I didn’t realize that not having a retirement plan can have an impact to our physical and mental health until my meeting with X.

Had dinner with X recently. We are all in our early 50s and we were discussing about health issues. X told me that he had a recent episode of high blood pressure. Although he went for all the health checks, the doctor did not find anything wrong with him. The doctor concluded that it could be due to stress and his lifestyle.

X is an executive in one of the large local enterprise. It was his first job, he rose through the ranks and have been in the same firm for close to 30 years. He was in charge of an important project for the firm and unfortunately the project did not go well. The project over ran both in terms of budget and timeline. It got the attention of the CEO of the firm and the CEO personally reviewed the project on a weekly basis. X was under tremendous stress. He said he woke up at about 5 am every night breaking out in cold sweat. He personally believed that it contributed to his high blood pressure.

X and his wife discussed about quitting the job. X is the sole breadwinner of the family. Both his kids are still in tertiary institutions. They calculated the sums and realized that if they downgrade their house to a smaller apartment, X can have an earlier retirement. X just bought a new expensive set of wheels too.

Being assured that financially the family is alright even if he quits, X could began sleeping fitfully again. He could also manage the project in a calm and objective manner and finally the project went back on track (although it still did not meet the initial timeline and budget). The CEO felt more assured about the project and X was off the hook.

The above episode illustrates that having a good retirement plan like Tri-O Retirement Plan can benefit the mental and physical health of a person. If X has started on a retirement planning earlier in his career, he will have a good handle on his retirement income at any point of time if he chooses to retire earlier. He can also watch his expenses so that additional savings can be ploughed into Investment to further boost his retirement income.

TRI-O RETIREMENT PLAN is a simple way to help you get started on your retirement planning. Learn the FUNDAMENTALS and HOW TO GET STARTED. There is also a spreadsheet to help you CALCULATE your monthly savings and your project monthly income at retirement. You can check out our BLOGS on topics pertaining to retirement planning. Feel free to CONTACT US if you have any questions or comments.