character while allowing the other person to equally open up about their feelings and struggles too.

 

3. Make time for yourself

Even if it’s just a short moment in time, doing something for yourself can help you relax and improve your mental health. If reading a book, journaling, or doing an exercise in the morning will make you feel happy for the rest of the day, do it – even if it’s for a few minutes. You don’t always have to put pressure on your mind by thinking only about work-related tasks.

 

Walk Into Tomorrow to plan your retirement today. Click here to begin.

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5 actions that will get you promoted at work

Feranmi has consistently met and exceeded her KPI at work and even though it felt good to outperform, she was unhappy because, for three years, she’s yet to get noticed for promotion.

 

She reached out to a career coach to find out what she could be doing wrong. He told her that she had spent years building her skills but not building relationships.

 

Here are the tips he gave to help her strengthen her relationships throughout her career and get on the path to promotion and continued success.

1. Share your gifts with others

 

To be considered for promotion, senior management needs to see that you’re able to work well with others since companies succeed through collective leadership. What’s that special thing about you or the way you go about your work? Share with your teammates to help them become better. Seeing you demonstrating this capability now makes it easier for management to think of you in a role with additional responsibility.

 

2. Shift your perspective from “me” to “we”

How do your team-mates or people you often collaborate with see you? Do you like to tackle tasks alone and take the glory? That is not a team spirit. Start involving your team in strategy planning, listen more, talk less, and focus on leveraging the skills of your team to achieve goals collectively. In short, become a team player.

 

3. Mentor others to develop your leadership skills

Even if you’re not managing a team yet, find opportunities to lead or teach others – it could be through volunteering. We learn best when we are teaching others.

 

4. Collaborate better with clashing personalities

Identify the specific personality characteristics that are challenging for you and develop strategies for working effectively with them. When you find ways to get along with coworkers of all types, you eliminate friction, become more productive, and make it easier for management to promote you.

 

5. Set healthy boundaries in your work relationships

To advance and take on more responsibility, you should learn how and what to say “No” to. Some tasks may not add value to you, your team, or organization or could be a complete waste of your valuable time. Be judicious and diplomatic and learn to delegate where necessary.

 

Here’s to getting the promotion you deserve and moving to a PFA that appreciates you! Click here to move to ARM Pensions.

 

Tips from HBR

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Unexpected riches…

Dele sat in the sitting room where his father had taught him almost everything he knew about life. Only that this time, his father was not seated in his favourite chair opposite the TV, his pile of newspapers had gathered dust from lack of touch and his glasses case lay there dusty and unbothered.

 

His father was gone, three months now and he still couldn’t believe it. But the truth settled in as his eyes darted around the room.

 

 

He saw his siblings- all home for the burial, his mother-completely draped in black yet managing to look stunning. There were also uncles, three of them and the one aunt nobody really liked. Everyone sat there quietly, listening to ‘baba agba’- the family head.

 

 

Baba agba managed to avoid everyone’s gaze, intent on his task of dividing Chief Akinlabi’s property among the members of the family since the deceased had not left a Will.  After about fifteen minutes of decrying the lack of cooperation demonstrated by Dele’s mother in providing documents to her late husband’s properties, he proceeded to reel out names and their bequest.

 

 

The concerned people struggled not to smile. You cannot display your happiness at getting a three-story building in Ketu when your younger brother just died.

 

Dele was beginning to imagine he had been forgotten when baba agba called his name, allocating the rundown plastic factory at Sagamu to him. No one could control the laughter that filled the room.

 

Dele’s siblings could also not hide their anger at the shoddy distribution of assets. However, the look on their mother’s face seemed assured, she had a plan.

 

Two hours later, the meeting had dispersed leaving just Dele and his siblings, patiently awaiting their mother. She soon emerged from the room holding a folder. Admonishing them to disregard the selfish actions of baba-agba and his people, she encouraged them to maximize the little they had gotten. Lastly, she informed them of their father’s Mutual funds investment which had run into about 20 million Naira.

 

Dele being the first child was given the task of accessing the funds on everyone’s behalf. The plan was that Dele would access the money and mother and children would divide it among themselves.

 

As Dele considered this latest development, he wondered what would have happened to him, his siblings, and his mum had their dad not been an avid investor in mutual funds. An email notification jolts him back to reality. It was an email from his investment managers reminding him to keep growing his investment.

 

He would have ignored this email like he typically did, but recent events have revealed why he should revive his investment habit. Without thinking twice, Dele opens his Wealth Planner and opts for the direct debit option which would ensure that he never forgets to top up his investment again.

 

Even in death, his dad had reiterated the need for everyone to have a financial cushion especially when one has a family or dreams to achieve. With a grateful sigh, Dele picked up the phone to call his dad’s fund managers regarding his 20 million naira investment.

 

Click here to explore investment options

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