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Want to enjoy financial freedom early? Improve retirement control from three areas

2021-04-08T08:01:42.185Z


Most Hong Kong people work half their lives in order to accumulate wealth as soon as possible and enjoy their retirement comfortably, but without careful planning, they may get half the result with half the effort. The recent outbreak of the epidemic and the uncertain job prospects have made the author even more impressed.


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Written by: Xie Deqin

2021-04-08 15:45

The last update date: 2021-04-08 15:48

Most Hong Kong people work half their lives in order to accumulate wealth as soon as possible and enjoy their retirement life comfortably, but without careful planning, they may get half the result. The recent outbreak of the epidemic and the uncertain job prospects have made the author feel the importance of making good retirement arrangements. Many friends also have a deep understanding of this. The good thing is that everyone is more aggressive than before and has a clear goal, but the problem is that it is not easy to find the best financial planning plan out of a multitude of things.

"Financial Independence, Retire Early" (FIRE) is a way of life that many people yearn for, but how to achieve financial freedom and follow the ultimate goal of FIRE has a different trajectory.

In the past year, the epidemic has given birth to the concept of "working from home". The Nasdaq index, which represents the new economy, has continued to rise. Some friends around me watch the US stock market late at night, hoping to make quick money by entering the market and help make up the income from day work.

Although my friends have occasionally made gains in fluctuating market conditions, it is a bit outweighed by the lack of sleep that affects work.

The author asked him why he didn’t directly consult financial advisers to conduct some mid- and long-term operations?

It turned out that he believed that expert opinions were not important, and would rather invest on his own, hoping to quickly exchange for financial freedom.

Whether it's Ning Xin that he doesn't believe in financial experts, or is he unable to accurately grasp the information about retirement planning?

Many Hong Kong people fall into this myth.

There are actually many ways to accumulate wealth. Depending on what kind of retirement life you want to live, make corresponding financial arrangements. You must know that the cost of living in Hong Kong is high. The cost is generally at least several thousand yuan, and a family's monthly expenditure of tens of thousands of yuan is not too good.

Sun Life Financial recently announced the "Retirement Control Index" survey¹, which measures the actual performance of retirement control in three aspects: intelligence, action and positive experience, to explore the control of Hong Kong people's retirement planning.

The aforementioned example should belong to the category of "intelligence control", which refers to people's grasp of information about retirement planning and retirement savings, such as whether they will pay attention to changes in the macro market and make corresponding decisions, and what savings products are available in the market Available for selection.

Due to the lack of understanding of retirement-related information, although the goals are considered very important, the implementation performance is unsatisfactory.

In fact, Hong Kong people have a tendency to normalize their lack of control over retirement. Sometimes they talk about plans to retire, but they have not taken any actual actions, or as the economy becomes more uncertain, they are not confident enough to implement their retirement goals. This is reflected in In the two areas of "action control" and "positive experience control".

"Action control" refers to the specific actions of practicing retirement planning and saving, and "positive experience control" refers to the personal positive attitude or experience when practicing the confidence and saving of the relevant plan.

According to the respondents’ responses collected by the survey, Hong Kong people’s scores in the three categories of "intelligence control", "action control" and "positive experience control" are 55.2, 56.4 and 57, respectively, and the comprehensive calculation of "Sun Life Financial Retirement Control" The index is 56.3, showing that there is still room for improvement in the control of retirement planning for Hong Kong people².

Lack of confidence in fulfilling retirement goals reflects insufficient control of actions

Hong Kong people make financial planning for retirement. There are various financial management options available, but good financial management habits are essential.

The best example is that, except for some self-employed people who file tax returns, most people seldom create financial statements for themselves and review their personal finances on a monthly basis. This all shows the lack of "action control".

In addition, the common problem of most people is that they seldom take their word and act, and as a result they miss the opportunity to create wealth for themselves. For example, the market launches a tax-deductible deferred annuity plan, which is a good retirement saving option, but it may not be noticed by everyone. As the stock market rises and people around you have entered the market, you may be too cautious to miss the early market rise.

If you do not understand the market or do not take the initiative, it will be difficult to make the most "optimal" retirement arrangements.

According to the survey, it seems that Hong Kong people’s lack of control over retirement seems to be a common phenomenon. In particular, the performance gap of "action control" is the biggest. Even if half of the people agree that action control is very important, only 34% feel that they have done a great job in reviewing personal finances. Well, the gap between the two is 16%.

As for the lack of "positive experience control", it also means that some Hong Kong people do not have enough confidence in fulfilling their retirement goals.

Married people have more control over retirement than singles

Generally speaking, married people will adopt a more conservative and prudent financial management plan because they have family burdens, which will give them greater confidence in fulfilling their retirement goals. Singles usually adopt more aggressive financial planning, but sometimes they will have a haste. Not reach.

Sun Life’s survey also shows that the overall retirement control performance of married people is better than singles in all areas, with a retirement control index of 58.6, compared to 52.4 for singles.

A married professional I know is a typical example.

In order for his family to have a better life in the future, he needs to work for a long time. He desires to have more of his me time, but he lacks confidence in whether he can achieve his retirement goals. This is a manifestation of the lack of control over "positive experience control" .

Although his income during the epidemic was still stable, he was determined to make more active financial preparations for retirement in order to protect the lives of his family after the epidemic.

Most people have worked half their lives and hope to do what they like after retirement, and have more time and space for them to be free from constraints. The above survey just reflects that more than half of the respondents (55%) said that the current average is no more than two in a week. The "me time" of Japan, I look forward to having more time to live for myself after retirement.

The survey also revealed that 24% of respondents believe that the greatest satisfaction in retirement planning comes from having more "me time" in the future.

If you have more time in your life to live for yourself, the most respondents would like to travel (81%), followed by developing interests (73%) and spending time with family (70%).

In fact, whether you follow this FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early) trend or not, people generally agree that financial freedom is the key to controlling retirement.

Having said that, the author suggests that you might as well use Sun Life Financial’s “Excellent” computer to help you plan your retirement life.

You can preset your target retirement age, check the size and distribution of your assets, what kind of retirement you want to live, and the amount you can save from your monthly income. After entering these data, you can use it as a reference for your retirement budget.

By the way, I would like to share with you a tip. Before the promotion period April 30, open an account at Sun Life Financial’s "Refundable Planner" for free, meet with a financial adviser on May 31 and complete the specified procedures, and receive HK$150. Electronic gourmet cash coupon³ to enhance your "positive experience control".

To enhance the control of retirement, the first step is to establish your expectations and needs for your retirement life, establish good financial management habits, and persevere in the ultimate goal of FIRE.

In other words, planning a good retirement life in the future requires improving one's own control from the above-mentioned three areas of "intelligence, action, and positive experience."

The so-called journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step, and now is the time to act.

For more details, please visit Sun Life Financial website https://bit.ly/3sFJasr

1. The survey was commissioned by Sun Life Financial to conduct the Nielsen Market Research Company in Hong Kong from February 1 to 5, 2021. 1,000 Hong Kong residents aged 30 to 45 years old and with a certain financial ability were interviewed through an online questionnaire.

2. "Sun Life Financial Retirement Control Index" is 56.3, and the highest score is 100. Click here for more details.

3. Subject to terms and conditions.

For details, please go to:

https://www.sunlife.com.hk/zh-hant/insurance/limited-time-offer-video/

(Information provided by the customer)

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Source: hk1

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