The Vulnerability of the Retirees-Odunze Reginald C

Schuller (1988:112) noted that success without social respect can be an ultimate and dismal failure. But that is not the feelings of con artist as they continually scheme, plan and put in strategies that will bring in money no matter who ever that is involved. They do not even care about the state of such people; at times they deliberately target retirees because of their vulnerability.

What then makes a retiree vulnerable? The issue of vulnerability will be explained as we progresses on the write up.

Most losses during retirement occur as a result of wrong decision, wrong purchase decision, and the lust for the sweet things of life, mainly womanizing. But the most devastating of such losses is the loss as a result of scam, fraud and any other actions targeted on the financial positions of the retirees.

Old age has one problem according to psychologist, it tend to make old people vulnerable to issues of money making, as they have dream idea of trying to achieve what they fail to achieve during their working career. They now want to achieve it     during old age and by so doing enter into one wrong investment decision or the other.

Whatever they have not achieve they tend to believe that retirement will afford them that opportunity, by so doing they enter into wrong hands who will fleece them of their hard earned money. The result is that most of the retirees return back to work in order to survive and enjoy their old age. But what these scammers do not know is that wealth do not bring happiness as it is stated in Ecclesiastics 5 verse 10-11 “ How absurd to think that wealth brings happiness, the more you have, the more people come to help you spend it and  continuing  in Ecclesiastics 5 verse 12, 14, it sates “ But the rich are always worrying  and seldom get a good night sleep” Riches are sometimes hoarded to the harm of the saver, or they are put into risky investment that turn sour and everything is lost”

And continuing in Ecclesiastics 5 verse 19 and 20, “And it is good thing to receive wealth from God and the good health to enjoy it” “To enjoy your work and accept your lot in life- that is indeed a gift from God, people who did this rarely look with sorrow on the past,for God has given them reason for joy”.

And so in making wealth, it is pertinent for us to have that God given joy that gives one happiness- a lasting happiness.

Anything short of that may not augur well especially for con artist as Robert Kiyosaki in his book Rich dad Poor dad, noted that there are so many ways, one can be rich, and he included the following, through inheritance, playing lottery, investing or by being a crook or an outlaw but there is a price, you risk going to jail. Kiyosaki  (1995:351) continuing he stated that ‘A great story must interest , excite and cause people to look into the future and dream a little, there should also be integrity behind the story, because our jails are filled with great story tellers without integrity”.

So what should  you do during old age as it regards investment and business as majority of the retirees are interested in working and making more money , thereby creating wealth.  And according to Walter Updegrave in an article captioned “ Three Little mistakes that can sink your retirement,  which appeared in Yahoo Finance it states that “It’s almost become a cliché. Virtually every survey asking pre-retirees what they plan to do in retirement shows that the overwhelming majority plan to work.

 Indeed, a recent Merrill Lynch survey found that nearly three out of four people over 50 said their ideal retirement would include working. Which is fine. Staying connected to the work world in some way can not only offer financial benefits, it can also keep retirees more active and socially engaged”

But what happens if retiree involve in spurious contract that may be a scam, intended to dispossess him of his wealth?  There is need for the retiree to embark on the services of investment adviser even if he was an investment guru during his career, the reason is that in what concerns you , there may be likelihood of mistake unlike when you hand it over to an independent investment adviser, as it has been the same with lawyers, as they it  find difficult to handle their own cases as doctors are also in the same dilemma in treating their own diseases.

The idea of getting an expert is to safeguard the retirees fund from con artist during old age but that rest squarely on the retiree.

Odunze Reginald is the Lead Consultant, Chareg Consulting, a management and marketing  consultant  a social media and social marketing consultant , you can visit our twitter anchor @regydunze, find us on Facebook @ Reginald odunze and reginaldodunze.com, at google+ @ Reginald Odunze and at Linkedin@reginald odunze.