Retiring with dignity

15 April 2017

 

Reflections with Dr Wilbert R. Mutoko

RETIREMENT WITH DIGNITY

I get hurt when I see retired people receiving wrong financial planning advice. This leads these senior citizens to be heart broken and die miserable lives. Some of them end up having to beg for any kind of job just to get by.

It is unprofessional for a financial adviser to give advice to a client which only results in benefit to the adviser. However, I believe it is wickedness for a financial adviser to misguide or cheat a senior citizen. Imagine! A young person can make financial mistakes and still have time to recover. But what about a retired senior citizen?

My message to financial advisers – Please I beg you to be professional and stop fleecing people old enough to be your parents or grandparents. Cheating people that have no other option to earn money. These are people that need to relax and enjoy the fruits of their labor, rather than to die in financial misery.

My message to retired/retiring senior citizens – please, you no longer have the time, energy and opportunities that you had in the past. Therefore, avoid seeking advice from unaccredited financial advisers or from friends that know nothing about financial planning. Be knowledgeable. Only get advice from professional people.

Why seek help from professionals? The reason is simple. Same applies to choosing a construction company. While it seems cheap to deal with an unregistered construction company, in the long-run you pay more to bogus construction firms. Never the less, if at all a so-called professional cheat you or misrepresent facts, you can report them to the association and steps can be taken against them.