Prejudice about retiring

Prejudice about retiring.

Retirement is a much discussed topic. Retirement is discussed extensively at many lunch tables and at birthdays. However, people don’t always talk positively about retirement and retirement. Pensions are often spoken of in clichés: ‘Reading books all day in a hammock’, ‘I won’t have anything left after working so long’, ‘Winning behind the geraniums’, ‘Weekly out with the cycling club’, ‘Never get up early again’ – various statements that may contain a grain of truth, but can also come across as very stereotypical. Are you really that shunned when you retire? Do all pensioners actually want to retire? Do you have enough to spend after you retire? And are future retirees really looking forward to their retirement so eagerly?

Misperceptions about the pension

A few years ago, research agency Motivaction conducted research into ‘The Sense and Nonsense about Pensions’. The aim of the research was to analyze and interpret the myths, clichés, stereotypes and misunderstandings regarding retirement and retirement.

An important question here was: ‘What are the abuses about the pension and what are they based on?’

The results showed that a majority of workers are concerned about their retirement. This mainly concerns the financial aspect of the pension; how much pension will I eventually receive? For most workers it is unclear (and therefore uncertain) how much they will have to spend after retirement. Mainly older employees are more concerned with this, young employees are not (yet) concerned about this or less. There are also still many misperceptions about building up a pension. It is often unclear how the pension is built up. Do the last working years count extra or not?

How high is my pension?

There are often many questions about the pension you have built up and the finances after you retire. A common fear is that people will ultimately receive less pension than they have invested during their working life. However, the premium you invest – which often happens automatically if your employer is affiliated with a pension fund – is often doubled up to three to four times. The premiums paid are invested by the pension fund or the insurers and the investments generally provide an excellent interest payment. The pensions are ultimately paid from this return. It is important to familiarize yourself with your pension and to know how your pension fund or insurer works and currently stands. It provides insight into the pension market and can provide you with more clarity about your pension.

Retirement income

The amount of the pension income depends on a number of factors:

1. Your accrued pension during the years that you have worked and have paid pension contributions,
2. The AOW and any other pension products,
3. Savings and/or Investments.

The pension income is therefore different for everyone; For example, if you have worked for the same company for 40+ years and paid annual premiums, you have most likely built up a nice employee pension. However, if you have not built up an employee pension, for example because you have worked for years as a self-employed person without a pension fund, the financial household will look different after your retirement. It is important to think carefully about your (impending) retirement. As a result, you will find out – early – whether you will be able to get by on your pension income and you will not be faced with surprises later.

Pension overview

The website is a handy tool to gain insight into your pension mijnpensioenoverzicht.nl . In addition to an overview of your AOW benefit and the expected retirement age, you will also receive an overview of your employee pension that has already been built up. Have you worked for different companies and/or organizations that are affiliated with different pension funds? No problem!
All (large) pension providers are included in the calculation. In addition, this website also gives you insight into any survivor’s pension and you can calculate what you and your partner will receive in pension.

Be informed about your pension

As stated, it is important to properly orientate and inform yourself about your (approaching) retirement. Good preparation for your retirement often offers various options that you may not have thought of beforehand. In addition, good preparation ensures that you will not be faced with (financial) surprises later. How do others do this?

Case Piet

After years of working in the commercial sector, Piet is going to retire at 67 ^e retired. He has always worked hard and will continue to work for a while. He assumes that his pension is much lower, because the coverage ratio* of his pension fund is below 105%. Well, and finally being able to do everything he would like to do after his retirement has always been his thought. The plans for the many trips were made years ago! But… he still has to go on. Or not? On his first pension payment, he sees that his pension payment is higher than he had previously thought. That’s a stroke of luck! The investment returns from his pension fund were favourable, so that a good pension could still be paid. So the trip to Marbella was booked quickly!

* The funding ratio is a (global) indicator for the capital position of a pension fund: the current value of the investments is divided by the present value of the pension obligations.

Training & Advice for well-prepared for your retirement

With the Essenburgh Pension training in sight, we will discuss – together with you – the financial aspects of retirement. Other important themes such as misperceptions about retirement and retirement, health, staying busy and saying goodbye are also discussed in detail. The Pension in sight training courses are a perfect preparation for your well-deserved retirement.

Knowing more? View the different Pension in Sight training courses. Or download the (free) checklist on the right and find out immediately how well you are already prepared for your retirement.