Let’s face it. A burden-free retirement is what all of us expect through personal finance. But when you want and can ‘retire’ will largely depend on your own success of financial management.

“Retirement planning can be defined as an individual’s goals for his retirement, a plan to achieve it, and all associated strategies required to put the plan in action.”

Unless you have a very optimistic goal of retiring at the age of 30, usually a retirement plan is a long term strategy. In this venture, an individual has to consider his current wealth creation and strategize the required wealth creation for achieving retirement goals. Much like budgeting, retirement planning is a continuous process. As and when major changes occur in your personal finances and preferences, your retirement plan will subject to change.

For an inexperienced individual, retirement planning can be a daunting task. It is highly advised to seek the professional expertise of financial planners or even retirement planners.

An individual’s financial goal should be to be financially independent and retirement is a point where the ‘incomes’ or at least the major portion of it will stop. Hence, an individual should plan in a way to secure the incomes required after retirement, to be earned now. Sounds difficult? It is. But not impossible and definitely not unachievable. With the right guidance and tools and knowledge, you could plan to retire comfortably and achieve it.