Meristem tasks Nigerians on proper retirement planning

From Left: Albert Folorunsho Managing Consultant PEDABO, Mercy Aminah, Managing Director, Meristem Trustees Limited, Sulaiman Adedokun, Deputy Group Managing Director Meristem, Damilola Hassan, Head, Wealth Management, Meristem Wealth Management Limited,  Chief S.1.C Okoli, Chairman WABECO Company, Dr. Joseph Ariyo Founder Telnet Group of Schools at Meristem Private Breakfast Session tagged Conversations you do not want to have 2.0 held on Friday 21st Lagos 2020 at Radisson Blu GRA Ikeja Lagos

From Left: Albert Folorunsho Managing Consultant PEDABO, Sulaiman Adedokun, Deputy Group Managing Director Meristem, Chief S.1.C Okoli, Chairman WABECO Company, Dr. Joseph Ariyo Founder Telnet Group of Schools, Mr. Waheed Olagunju former ag. Managing Director Bank of Industry, Saheed Bashir, Managing Director Meristem Stockbrokers Limited at Meristem Private Breakfast Session tagged Conversations you do not want to have 2.0 held on Friday 21st Lagos 2020 at Radisson Blu GRA Ikeja Lagos

Nigerians have been advised to pay attention to comprehensive financial planning and wealth management to improve their incomes, savings and investments for a desired retirement life.

Speaking at a private breakfast session on retirement, tax and wills held by Meristem Wealth Management Limited in Lagos, at the weekend, finance, tax and investment experts underscored the importance of retirement planning, tax planning, will and trust.

The Deputy Group Managing Director, Meristem Securities Limited, Mr. Sulaiman Adedokun, speaking on Retirement Planning identified dynamics of what to live on to include  “My Children; Myself; My Pension and My savings, also noted reasons why people don’t want to discuss retirement as ‘The Illusion of ever-presence’; ‘The Pressure of Time’ and ‘Not close to retirement’.

The four big risk about retirement planning according to him, are Longevity ‘the risk of outliving your assets’; Flexibility ‘the risk of not being able to access your assets at required or on death’; Inflation ‘the risk of your income falling in real terms’ and Volatility ‘the risk of volatile investment returns impacting your income.’

On the way forward to managing the risks for a wonderful retirement, Adedokun stressed the need for people  to “understand their assets and future sources of income, e.g. various pension pots, investments, property equity and state pension.

“Assess and articulate their needs through retirement, acknowledging that these will change over time.  Make choices about which objectives are most important and understand the risks they are willing or need to take in order to have the best chance of meeting these objectives.

“Investigate and understand the array of financial options available for them to match Steps above.”

He further explained that retirement planning should not be treated as an activity for the old or about to retire, but rather as a starter pack for a fulfilled career.

The Managing Director, Meristem Trustees, Mercy Aminah, stressed the need for proper estate planning, to avoid dispute when the owner of the estate is no more.
She dispelled the belief that estate planning is to invoke death, but to leave a legacy for a peaceful and harmonious co-existence among the heirs of the estate and called on Nigerians to always engage experts in the management of their estates.

Mercy said proper planning will ensure that the right tools are deployed, having considered unique individual and family circumstances.

The Meristem Wealth Management Private Breakfast Session is a quarterly gathering of professionals, industry leaders and entrepreneurs hosted by Meristem; to discuss various topical issues in the financial space, in a bid to demystify all myths and help individuals make better informed financial and investment decisions.

Meristem Wealth Management is a subsidiary of Meristem Group, the company offers stockbroking, wealth management, financial advisory, trust and probate management services. The company has been consistent in value creation and innovation within the capital market space for the past 16 years. The firm has remained a leading player in Nigeria’s competitive investment market with a solid reputation as a highly professional and client-centric firm.