Retirement planning is a critical function for HR Professionals. It is essential to help both employees and the organisation to plan for retirement.
At the individual level, employees need help with planning decisions about things like their finances, lifestyle in retirement, employment and well-being.
At the organisational level, it is necessary to plan for retirement so that there are no adverse impacts on business continuity after employees have retired. As part of the planning process for employees, HR teams are strongly encouraged to host retirement planning seminars with different subject matter experts like finance professionals, lawyers, health professionals, and counsellors.
These subject matter experts can add to the guidance provided by HR and can help in the following areas: financial planning, legal advice, health and wellness and counselling
1. Financial planning. Retirement planning seminars can help to educate employees about the financial aspects of retirement including savings, investments, pension plans, pension benefits and tax considerations. This is critical since retirement may mean the loss of a fixed income for several persons.
2. Legal Advice. Lawyers can provide employees with information on things like estate planning during retirement seminars. Although people may believe estate planning is not important because their estate may not be large, it is critical to put a plan in place so that your affairs are managed properly after your death.
3. Health and Wellness. A discussion on health and wellness is critical during retirement seminars. Employees should be guided on how to improve or maximize their health as they get older, and this can include discussions about nutrition and exercise. Importantly, these seminars should focus on physical and mental health so that retirees can be healthy in both mind and body.
4. Counselling. The transition to retirement can be difficult for some. Counsellors can discuss the varied emotions that employees may experience and can share tips on how employees can manage them. Following the retirement seminars, some employees may also find it helpful to have individual meetings with counsellors, for those employees who may wish to work after retirement.
Retirement seminars are also an opportunity to discuss employment options like phased retirement and there can be discussions about future employment opportunities after retirement. Retirement seminars should be a part of an organisation’s annual activities.
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As far as possible all employees should be given the opportunity to attend these seminars, regardless of age.
However, preference should be given to those employees who are within one-five years away from retirement so that they can get help with planning for the next stage of life. ____________________________________________________________________________
Dr Malaika T. Edwards provides HR advisory services to business and individual clients. She is also an academic in the Higher Education landscape. You can contact her for HR support by email at [email protected]. You can also connect with her on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/malaika-edwards or on Instagram @drmalaika.edwards.
