Mutaciones en el gen de la trombopoyetina

Individuals are now at a point where they have a good indication of the total amount of retirement savings that need to be in place to address their future retirement needs and the existing retirement provision that they have in place. During this step, the future retirement needs (size of the nest egg) (section 2.5.2.1) would be compared with the income that individuals would receive based on their existing retirement provisions (section 2.5.2.2) to determine whether there are any shortfalls. Where the future retirement needs exceed the existing retirement provision, there would be a shortfall, which would mean that individuals would need to generate additional retirement income through a supplementary retirement program to be able to maintain their standard of living in retirement and to achieve any other pre-determined retirement goals. Individuals would therefore have to decide how they would go about ensuring that this annual shortfall would in fact be saved by the time that they reach retirement, therefore during the pre-retirement and close-to-retirement phases. The alternative would be to downscale on their pre-determined financial goals for retirement (Joehnk et al., 2011; Keown, 2013).

In the majority of the cases, there are significant differences between the current retirement income levels and actual needs at retirement (Keown,2013). In addressing these shortfalls, individuals need to determine the extent of the additional annual savings that would be required to eliminate the annual shortfall. The annual shortfall would also have to be adjusted to compensate for the financial effect of inflation; as a result, the annual shortfall would be much higher at retirement. The amount of the shortfall would therefore escalate with the inflation rate over time. Together with the impact of inflation, individuals should also consider the rate of return that could be generated on their investments after retirement, so that these retirement investments could provide the required increase in the annual retirement funds to be able to generate returns that would counteract for the eroding effect of inflation. The estimation

have coverage for the projected annual income shortfall, and (2) the annual savings

amount that would be needed to accumulate the required amount by the date they retire

(Joehnk et al., 2011; Keown, 2013).

Table 2.4 sets out what is involved in the calculation of the shortfall and the determination of the annual savings level to compensate for the shortfall over the three retirement phases.

Table 2.4: Calculate shortfall and determine level of annual savings to compensate for shortfall across the three retirement phases (step 4 of the

practical retirement planning process)

Retirement phase

Pre-retirement Close-to-retirement Post-retirement

Duration of phase (age)

Through age 54 Age 55 to 64 Age 65 and over

Terms of financial retirement goals

Long-term Intermediate-term Short-term

Extent of shortfall and remedial action to compensate for the shortfall

In the pre-retirement phase, it is even more eminent due to the long range of projections that have to be made, taking into account the duration of this phase, inflation and rates of return.

In the case of significant differences, individuals should either increase the level of retirement savings (if possible) by doing the related calculations to determine the amount that needs to be saved to eliminate the shortfall by retirement or they would have to downscale on their pre-determined financial goals for retirement.

It would depend on the outcome of steps 2 and 3. It might be lower in the close-to- retirement phase due to lower levels of living expenses according to the typical individual’s financial life cycle (Charupat et al., 2012; Keown, 2013). The element of uncertainty is also inherent in making retirement planning projections.

However, in the close-to- retirement phase these projections are even more crucial as the duration of this phase is not very long; should there be significant differences, individuals would have to either drastically increase the level of their retirement savings or they would have to downscale on their pre-determined financial goals for retirement.

It would depend on the outcome of steps 2 and 3. The level of living expenses would vary from individual to individual, depending on their personal circumstances. Individuals would however have to depend on their retirement savings to address their financial needs.

The element of uncertainty is also inherent in making retirement planning projections, even in the post-retirement phase, to ensure that individuals do not run out of funds to support themselves. This makes it one of the toughest phases.

Individuals should however also realise that it is possible to remedy this situation; by using the most appropriate method, they could be in the position to retire satisfactorily.

Retirement phase

Pre-retirement Close-to-retirement Post-retirement

Extent of shortfall and remedial action to compensate for the shortfall

At this stage, individuals in the close-to-retirement phase who have a shortfall should realise that this is their last opportunity in which they could actually save and prepare themselves for

their upcoming

retirement years, save and prepare themselves for their upcoming retirement years, with the outcome playing a key role in the standard of living that they would have in retirement (Joehnk et al., 2011; Keown, 2013). They should also obtain information regarding the impact of taxation on their current retirement benefits, as this would also affect the level of retirement savings that should be in place to still be able to achieve their retirement goals (Botha et al., 2011).

Individuals that embark on this route after their official retirement could improve their cash flow over the duration of their retirement, as they are in effect delaying the withdrawal from their retirement savings (Burns, 2013).

Furthermore, individuals might benefit from the positive results on their investments by assuming an increased investment risk, but the outcome of this approach cannot be guaranteed. The latter therefore requires a proper understanding and acceptance of risks when considering such approaches (Burns, 2013).

(Source: Author’s own)