The best time to plan for your retirement is now when you can use your active income to plan for it.
Due to the employment gap in Nigeria and other reasons, a good number of youths opt for self-employment. This, however, does not exempt them from planning for their retirement.
One way of planning for your retirement is to create a pension plan. As commonly as we associate pension contributions with the employment sector, business owners/ self-employed can also make pension contributions.
As a business owner, you can sign up for a micro pension scheme with a Pension Fund Administrator (PFA). There are several credible PFAs in Nigeria. A google search will help! This enables you to make monthly voluntary contributions to your pension account.
You can also make personal investment plans in your portfolio solely for your retirement. Retirement is a long-term goal (if you are still young), hence, your investment focus should be long term. You can explore stocks (local and foreign), real estate and REITs (Real Estate Investment Trusts).
If you are in paid employment, monthly pension contributions should be made on your behalf. If your employment contact includes pension benefits, you have every right to confront your employer if you do not receive monthly pension alerts. Lastly, you should also inform your Next of Kin who your Pension Fund Administrator is.
To your financial independence and freedom!
