Since each of us are somehow different from every other person who is alive on Earth, what is good for some people might not be good for other people. That much is most certainly correct when it comes to planning for your eventual retirement from the workforce. None of us is perfect and it is quite likely that each of us will make at least one mistake when plans are being made for living the last years of our lives.
The kind of job that you have and who you work for is another major determining factor in living what you believe will be a comfortable life after you retire. The amount of money that you earn while you are working is also another factor in the retirement equation. The more money you earn the more money you should be able to save or contribute to a retirement fund. Such a fund can also be employer sponsored, where your employer contributes an amount each year into its employment retirement plan, as part of your employment package and yearly compensation. That does not mean that you cannot invest in your own retirement account.
You can purchase an annuity from an insurance company and when you retire you can receive payments in the form of return of capital plus an amount that your annuity account earned as a result of your prior payments. The point here is that you do not want to needlessly risk losing a percentage, if not all, of your retirement nest egg, as a result of poor economic conditions within the country that you reside. Then again, if you allow other people to manage your retirement account there is a possibility that you could become a victim of crime or poor management of the money in question.
It is true that, so called, safe investments usually earn a lower rate of return on the dollars invested but safety is more important than receiving a double digit increase on the invested amount. Keep in mind that you can also suffer a double digit loss. Your primary concern should be that your percentage rate of return on your investment be more than the current rate of inflation so that you do not lose any of the purchasing power of the saved amount.
Those of you who seek high or higher rates of return on your savings and/or investments take higher risks with the money that they commit to such high risk income earning opportunities. Investments in the capital stocks of corporations and other financial market instruments is nothing more than gambling with your hard earned money. More ofter than not, the vast majority of those who do end up losing a whole lot of money.
Many people put all or their savings into one type of retirement account. That is a truly bad thing to do because if the bank or lending institution goes out of business or somehow loses all of your money you will have nothing for your retirement and must begin again. Have more than one retirement account where you can purchase government bonds and other truly safe financial instruments. Have a savings account that you can draw against at any time for buying annuities and other risk free types of investments that can be tax deferred.
Above all else, do not just live for today because you do not believe that you will reach the age of retirement. Life will be very hard for you if all that you will have is just a Social Security check each month. Then again, you will be very lucky if the amount that you receive is enough to pay for your current living expenses. Just getting by without anything else to fall back on is worse than death. You will suffer greatly so wise up before it is too late to do so.