If You’re Serious About Retirement Planning, You’ve Got To Be Serious About This

Ask around your friends how they are preparing for retirement. I bet you will hear about saving, investing, building retirement income streams, maximising pension plan, researching lower-cost places to relocate to etc. All commendable.

But guess what? To be serious about retirement planning, you’ve got to be serious about health and healthspan.

“Healthspan describes the period of time during which a person is healthy within his or her lifespan. The healthspan is therefore shorter or at most as long as the lifespan…” 

      ~ Max Planck Institute For Biology of Ageing

While increasing life span is an indisputable fact – and along with it challenges to individuals and society – the more important concern is healthspan. This is the measure of healthy years without disability and sickness, hence quality of life. What’s the point of more years if these are spent in poor health, immobile or in pain? 

Reality Check

This is the sobering fact I’ve been confronted with the past year. Several good friends have been diagnosed with and are dealing with various health issues, some debilitating.

My better half himself had quite a scare recently from swollen throat glands. Luckily biopsy results confirmed their benignity. These cases bring to the forefront how important good health is, not just in later years but at every age. 

While we all know that health is important, we let other priorities take center stage, especially during younger years. Health is the backbone of life for without it, there would be no quality of life regardless how much money is in the bank. And modern living is another culprit sabotaging our health.

Health Investments

While investing for wealth is important for a happy retirement, it is equally important to invest in our health. No retirement plan is complete without a health plan. Each of us have different health conditions, lifestyle preferences and value systems so there can be as many health plans as there are the number of us. 

For me, these are my health investments.

Lesser Alcohol

I was a fan of the ‘wine to unwind’ culture. Nothing relaxes me more than a couple of wines or GT’s at the end of a day, believing moderate drinking is safe. So imagine my surprise when WHO releases that no level of alcohol consumption is safe.

“The risk to the drinker’s health starts from the first drop of any alcoholic beverage” ~ WHO 

That got me seriously researching about the health effects of moderate drinking. 

I have since drastically cut down my alcohol intake, sometimes a whole week goes by without a drop. As a result I’ve shed 2kg, significant given my petite frame, and sleep much better now without the sugar spikes.

All types of alcohol, regardless of potency, are laden with empty calories. Cutting down not only makes me healthier but also happier.

Healthier Food Choices

Besides falling in love with Spain last year, I have also fallen for the Mediterranean diet. I hardly eat meat since reading Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer more than 10 years ago. I made the decision for health, animal welfare and environmental reasons. The Mediterranean diet, with lots of vegetables and seafood, aligns with my preferences, hence a joy to incorporate. 

I make a conscious effort to limit consumption of processed foods, my fav being cheese, ice cream, breakfast cereals, crisps and dips. Processed foods are yummy because of the high salt, sugar, fat content, and chemical additives. All these are linked to health issues like high blood pressure, heart diseases and diabetes.

Bone and Muscle Density

Being Asian female means at higher risk of osteoporosis. An Asian friend with osteoporosis suffered 3 falls within the past 2 years. She fractured her bones which took months to heal and kept her house-bound. She has also visibly shrunken from the loss of bone density. 

Osteoporosis is preventable so I am incorporating as many weight-bearing exercises and activities as I can, such as carrying heavy groceries and walking wherever possible. Vitamin D is now included in my daily supplement to promote/preserve bone density as well as eating leafy greens which are rich in calcium. 

Brain Health

Since learning that my Dad’s hearing loss can lead to dementia, I now pay special attention to noise level and keep my headset level low whenever using one. The good thing is that loud places like dance clubs, pubs and movie theatres are no longer part of my social life. 

To keep my brain stimulated, I read voraciously and try to keep learning new things, like Spanish at the moment. Whenever I’m waiting, I sneak in a game of Suduko which is fun in addition to helping kill time. And believe it or not, all the health commitments prior to this section help reduce Alzheimer’s risk. 

Compounding Effect

So you see, healthy choices compound, one adding onto the other for a magnified effect. Much like the magical effect of compounding interest. 

Just like saving and investing, keeping to a health plan requires discipline and sacrifices.  I choose to be healthy but I’m also a believer in YOLO. Which is why I’m not a teetotaller as I enjoy social drinking. And I’m not vegetarian because I simply cannot give up sashimi, grilled octopus and prawns pil-pil. 

Life is also for enjoyment so I’m ok to accommodate some vices. For in moderation, we can enjoy the best of both worlds. Nothing is worse than being in ill-health and regretting that you could have changed the course but did not. 

So don’t just invest for wealth, invest in your health. Decide for yourself a health plan that you can adhere to and make it an integral part of your retirement planning. A little every day goes a long way.

Take action today to kickstart the compounding effect. The pleasures you will collect from the health dividends in later years will be priceless.

 

Toast to health…with Perrier, no less 

Savvy Maverick

(Main image: Alonso Reyes, Unsplash)

Disclaimer: The views expressed are drawn from personal experiences and do not constitute financial advice in any way whatsoever. Nothing published here constitutes an investment recommendation, nor should any data or content be relied upon for investment activities. Please seek independent and thorough research before making any financial decisions, including consulting a qualified professional. Data and information cited from sources will not be updated after publication.