An average adult spends around 40-50 years of their life engaged in some form of paid employment. Thus, the idea of retirement often seems daunting to many. However, these post-work years can often be the golden years of your life, as they can allow you to follow your passion or your dreams. A busy work schedule usually leaves us with very little time for leisure. You can make use of your retirement years to indulge in old hobbies and interests. But for you to enjoy your post-work life without any worries, you need to plan and invest in a retirement plan that provides you with a steady income.

 

How Do Retirees Spend Most of Their Time?

 

According to a Bureau of Labor Statistics study, most retirees spend around 9.45 of their extra hours per week in leisure activities. However, almost half of this time, about 5.42 hours, is spent watching TV. In comparison, only 44 minutes are spent socializing and 3.6 minutes on travel.

 

The study highlighted that there aren't many changes in a person's life after retirement. Instead, only 10-20% of our time is reallocated in doing things that we like instead of doing things we are obligated to do. Several people may consider this an excellent way to spend their retirement. But, if you want to do something more with this extra time in hand, you need to map out your retirement schedule ahead of time.

 

How Can You Find Your Passion and Enjoy Post-Retirement Life?

 

To discern what you should do during your retirement years, you need to find what you are passionate about. Finding your passion after retirement can be difficult, but here are a few ways you can do so to enjoy your post-work life:

 

1. Consulting friends and family: The easiest way is to consult your friends and family for advice. They could offer helpful insights into your likes and dislikes. You could also consult a life coach who has more experience in dealing with such topics.

 

2. Explore new subjects: Several major universities offer new and exciting courses that you can pursue remotely. You could consider joining a course that seems exciting or enroll in a subject you were interested in in the past but didn't have the opportunity to study.

 

3. Rediscover old hobbies or find new ones: Rediscovering your childhood hobbies may help you enjoy the latest phase of your life and improve your talents. You could also experiment and try out new hobbies or pastimes. These hobbies will not only keep you happy and healthy but may give you an insight into a potential new career. For instance, if you have always loved cooking, you could brush up your skills and open a small restaurant or bakery.

 

4. Make a bucket list: To ensure that you make the best of your retirement years, you should start making a bucket list ahead of time. This could include the different destinations you have wanted to travel to or the activities you have always wanted to engage in but couldn't because of your schedule. It will also help you understand how much you need to save for your post-retirement activities. With this knowledge in mind, you can invest in the right kind of retirement plan.

 

Why Should You Invest in a Retirement Plan?

 

Finding your passion is key to enjoying your retirement years, but it is also essential to be financially prepared. Though saving for your retirement is helpful, you must invest in a retirement plan to give you a steady income during these years. There are several different types of retirement plans that you can consider according to your preferences. You could opt for a senior citizen annuity plan, which caters to those who have already retired, or you could choose to invest beforehand.

 

What is an Annuity Plan?

 

An annuity plan is a contract that is issued by different financial institutions, which invest your funds to pay you a fixed income later in life. Annuity plans mainly require you to pay a one-time lump-sum premium, though some also allow you to pay monthly or yearly premiums. There are two different types of annuity plans:

 

1. Immediate annuity: In an immediate annuity plan, you begin to receive payments immediately after paying your premium.

 

2. Deferred annuity: A deferred annuity plan involves an accumulation stage, where your premium is stored with your provider, during which you do not receive any payments. It is followed by a pre-specified vesting stage, which is the date from which you can start receiving your payments.

 

The intervals at which you receive your payment or how long your payments last generally differ from plan to plan. Premium payments can be valid for a limited period or could last until your lifetime or that of your survivor's.

 

You could also consider investing in pension plans or other retirement plans offered by the government or your employer. If you're interested in a flexible annuity plan, you could opt for the Tata AIA Life Insurance Smart Annuity Plan (UIN - 110N150V05). To invest in this retirement plan, you only need to make one lump-sum premium payment. You can then opt for deferred or immediate annuity and also select your annuity payout mode. To find out more about this plan visit Tata AIA website.

 

Conclusion

 

Retirement planning is one of the most critical aspects of your financial planning, as it helps you secure your future when you no longer have a steady income. It ensures you don't have to rely on others when you decide to stop working. A retirement plan can also help you safeguard the interests of your loved ones. Therefore, it is essential that you begin financial planning from a young age, as the sooner you invest in your future, the better returns you will receive. This, in turn, will allow you to explore different post-retirement activities without any worries and live your golden years to the fullest.

 

L&C/Advt/2021/Jul/1081