Sparking the Interest of Retirement Readiness with Your Employees

January 17, 2012

My favorite gift from this past Christmas has to be my new Kindle Fire.  I would have never bought one for myself, however, because I swore that the reading experience from turning the pages of an actual book could not be duplicated.  But now, I am a Kindle convert.  Not only because it gives the look and feel of a real page in a book; I now have access to hundreds of books for FREE in the Amazon bookstore. 

So what does this have to do with retirement readiness?  As I browsed through the many free or reduced price books, I naturally was drawn to the titles that referred to retirement planning and money management since I am a financial planner myself.  It got me thinking that if pre-retirees could download these books for free, it might encourage a spark of interest regarding tips on preparing for retirement.

The first book I found was on 20 Retirement Decisions You Need to Make Right Now, by Ray Levitre.  The book addresses the key decisions retirees need to make, including:

  • Do I have enough money to retire now?
  • How will I cover my medical expenses during retirement?
  • When should I begin taking Social Security?
  • How much should I invest in stocks, bonds, and cash?
  • What criteria should I use to identify the best investments?
  • Should I cancel my life insurance policy?
  • Should I pay off my mortgage at retirement?

Another ebook that caught my eye was the Beginners Guide to Early Retirement, by Douglas Cooper.  In a quick 22 page read, the author explains the steps necessary to targeting retirement in just 5 years.  I could go on and on with listing the contents of the Kindle virtual library but by now you see my point.  Just as I’ve easily provided these sources, you can do the same for your workforce.  Include these links or find your own favorites at the Kindle store ( found on the Amazon website ) and then spread the word in your company newsletter, your intranet, or on your quarterly retirement statements.

But what if your workforce doesn’t have access to their own Kindle?  Well, another idea is to offer a retirement preparedness book to each of your pre-retirees when they hit a milestone such as reaching 50 or attaining the earliest age to access your pension plan.  For example, the book could accompany a notification to your age 50 employees that they can now take advantage of the catch-up provision with the 401(k).  The IFBEC is now offering a book that would be an excellent practical guide to be distributed to your pre-retirees entitled Ready or Not.  This best-selling workbook, now in its 39th edition, helps explore not only financial issues, but also the physical and psychological.  This book is not free but may be well worth the company’s expense.

If you aren’t convinced that your employees would take the time to read a book then ignite their interest by offering an on-site retirement preparedness workshop or online webcast.  You can always then give away one of these great books as a door prize at the workshop.