How are you planning your retirment

[Theloststory]

How much money do we need for retirement? It depends on so many th8ngs like you’re current age, preferred age for retirement, inflation, how many years you expect to live after retirement, expenses now and projected expenses then and so on.

What do the BCM Tourers do for retirements investing? Mutual funds? Bonds? Property? Consultancy jobs?

Also, does anyone plan to move to a retirement community (for sake of easier healthcare etc)?

 

[Big Daddy]

I will only believe in financial investing because it remains largely hidden from prying eyes. A simple rule is that you should have more money invested than you have spent thoughout your life at your age. My estimate is that a kid born today needs at least 15 crorers to live an average life. To have that kind of money you need to earn 20-25 crorers in future due to taxes that need to be paid. Add kids and freeloaders (wife and parents who will live off your income) to the equation and costs mount.

There is more. 90% of Indian workforce is in unorganized sector where there is no pension, providend fund etc. This is another reason why people should stay away from real-estate because it will get you killed as sooner or later these 90% are going to look for suckers to rob. Real-estate is not something you can run away from easily. Envious people will create problems around where you live and, if this is the only asset you got, then you have a nightmare to handle in retirement. With stocks and bonds, you can move anywhere you want and not even tell your kids about the assets you have. You could even convert your stocks and bonds to a trust fund to save other liabilities (probate, financial lawsuites, etc.).

The downside of financial investing is you cannot avoid taxes. Indian government is another robber. However, I would think that when compared to the alternative, this is slightly better problem to handle.

 

[noidea]

Had I lived in India, my life would be a mess because my parents would not leave me much and even consume whatever resources I had including my time and productivity.

...........because most likely kids of today are going to throw their parents out in the future. ....... No kid would want to take on additional expenses.

........ Indian government has washed its hands off the problem by giving entitlements to parents by passing a law where children are supposed to take care of their parents. ......

..........freeloaders (wife and parents who will live off your income) to the equation and costs mount.

Hummm, I see !!

 

[Big Daddy]

Yes, you need to see the truth when it comes to money. Problems do not go away when you deny the facts.

 

[akkibaba]

I will only believe in financial investing because it remains largely hidden from prying eyes. A simple rule is that you should have more money invested than you have spent thoughout your life at your age. My estimate is that a kid born today needs at least 15 crorers to live an average life. To have that kind of money you need to earn 20-25 crorers in future due to taxes that need to be paid. Add kids and freeloaders (wife and parents who will live off your income) to the equation and costs mount.

There is more. 90% of Indian workforce is in unorganized sector where there is no pension, providend fund etc. This is another reason why people should stay away from real-estate because it will get you killed as sooner or later these 90% are going to look for suckers to rob. Real-estate is not something you can run away from easily. Envious people will create problems around where you live and, if this is the only asset you got, then you have a nightmare to handle in retirement. With stocks and bonds, you can move anywhere you want and not even tell your kids about the assets you have. You could even convert your stocks and bonds to a trust fund to save other liabilities (probate, financial lawsuites, etc.).

The downside of financial investing is you cannot avoid taxes. Indian government is another robber. However, I would think that when compared to the alternative, this is slightly better problem to handle.

Exactly . people who are investing in fixed assets like real estate and gold can’t wash off their hands easily . Just think how many persons you came across who sold their gold or house when money was required ? Probably Nil . This is just madness .. the only powerful saving is cash . i.e stocks , bonds . Nothing else . If one want to invest in fixed asset then think about those assets who can earn money for you , like hotels , shops , rentals etc.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[Big Daddy]

My dad had gold and one day our house was broken into and all the gold was stolen. Cops never found the theif. If you invest in gold then you have to keep it in bank locker and pay annual locker fees. These hard assets have a lot of risk associated with them. Even with real-estate, people steal things like water meters. Rain will damage your window frames and you need to repair them. Flat roofs in India would mean roof leaks. The only way to protect these things is just sit at home and keep a watch on theives!

 

[Theloststory]

Gold doesn’t seem to be a good investment.

 

[Theloststory]

However Index a Funds seem to give rather decent returns compared to activLey managed funds in the sit on your ass and wait kind of investing, what do you guys feel?

 

[Prasham]

Yes, you need to see the truth when it comes to money. Problems do not go away when you deny the facts.

While you are not wrong in the crux, language could have been better. Indians are extremely sentimental about their family. It may not be your mistake, since you are staying in US, you may have got used to their culture.

 

[Big Daddy]

The culture is where all the problems begin. Ironically, Indians have abandoned their culture. It used to be that parents used to take sannyasa to avoid burdening their children. Now, people try to retire in their 50s and sit in their children's home.

These bad habits must be noted and highlighted. If parents punish their children's bad behavior then it is also the responsibility of children to punish the bad behavior of parents. You cannot have a successful life or even financial status if you live a life of encouraging and even funding people who behave badly. India has built a culture of entitlement. Parents have raised their children to support their entitlements and government has endorsed it. And trust me, when people start running out of money, they will have no choice but to kick their parents out or even get a divorce. Disrespecting money is never a good idea.

You must fight these cultural inclinations first to plan for retirement. Salaries are low and cost of living is getting higher, so either you plan for future or fail.