ÃÛ¶¹ÊÓƵ

It came as a shock to the executive in Hong Kong. At 45 he was in the middle of a successful career with a six-figure salary and – having just relocated from Malaysia –a generous expat package. With three small children at home, he naturally cared about the long-term financial security of his family. He was quite confident, however, that there was "enough money around." Like many busy executives and entrepreneurs, he had never found the time to verify his assumptions.

That is, until he met with a financial planner. After a thorough analysis of his situation he was very surprised to learn that not only were his current living costs much higher than he thought, his income did not provide enough savings to preserve his lifestyle at retirement. Having worked in several jurisdictions in the past, he was also unclear about his (rather complicated) pension situation – including being unaware of certain important benefits his family would be entitled to in case of death or disability.

An all-too-common mistake

The Hong Kong executive is hardly alone. In our experience, too many successful people wait too long to start asking questions about their post-career lives. Executives and entrepreneurs often assume doing so in their fifties is early enough. But this is a process that should begin in a person’s thirties, or when a career begins to take off, or latest when starting a family.

The questions that need to be asked are basic, but nonetheless profound. Among the most important:

• Can I afford my living standard in the long run, or must I change my lifestyle?
• What happens to my family if I pass away or become disabled?
• Particularly if I have worked in many jurisdictions, what is my real pension situation come retirement age, and can I afford early retirement?

Without actually running the numbers, successful people routinely make false assumptions about the answers. They underestimate their financial needs in the future, overestimate their future financial resources, and are often unclear about essential details.

A hard look now can bring peace of mind later

In such a situation the services of an experienced financial planner can be extremely useful. A good financial planner takes a comprehensive view of all of a client’s assets, including property, pensions, financial and direct investments – everything relevant to the client’s current and future situation.

The planner then subjects the information to a rigorous analysis taking into account the client’s goals and important outside factors such as the expected effect of inflation on living costs or inheritance considerations. Such quantitative data make it easier to create a solid, realistic, long-term financial plan – something we think no executive or entrepreneur should be without.

Confidence is a virtue. But as successful leaders know, blind confidence is not. Asking the important post-career questions now may cause a few shocks. But if the result is an effective plan, it can also lead to peace of mind.